Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Pinned It and Did It!

I'll admit it:  I wasn't a huge fan of Pinterest when I first found it.  It seemed difficult to use and I just couldn't understand what all of the fuss was about.  But then I tried it again and I found it to be much more user-friendly. 

And now?  Well, now I'm a Pinterest junkie.  I love looking at all of the creative ideas that exist in the world and it inspires me to try new things. 

I found this cute little birdie one day and thought that it looked like just the kind of quick and easy project I like:
Pinned Image
Source:  Pinterest via Yuzo Fujii; Original Source:  Misseskwitty's Flickr Photostream
So...I made one.  Oh, yeah.  I finally made something that I had pinned!

Here's my version:


My little bird now lives on top of our TV cabinet:


I'm having fun adding little accents around our home.  Even better?  Using stuff that I already have. 

It makes me feel better about my borderline-hoarding of craft supplies.  : )

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Getting Hammered.

I've been a little stressed out lately.  Trust me when I say that:

Thoughtless people + The need for confrontation = One miserable Me

Ordinarily I would address this situation (or at least avoid it) with the assistance of Chocolate, but Chocolate and I aren't speaking right now, what with the big Lent thing and all.  I tried turning to Chester Cheetah and his yummy Day-Glo orange Cheetos, but I ran out of those sometime on Thursday so I needed a different fix. 

What's a girl to do when there are no more snacks in the house?  Grab a hammer, that's what.  I spent an entire afternoon hanging empty picture frames in one corner of my living room and I could not be happier with the result. 

I can't decide whether to call this "Free Therapy"  or "Quick!  Get this girl some Xanax!" 


I feel much better now...except for one thing:  Jason has hidden my hammer.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Hello Monday.

Today I'm saying...
  • Hello Monday!
  • Hello first Monday alone in three weeks (Connor was home two weeks ago for his Spring Break; Jason was home last week for his).
  • Hello BEAUTIFUL weather!  Seriously makes me want to break out in song, but that might compete with the beauty (and not in a good way).
  • Hello (and good-bye) to a giant spider who was found checking out my Betty Crocker Cookbook.  Charlotte has been relocated per our Spider-catch-and-release-Program.  Perhaps I'll let her back in if she's willing to cook dinner.
  • Hello 49-item To-Do list.  May I find the energy and motivation to tackle many items this week!
  • Hello to a book I'm reading called Simplicity Parenting.  I love that it describes children as being from "Planet Slow."  That is certainly true of my little one.
  • Hello to making an effort to slow down with my child instead of constantly rushing him.
  • Hello to time spent blowing bubbles, drawing Rainbow Villages with sidewalk chalk, and playing catch outside every day this week!
Happy Monday!

...linking up with Lisa Leonard Designs

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Connor Cat.

I don't usually share pictures of Connor on my blog, but I couldn't resist sharing this:


Connor went to a birthday party last Saturday and face painting was a major attraction for C and his friends.  They all looked so good! 

Today is my first day at home in a long while and the chores are stacked against me.  First on my list is a lot of work-work.  Lot's of grading and emails to send.  Midterm grades are due on Monday (already!) so it's time to get my gradebook in order.

Laundry is in progress, unloading the dishwasher is next.  Exciting stuff.  Hopefully I'll have a little time to work on my "Make it in March" challenge.  Who knew that March was going to usher in such a crazy busy schedule for this work at home mom?  Perhaps I should have made my declaration of craftiness in February.  I don't remember it being quite so busy.

I have managed to complete one little art project.  I've always been pretty traditional in terms of art, but lately I've seen a lot of contemporary pieces on Pinterest that have really appealed to me.  I've been thinking about trying to make two large "pictures" for my living room, but I wanted to try my idea on a much smaller scale first.  So here goes...


Definitely imperfect and the jury is still out, but it felt really good to just do something. 

Friday, March 2, 2012

March 2 much to do.

Okay.  Here's the scoop.  I started a craft yesterday and it failed.
Big time.

So I started another craft today and there is an 80% chance that this one is going to fail as well.

Time will tell.

All is not lost, however, because today I made significant progress with organizing the pile of Connor's school work that has haunted me for far too long.  I have a really, really hard time tossing anything that he has done. 
  • Worksheets?  I've kept them. 
  •  Artwork?  I've kept it. 
  • Random scraps of construction paper stapled together?  I'm got them! 
Seriously out of control.

The sorting has started and now I'm looking for a great way of storing the items that we are going to keep.  Perhaps I'll find some ideas on Pinterest?  : )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In other news, I went to Connor's class today to read The Cat in the Hat Comes Back in honor of  Dr. Seuss' birthday.  It was a lot of fun and t reminded me of how much I used to enjoy doing social skills groups with elementary kiddos back in the day.

Tonight, Connor attended his first school carnival.  His favorite activity was the bounce house. 

Tomorrow is a classmate's birthday party and a visit to Grammie and Grampy's new house. 

Busy days!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Make it in March.

In my efforts to avoid (A) working and (B) cleaning, I have spent the morning (and part of the afternoon) trolling Pinterest (again) and I've just had a great idea:

WHY DON'T I STOP LOOKING AND ACTUALLY MAKE SOMETHING or DECORATE SOMETHING or ORGANIZE SOMETHING???

Why don't I?
Because I'm lazy, that's why.

But what if I wasn't lazy?
What if I challenged myself to make, decorate, or organize something EVERY SINGLE DAY THIS MONTH?

What would I accomplish?

I guess I'll find out because I'm doing it! 
And guess what else?

I'm going to do it using only what I have in my house right this very minute.

That's right.

My first project is actually in progress and will be ready to post tomorrow...

I'm excited to...
Pinned Image
Source:  Pinterest via Eliza De La Portilla; Original source:  1.bp.blogspot.com