christmas creativity

Something about Christmas gets my creative juices flowing.

I get this huge urge to craft and create, to give handmade gifts

and invest time in making the perfect offering for my friends and family.

Here is the first item in a clutter of gifts I'll be making this year.

Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

Isaiah 49:16
 

I'd love to know, are you doing any crafting for Christmas this year?

take a look

at these incredible chalk drawings!



Yesterday I grabbed my camera and headed to the downtown Chalk Festival. 

A city block was closed off and over 250 street painters from around the world

gathered to display their amazing talents!

The theme this year was 'halloween' (not a fan!)

but I figured there would be a huge variety of interpretations on the theme.

And I was right!

I love the 3-D quality of these two.

In person it seemed as if you could actually step down into them.



I think my favorite part though, was watching all the artists at work.

What incredible talent!



What a groovy way to spend an afternoon!



any guesses?

Give it a shot.

I'll have the answer (and the full photo) tomorrow.

sidewalk scribbles on a sunny sunday

Sunday afternoon (after going to a photography class), I came home to Sam chasing dragonflies in the front yard. I went inside to put my things away and, all of the sudden, Sam was at my side.

"Mom, come look what I made!"

"What did you make?"

"Come look, Mom! I made...ME !"

So we trotted outside to this

Sam had drawn a picture of himself with sidewalk chalk.
He was elated.
He also drew a picture of Ava (with a "really big foot").
And this "kid."

Here, he's drawing shoes on the kid because the cement was too hot for his bare feet.

And he finished with a drawing of a football (first, making sure that he counted the laces to draw it exactly right).

What do your kids like to do outside?

i did it!

For the first time ever in my 35 years...

today, I got a pedicure. 

Huge accomplishment, I know. 

Sorry to get your hopes up. 

However, it is kind of a milestone for me because I'm not a huge fan of people messing with my feet...especially my toes. For some reason I had visions of toe-excavations and huge cheese graters being used. But it wasn't like that at all. 

I have to admit, it was nice. 

The foot and leg massage, 

the exfoliating scrub, 

the hot stone treatment, 

the full body massage chair after the pedicure, 

even the complimentary frozen yogurt with hawaiian fruit...

all very nice. 

I see more pedicures in my future.

"way behind" wednesday

Ok. 

 I am way behind on my blogging. 

Blame it on my malfunctioning computer...

or uncooperative camera... 

or my Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Monday...

or the rain sweltering heat...

whatever the reason, I've got some catching up to do!

Let's start with Mother's Day.
After a (mostly) relaxing morning at home
(we go to church on Saturday night),
and some wonderful cards and gifts,
we met my parents and brother at Olive Garden for a yummy lunch
(gotta love those bread sticks and salad!).

Then we lazed around the house until early evening and met some family and friends at the beach for a cookout.

Sam, his cousins, and friends had a great time jumping waves, playing with boogie boards and digging humungous trenches in the sand.

The dads cooked up some mean hamburgers and hot dogs, and wrestled each other into the water (Marko has a broken toe to show for it {shaking head}....BOYS!!)
And the mommas...relaxed!

This was Ava's first time at the beach (even though we only live 20 mins away from it...sad. I know.) and she did really good. She liked the sand and the water (a BIG plus, since I hope to be there a lot this summer!) but wasn't too crazy about the wind.

All in all, it was a fabulous day!

honestly...

I've been tagged!

 

Tessa over at A Bundle of Blessings tagged me with an Honest Scrap Award. 

Here's  the deal...I share 10 things with you about myself, and then I tag 10 others to do the same. Like I said here, I'm a total sucker for these kind of things! 

So, here we go...

1. I used to clog in middle and high school. For those of you who do not know what clogging is, it's basically redneck Riverdance. I loved it, and my feet still move automatically when I hear a song that I used to dance to.

2. I've always dreamed of recording a CD. Below is probably the closest thing I'll ever get to it (I'm the chick to the left). This is a live recording that my church did about 2 years ago (the sound is NOT the greatest). 

3. I once had a pet skunk...de-scented, of course. He still smelled.

4. My favorite car in the whole world is a Mini Cooper. If they made one into an SUV I would jump for joy! 'Course then it wouldn't be nearly as cute.

5. I could probably eat pizza every day of my life and be happy. Hawaiian and White pizza are my favorite.

6. I have never had a cup of coffee. Ever. Peppermint Mocha Creme Frappuccinos on the other hand...a totally different story!

7. I love period movies. The A&E version of Pride & Prejudice is one of my all-time favorites. 

8. I am a pattern junkie...scrapbook paper, fabric, wallpaper...if it has a funky, vibrant, or beautiful pattern I can't get enough of it!

 

9. My husband's family and my family have known each other our entire lives, yet we didn't meet until I was 18 and he was 23...on a camping trip set up by a mutual friend! We are the two smack dab in the middle. And, ahem, please keep in mind that this was 1994.

10. I lived in the same house from birth 'til the day I was married. Then my husband and I moved 6 times in the next five years. Minus the actual moving (packing, transporting, unpacking) I really enjoy moving to new places and having a change of scenery. (This picture cracks me up...who does this??)

So, there you go...my 10 things. 

And the 10 people I'm tagging are:

Heather @ Traveling Down the Tracks of Life with D&H

Joye @ The Joyeful Journey

Gail @ Delightfully Diva-ish

Sami @ Sailor & Company

Mama M. @ My Little Life

Lindsay @ Because He Gave

Tiffany @ A Moment Cherished

Monica @ Pixel Perfect

Kristy @ PaisleyJade

Beth @ I Should Be Folding Laundry

drum roll please...

