Finally Friday

Not that it matters much around here for me since my class is a Thursday through Wednesday class instead of Monday through Sunday, but Jarell being home for the weekend is ALWAYS the best part of the week whether he’s been working here locally like this week, or out of town.

I’ve been a busy bee lately between gardening, baby creating, (and creating for the baby), working on assignments, trying to get some cleaning done (not much, but some…), and running the various errands that go with my life. Monday I hit some thrift stores with J11 to look for some clothes for our annual Sisk Birthday bash that’s coming up. If you’re new around here, you won’t know there are 14 kids in my husband’s family, each name starting with the letter J (hence J11 is the 11th child) and, even with 2 kids who are still strict Jehovah’s witnesses, 1 that lives out of state, 1 we prefer to pretend doesn’t exist, and one we don’t see very often because her life is “complicated”, that’s still 9 birthdays to celebrate every year. A lot of those birthdays happen to fall in April so to make things easier, several years ago we started doing annual birthday parties for the April birthdays. This year, we’re combining everyone’s birthdays into one big event (yours truly included) to make things a little easier on this mama to be. The theme this year cracks me up because it is so appropriate for us. We’re doing a Redneck Bash. So the trip to the store was necessary in order to get Jarell a shirt I could rip the sleeves off for his costume. I myself plan to be ‘barefoot and pregnant’ which is just too easy, but should be fun.

While out at the thrift stores I scored some adorable baby clothes for super cheap (think 90 cents a piece!) so that made for a fun day.

Tuesday I overdid it in the garden getting corn, beans, okra, tomatoes, carrots, peppers, eggplant, and quinoa seeds in the ground. That evening I had to have Jarell just about carry me because with my hip problems + that wonderful hormone, relaxin, I took about 2 steps from the couch and got stuck. The pain was literally too much for me to move. So Wednesday I took a lukewarm bath with epsom salts to loosen things up again and took the day easy by helping my mother in law pick out plants for a flower bed around her house. We got mulch to fill in and spent the last hour tearing out weeds and the super invasive but delicious smelling chocolate mint that had gone haywire there. J12, 13, and 14 helped out to varying degrees- they’re practically grown up and at that age, but still really good kids so they pitched in. I hope to get over there this weekend with Jarell to finish the job.

Yesterday I spent too much time online entering giveaways for diapers and other baby stuff- figured hey why not. When I decided I’d had enough of that, I got to work in the garden again, this time digging a 16 foot long by 8 inch deep by 8-10 inch wide trench for my asparagus crowns. I’m glad to finally have them in the ground because I really want an asparagus bed and I was dreading the work that went with it. I took the tortoise way out and went slow and steady so it wasn’t so bad. I even took a break in the middle to plant zinnias next to my beans since they’re supposed to be a good companion plant.  Last but not least I set up a bed with some yellow straight neck squash inter-planted with nasturtiums for bug control. I’m really getting into companion planting this year because I want my garden to produce as much as possible so I can preserve it and feed us this winter. Its a huge undertaking, but having a baby on the way is a big motivator.

Today I’ll be hitting the library, doing an assignment, and then getting back in the garden to try and finish up with a few more things. This weather has been beautiful, but its crazy. My daffodils, crocuses, tulips and grape hyacinths (muscari) are all blooming at the same time and on Wednesday I saw irises blooming down the road! Fought off the first mosquitoes of the season yesterday and the ticks have been out for several weeks. I’m not complaining tho because getting the garden in now is a blessing since bending over is getting uncomfortable. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures soon to verify all this hard work but for now, Happy Friday!

Oh and a P.S. if you’re on Pinterest, come hang out with me here!

Christmas is coming

I’ve been crafting up a storm getting ready for Christmas, but despite the fact that I’m supposed to be a photographer, you wouldn’t know it because I just haven’t been taking pictures much and the few that I have are taken with my cell which makes for less than quality pics. So because I love you my wonderful (albeit mostly silent *hint hint*) readers, I decided to dig up the camera, find my lenses, and take some pictures. I took pictures of all the hair and jewelry pieces I’ve made and as a bonus, I got shots of our newly remodeled guest room just for giggles. The crafty shots don’t include then knitted items I’ve made, but that’s because the ones that are finished have already been wrapped.

If you’ve seen the show, The Walking Dead, you will appreciate the significance of these ears, but if not, I’ll let you assume that I’m just crazy and decided to make my husband a necklace of ears….

$150 bed from Craigslist equals a beautiful guest room that seems almost too good to be true not to mention nicer than my own bedroom set *sighs*

Pardon the blurry shot- ornaments and paper cut outs hanging in a frame from an old mirror courtesy of my step-mom

Who would want to leave a room with a tv this nice? I need to figure out how to hide the cords, but I love it.

I would so sleep in this room myself if it weren’t for the fact that the paint is still off-gassing and its probably not a good idea given that I’m incubating a tiny being. (I’ve got another ultrasound appointment early tomorrow morning so we’ll be one step closer to discovering if it is a human or alien being)

So the pictures are not even remotely what I’d consider photographer quality, but nevertheless, they are pictures 🙂

Picture day

Working on prototypes for the wedding bouquet.

