Back At It

So it has been far too long since I have updated. I can't say that I am surprised because I am a professional procrastinator. However, I have decided that I am actually going to stick to this. It is far too easy for me to give up on stuff that I have no severe investment in or that I do not stand a chance of losing too much. Hence, why I stopped writing.

I began this blog with every intention of showcasing my crafts, bragging on inexpensive material finds, and rambling on about stuff that most likely only matters to me. But then life became busier and making excuses as to why I started a thousand different projects with the intention of actually finishing maybe on became so easy and common place. The less crafts I did, the less reason I had to write. But crafting is something that I absolutely love! Why was I putting off? Honestly, I had begun to compare myself to others and talked myself out of it. But the counselor in me finally decided to weigh in on the situation and started using other's accomplishments and excellence as something for me to works towards, not have work against me.

This year has flown by and not much is left of it but I have been able to savor the majority of December (although it is not over yet). I guess I should preface by saying that I usually have all of my Christmas decorations up no later than December 1st but this year, I am just proud to say that we have our decorations up at all. I have yet to take any pictures of the decorations around the house as I cannot seem to master how to make Christmas lights look great on my iPhone camera so I will have to just leave you with the office decorations that me and one of my best co-friends (co-worker turned friend...feel free to use this word-play) cam up with for our office.


I begin with Frederick, our refrigerator snow man (thanks to Pinterest)

            

The next three collages are my co-friend and I's cubicles, decorated to look like Gingerbread homes. We also adorned our desks with wrapping paper, goodies, and penguin friends. 

My husband, mother-in-law, nephew (one of the four), brother-in-law (one of the three), his wife and two of my nieces went to New York for the first weekend in December just to see this lovely sight. We may have also spent a little time at FAO Schwartz also...okay it was a couple of hours :)

Last, but certainly not least, is my little bundle of "joy" who is full of Christmas cheer. Megatron continued to look at me with disdain until I finally took her hat off. As you can tell by its absence from the picture, the bell collar did not stand a chance. 

So until next time, which will be this week (setting a deadline means I must abide), take care 

This Heart is Heavy

It is 8:36 am. I am on vacation in New York for my birthday. I have been up for almost two hours, listening to the sounds of traffic, construction, and life in the city outside the window. I am completely relaxed.

Until...

I log onto Facebook and see a prayer request for former school mate who was shot twice (once in the back and once in the thigh) during a bizarre shooting at the midnight premier of Batman in Colorado. He is in stable condition but still has to have surgery. His wife was with him and although she was unharmed by the bullets, she is in shock.

As soon as I finish reading this, I see another link to a news channel about the story. A gunman walked into the theater, threw a smoke bomb, and opened fire. He himself had on a gas mask. 14 people were killed, including a 9 year-old girl while almost 50 others were wounded (ranging from stable to critical, so the number of deaths could rise). He was apprehended in the parking lot. He did not resist. He also did not say anything as to why he committed this act.

Stunned. Angry. Saddened. I don't know which emotion overwhelmed me more. I do not understand how people can be so incredibly heartless and cruel. I do not like to watch the news because of all of the incredibly insane events that take place everyday. I encounter heart wrenching acts and despicable deeds on a daily basis but I'm never numb to it.

My prayers and thoughts go out to the families effected and the victims. And Lucas, I pray you make a full recovery.

Tomorrow is not promised. Even something as innocent as going to a theater is no longer safe. Take care of each other. Love deeply and without condition.

For Ava and Miles

I had the chance to throw a baby shower for a male co-worker whose wife was pregnant (their first pregnancy) with twins, a boy and a girl. Here are just a few pictures of what I put together for Baby Ava and Baby Miles

 This HUGE mess eventually was tamed by this super cute animal bag. With twins, you have to have two of everything!

Some decorations, thanks to Pinterest! The Flower bursts are styrofoam balls and q-tips with dyed tips and the holders are votive candle holders with balloons pulled around them. About $5 total!

You can't see it from here but the cake and cupcakes are pink and blue swirled

 What is a shower without shower games! And games are more fun when there is a prize to be won!

Lollipops made from washcloths 

My diaper cake which I absolutely fell in love with! 

I only took pictures of the things at my house. At the actual party, I did not even think about taking out my camera (FAIL)!

So, as usual, I am running behind with my posting. I said that I would be posting a tip every Monday. Well, it is now a week later and here I am :)

Today, I decided that my post should focused on traveling. With the warmer weather and summer months approaching, the planning process needs to start. Here are two of the sites that are my go-to when it is time for me to go:

Flying:

Insanely Cheap Flights I once used to fall victim to looking at sites like Kayak.com, Orbitz.com, or other search engines to find the lowest airfare. I am not knocking these sites as they do show a variety of other websites for flights and compare their prices for me, which is wonderful and time saving. However, their prices pale in comparison to the flights that I have seen on Insanelycheapflights.com. 

My girlfriends and I have an annual out of state/country trip to celebrate each other's birthdays. There are 6 of us girls and our birthdays are all scattered throughout the year. With destinations such as Florida and Puerto Rico, it is important that we find good prices on our flights. Insanelycheapflights.com gives us just that. The lowest flight that we found last year for Orlando on Kayak.com was $342 with one stop. We ended up going for $237! And this is not a one-time happening. I am always finding super low deals on all airlines.