My colors are red and turquoise and I had some red and blue streamers on hand so I played around with different shapes and styles

No I’m not afraid of the camera… I think I was talking
This dress was a 22 and even in my largest days I’ve never been that big so forgive the gaping back

My favorite dress at the time. Something about it made me want it so bad…

But then again with an $800 price tag, I think I’ll shop around a bit more

Last but never least, the view outside my house ;D

Further Commentary on Always

So I was happily reading my new BHG magazine the other day (the first of a three year subscription for $2o Awesome) and all of a sudden I come across an ad for none other than Always new overnight something or others. So of course I look for their slogan and lo and behold it says in plain print– have a happy period. Now some of you might say these are just well wishes and your periods really aren’t that bad or better yet, you don’t have to deal with that any more. I have heard often that menopause sucks and believe me I’m totally not ready for it yet, but periods are no cake walk. I have the bad ones where I bleed profusely with no pain and the bad ones where I stay curled in a fetal position with little bleeding. Yes this is TMI but it has a point. I also have the rare just annoying one where I am simply bitchy, bloated, tired, hungry, emotional, and in general a wreck. That was what the most recent one was like when I sent my MIL a how I really feel about her text that still hasn’t blown over and for those of you who have used your monthly visitor as an excuse to tell someone what you really truly think of them with no remorse afterwards, that was what I did. So naturally when I saw the ad I laughed out loud and ripped it right out of my brand new magazine. I carried it back to my craft room and left it there to think about what it had done till I was ready to decide what to do with it. I was back there last night at 11:30 ish unable to sleep when I remembered the vintage science book I had dismantled a couple of weeks ago. I dug through the pages a bit and Eureka! There was a diagram for a flower. Flowers over the ages have often been used as a symbol of all things female and this struck me as particularly appropriate. The result?

Why this of course

Have a happy evening folks

Saturdays at home

It’s April 12th everybody and here in Missouri central, it is snowing. It isn’t sticking, but it is definitely snowing. I can’t say how I feel about this because we were kinda short of snow this year, but I love spring and all the green things too. I worry that it will kill all my bulb plants like it did last year tho and that is not a happy thought. We got our other camera in the mail today which is a good thing because I seem to have lost the good Kodak. Not sure how I managed this but I did. Anyway, getting the camera gives me the opportunity to take some pics of my swap items and my stuff that I have been half heartedly working on for etsy. I have been embroidering a doll all over, but I don’t know where I’m going with it. Right now its just a bunch of random swilrs and a flower and spider web looking thingy. Strange, yes? I also have the puzzled doll that never got any further than the beaded bird on her front. I’ve been sidetracked by so many other things that this is kinda taking a back burner. I think I may try some other things like painting and air dry clay and such. I’m not sure yet. But my dolls haven’t really gotten a very strong response as of yet.
Well shoot just turned the camera on and it appears to be shot. What the heck? Its just got a white screen with a black line down the middle. So much for that idea. Off to find the kodak.

I did it again!

I made it thru after umpteen tries and here I am to tell you that there is really nothing new to report. I’ve begun a doll with a puzzle piece shape inspired by a toy shelf in the movie Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. (http://www.magorium.com) She has a Dotee doll face because I’ve been dying to use one of those, and so far has a beaded bird on her front. I’d gladly post a picture but in the same week I doused my phone in water, killing the camera, and accidentally left our digital camera in Florida. Its return is pending. So no pics for a while. I’m also working on a couple more of those hanging candle holders that I have in my etsy shop but the posting of them will again have to wait till I have a functioning camera. Sucks that we lost the charger for our really awesome Kodak EZ share because I’d be in photo heaven if I had that thing running. But we haven’t been able to bring ourselves to spend $4o on a new charger yet. *sigh* On the garden front I planted some tulips, more grape hyacinths, a stargazer lily, some mixed basil seed, and some tomato seed outside yesterday. I’ve got to get them watered today but its a definite start on the outdoor garden. I’ve got to wait on my dad to do the big one but I bought a lot of seeds to go in it. I’m going to have a pumpkin and ornamental squash patch along with like three different kinds of zucchini (who doesn’t love zucchini, right?) and cantaloupes too. I haven’t got any watermelon seed yet but I will before too long. Do I seem a bit obsessed? Well I am. Growing things is like breathing for me– necessary. In a way its another form of creation with an outdoor twist. I love the feeling of knowing that the things that come out of my garden will feed my family and friends and hopefully cut down on our expenses just a little. I plan to learn to can and I may ask to borrow my dad’s dehydrator because I’m expecting a lot from my garden this year. I just hope we don’t let each other down. On that note, I’ll leave you to contemplate other things, but I hope to be back tomorrow if I can make this machine work.

Sproing!!! Sproing Sproing

No I’m not completely mental, just a little bit. I’m just happy because spring seems to finally be showing its little head around my house. I went outside today to check on my babies and as they were running and jumping after I let them out of the fence I decided to investigate my bulb plantings. And I am ecstatic to say that many of them are grinning up at me from above the ground. There were hyacinths, lilies, irises, and grape hyacinths along with the ever present wild garlic all topside now. No actual flowers but lots of green that wasn’t there two weeks ago and the hyacinth is even going so far as to have buds showing. I’m absolutely in heaven because that is definitely one of my favorite smells in the whole world. Jasmine, roses, wisteria, hyacinths, irises, freesia and gardenias all make me smile for hours. On a stranger note, I’m beginning to be a bit suspicious of Tink’s marked weight gain over the last few weeks. I can’t say anything for sure but she seems to be getting wider and I’m a bit nervous that the increase may mean puppies. I’d be happy but Jarell maybe probably would not. Little Pepper is getting bigger but I realized the other day that she’s the same age now as Tink was when we got her and only about half the size. This may not seem that odd, but Tink only got a little bit bigger and is a very diminuitive Labrabor by most standards. I’m hoping this means that Pepper will be small because big dogs are a little harder to contain. She might be Beagle which Jarell would like. We’ll see I guess. But thats enough about flowers and puppy dogs for now. I’m off to do something productive.