Also, consider the airline that you use in regards to their carry-on regulations. You may be able to get away with fudging the rules by bringing on a carry-on that is large and stowing it as an oversized carry-on. They take the bag at the end of the on-ramp before you board the plane and it is available plane side when you land. They do this at each stop so if you have a connecting flight, no need to worry if your luggage will meet you at your final destination as you will have it with you to take to the next plane. Down side: you must abide by carry-on rules such as the amount of liquids that you can bring with you.  Up side: you save up to $50 per bag by not checking your luggage. 

Driving:

Its not extremely cheap to use any form of transportation as they are all increasing in price to compensate for rising fuel prices. However you can save a bit by using coupons through your car insurance company. I am an Allstate member and I receive coupons every six months when I renew my membership. They are from almost every car rental service such as Alamo and Enterprise, offering such discounts as getting a day free with a two day rental, a free upgrade, or a weekend day for the price of a weekday. 

Busing:

My friends probably think that I am a spokeswoman for Megabus or have stock in the company as much as I talk about it. As a fairly new company (being around the East coast since 2008 although it began in California in 2006), Megabus is steadily growing in popularity.

This past October was packed with weddings; 4 to be exact. And I am a firm believer of attending as many weddings and baby births as possible. So I was able to make three out of the four. Let me back pedal a bit. During this time, I was also working three jobs trying to make ends meet while my husband was still unemployed? Oh, and did I mention that while I live in Northern Virginia, just 25 minutes away from DC and the weddings were in Tennessee, Roanoke, Va, and Indiana? I flew to Indiana, drove to Roanoke and took Megabus to Tennessee!

I know these aren't a huge amount of tips but this is what I usually go through to help keep more money in my pocket. 

I'm Done Procrastinating

So my "brief" hiatus has come to a close. I know what I want to do although it should not have taken me this long. I want this blog to be a mixture of my love for arts and craft while showcasing doing such on any budget but also sharing bits of my life. I mean, my outlet is crafting so the two go hand in hand.

Course is set. Direction is clear. Implementation begins now.

I have found inspiration to continue with my creative talents on a low budget from an unlikely source: working as an eligibility worker.

I recently began a new job working with social services. Well, recently is about two months ago. When I began, I knew that the one thing I would enjoy the most is making my desk space more like home. My supervisor in all her thoughtfulness made a welcome sign, gave me a glass dish with candy, and a vase filled with flowers (she had me at the welcome sign). Besides this little bit of sunshine, the drab drawers that I had to be surrounded by made me want to change everything at once.  However, I had to keep in mind that I could not make any permanent changes and that I was just beginning a new job so the amount of money and time that I could spend on sprucing up the place was going to be limited. I would add a picture or two from my wedding (truly the best day of my life) and a tape dispenser shaped like a high-heeled shoe (given to me by one of my favorite people, Lindsey Beth). This bowl held fruit which ushered in my coworkers.

If you have never worked in an office, let me just preface the next paragraph by saying the coworkers that I have are truly amazing and wonderful people and not every work environment is like this.

As fruit and candy drew people to my desk, they began asking questions.
"Where did you get that lovely bowl?"
"I bought it a few years ago. It was $35 at Kohl's but was on clearance for $5 when I got it."

"What a nice picture of your wedding! I love the frame too!"
"Thank you! I got it for $3 at the thrift store. I sanded down the pervious finish, painted and sealed it."

I should also say that I have an incredible knack for remembering bargains. I am not exaggerating at all: I can remember what I paid (and usually at what percentage off it was from the original price) and where I bought every item that I have that I got on sale. I should also say that I do not pay full price for anything, except food, unless it is at the Dollar Store. I do not haggle on prices everywhere I go. I just will not buy something unless it is on sale or I can get it at the Dollar Store. (I will refer to the Dollar Store a lot so I will use the abbreviation DS)

Among my other job tasks, I was put in charge of ordering supplies for my team. Purple, hot pink, and teal post-its for everyone! I used those little guys along with my array of highlighters to bring life to my cubicle. As the weeks progressed and I actually saw a pay check, I decided to treat myself to a trip to the DS. But first, I scoured Pinterest for ideas. I should have paid bills first as I did not have much left after leaving. As usual, Pinterest inspired me to do everything with anything I could find and I came home overwhelmed. Instead of shoving my aspirations into the basement as I usually do, I decided to start gradually (what a concept). I took a plain vase, filled it with rocks, orange silk flowers that resembled mums, and some twiggy things. It looked good but it wasn't coming together perfectly so I added a thick brown ribbon to the vase about and inch from the opening. Viola! Perfect since buying flowers every week was not working out so well for me but a floral touch is so necessary in any space. I brought my pride and joy into work the next day and received the reaction that I could not have imagined. I was pleased but my coworkers puffed up my head so much to where I thought I would explode!

Ever since then, I have been bringing in little things here and there. A few of my touches are pictured here:

Q-tips Flower bursts that I found on Pinterest that took me here.

 The DS flowers and vase

 I switched my pictures around a bit as i began to need to use my desk space.

 The rug that I purchased from Target on clearance for $7

One person out of all those kind voices resounded (and continues to) the loudest. She shares my same name and is always telling me that I went into the wrong profession. She asks, "Why are you here?!" while pointing to the various crafts that I have brought into my space. She is always encouraging me to hone in on the talents that my sweet Jesus has given to me. Her constant encouragement keeps me smiling. So this change in my attitude, this rejuvenation for my love of all things DIY and inexpensive is because of her. She refers to me as a Diva on a Dime. She has suggested that do something once a week called my Diva Tip of the Day. So every Monday, check back to see what tip I have. It will either be something crafty or something to help you find the best deals on a variety of items.

It is getting late and I should probably give my love bug some attention before we turn in for the night.

Under Construction

For the 153rd time, I am changing my background and layout. The more I see other blogs, the more I notice that mine is lacking. However, I am inspired not discouraged by this. Blogging by any means is a constant learning process from remembering to do it often (gracious, still haven't reached that point) to how you reach different audiences (guilty again of not accomplishing this). So if you'll bear with me for just a little longer, I will hopefully have everything together.

I will post again tomorrow but I just wanted to share brief note as to why my blog looks completely different every other second :)

His Diaper Bag was a Leather Coach Purse

When I look on Facebook, I am bombarded by pictures of my friends whose bellies are growing and households are extending by two precious feet.

Some are just starting on their first and others are planning for their third or fourth.

I have to admit that it makes me a little jealous sometimes. I feel that I am ready to be referred to as "mommy" other than in relation to my adopted cat. I prepare baby shower gifts as if it were for my own. I visit my friends who have just conceived and hold their little loves with longing for my own.

My husband, on the other can, is less than moved. He has always been on the fence about having children. he says that he has to do more growing up before he can even think about raising another one. Whenever I talk about having kids, he always gets a look in his eyes that is a mix of fear and sickness. Most would wonder if this would be a critical breaking point in our marriage as some have broken up because of it. However, our opposites in opinion are exactly what gets us through.

I have been an aunt since I was 16 years old. My sister had her third and final when I was 20 years old. I am the baby of my family but my sister still lived at home until she was married when I was 17. I am the godmother of my two nieces and nephew whom I spend a great deal of time with.

My husband has been an uncle since he was 10 years old from his oldest brother and the last of six was born to his younger brother two years ago. He is the baby of his family but his oldest brother had moved out before they had kids (they are 17 years apart in age). I will just admit that Krisjohn is his mother's favorite. She had him in fashion shows at Bloomingdale's, had a leather coach bag as his diaper bag (a bag that she passed down to me fore when we have one but I use as a purse because it is in immaculate condition), and basically afforded him whatever she could. He was (and is) spoiled. It only made sense that this boy who was raised like an only child would not have much interest in sharing his spoils with others, especially children whom he did not have any idea how to raise.

I have always loved being around kids. I have volunteered at a nursery or taught in a sunday school class for the littler cherubs around 4 and 5 years old at every church I have attended. I did my internship at a crisis pregnancy center and was a nanny for an autistic baby and his sister during college. Even now, I am a counselor for at-risk youth and am a part-time nanny for a family of five kids under the age of 11. Krjsohn has not been around kids as much as his brother's moved out (and away), married, and had kids before he was finished with high school.  Our backgrounds and experiences are so different but it is Krisjohn's perspective that keeps me grounded.

"I want a baby so bad, my love."
"I know but it's just not best for us right now."
"But why? So many of my friends already have one and are working on another. I feel like we are behind. I don't want to have kids when I am at an at-risk age. Why can't we start trying now?"
"Okay, we can. But just keep in mind that our insurance premium will go up (as a technical contractor, insurance is already around $600 a month just for the two of us), we will have to move to accommodate more bodies and stuff (which will definitely mean an increase in rent which for a two bedroom is already  $1200), and we would have to start saving a lot more (which means no more trips to Kohl's)."
"Fine. Be a jerk about it!"

Yes, that is usually how I end an argument: pouting and transferring blame because I know he is right. I know; very mature. But he makes me see the big picture. Having a child would require so many changes in our lives.
-I take a week-long trip at least once a year with my girlfriends to get away. Finding 24-hour childcare would be no easy or inexpensive task.
-We love to make trips to NY but with a baby, going when it is freezing weather or right in the middle of summer is not wise.
-We like to go out on weekends with our friends and stay out to the wee hours of the morning or just lay in bed watching movies and pigging out. That my not be able to continue if we have a love bug who needs our attention and educational enrichment.

These things are all pretty selfish and can be changed for a child but since we are not past that point, it is best not to even entertain it. We have only been married for 3 amazing years and are only in our mid-20s.  I am so excited to be able to be a mom when the time comes. And I know that my husband will be a great father. Even though I become impatient at times with waiting for it to come to pass, I am glad that I have friends and relatives who do not mind me stealing snuggles and love from their little ones.