But first, I need to vent. 

Does anyone else have a babe that is stuck to you like glue??

Seriously, 

Ava is a BIG TIME momma's girl right now.

For the past couple of days she has flat-out refused (read: screamed at the top of her LUNGS!) to be held by anyone but me. 

It's exhausting.

And I'm totally open to suggestions on how to ease her out of this phase (if possible!)

Ok, enough about me. 

On to the real reason that you're here...the winner!

Well, I guess mystery picture #2 wasn't that tough either.

Almost everybody got it right!

The correct answer is 

MILK JUG.

  And thanks to Sam and a bunch of numbers, 

the winner is...

SAMI! 

(email me and I'll get the necklace out to you this week)

Thanks for playing.

Next week's photo is going to be a hum-dinger (I promise!).

mystery photo giveaway #2

Ok All, here is the next photo to decipher.

Since everyone had such and easy time with the last one, I'm making this one harder. 

Can you guess what it is?

If you guess correctly, you could be randomly chosen to receive this...

...a 20" tumbled stone necklace by Sweet P Jewels (moi!).
So guess away! You have until Monday at 5pm to enter.

Happy guessing!

how to become unproductive in 6 easy steps

Step 1: Give birth to one child.

Step 2: Spend large amounts of time holding, nursing, soothing, playing with, changing, and bathing said child.

Step 3: Finally get child to sleep at 11:30 p.m.

Step 4: Stay up until 2 a.m. blogging. (This step must not be skipped!)

Step 5: Wake up at 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. to feed child.

Step 6: Try to get up at 7 a.m.

Repeat as necessary. Guaranteed to be unproductive in 1-3 days.

five question friday

 

 

 

Ok, so  I'm fresh outta things to say for the moment so I thought I'd cheat a little and do Five Question Friday today. Here goes...

1. Did you pass your driver's test on the first try?

 

Yes. BUT, I did not have to parallel park. Is that cheating?

2. What is your most embarrassing moment?

 

Okay, you should know that I go to great lengths to avoid embarrassment. GREAT LENGTHS! Sadly, my four yr old did not get this memo and asks me things in public, at the top of his lungs that would make a sailor blush. Ok, not that kind of stuff. But, questions like; "What's that smell...did you just toot?!?" or (about a woman wearing guy-ish clothes right next to us) "Is that a man or a girl?....No, I think it's a man!" and my personal favorite, "Mom, I gotta POOP!"

3. What TV show would you like to be on- Oprah, Biggest Loser, or What Not to Wear?

 

Oh, please, pu-leeez, put me on What Not To Wear! I could withstand the mocking, knowing that $5000 worth of clothes is coming my way! 

4. Would you ever get plastic surgery and what kind?

 

Um, ok. Here's the thing. I KNOW I should be happy with the body God gave me. And I was (mostly) until I had kids. But now that my middle has been stretched to the sun and back, I'd gladly accept a tummy tuck if someone offered it to me. But they never will. So, no. I'd never get plastic surgery. 

5. What are your favorite jeans to wear?

 

Ones that fit! I'm no respecter of jeans. 

 

 

 

So, there you go. Now mosey on over to Mama M.'s and see what everyone else is saying. Have a GREAT weekend! 

stay tuned...

After being off the computer for a few days, I've got lots of thoughts swirling around in my head. As soon as I get them sorted out I'll share them with you. 

In the meantime, I've got a mystery for you.

Anybody know what this is?

If you guess correctly you could own this bracelet by Sweet P Jewels (that's me).

raw(e) crayons

It's Monday, and that means another RAW(e) photo contest from Sami!

Just point and click. No touch-ups, or modifications.

This week the theme is crayons.

Now hop on over to Sami's and check out the other photos.

my abc's

Ok, I have a confession to make.

I am a sucker for finding-stuff-out-about-people lists! I love to read them, love to make them.

So, let the games begin...

A - Age: 35 (and now officially one of those people that says, "But, I still feel like I'm 18!")
B - Bed size: King
C - Chore you hate: Washing the floor
D - Dinner favorite: Tilapia with a slab of lemon herb butter (baked in foil packets), broccoli and crescent rolls.
E - Essential start your day item: Breakfast!
F - Favorite color: Turquoise or Bright Green
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 5'
I - Instruments you play(ed): None, sadly. I have hopes to learn to play the piano in the next few years though.
J - Job title: SAHM , but the list could go on for pages!
K - Kid(s): Samuel and Ava
L - Living arrangements: Small-ish house with a small-ish yard on a quiet street.
M - Mom's name: Andrea, but everyone calls her Andi
N - Nicknames: Lees, Bev (short for Beverly, which a friend in h.s. started calling me because it rhymed with my last name, Eberly. Beverly Eberly...hilarious.)
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: D & C gone awry
P - Pet Peeve: People that are ALWAYS complaining!
Q - Quote from a movie: "You smell like beef and cheese"
R - Right or left handed: Left, but I cut with my right hand.
S - Siblings: Mark, Matt
T - Time you wake up: between 6-7a.m.
U - Underwear: Essential
V - Vegetable you dislike: Okra. The slimy, hairy combo sends me over the edge.
W - Ways you drink your coffee: Disguised as a Frappuccino
X- X-rays you've had: Teeth, chest, neck, back
Y - Yummy food you make: Lasagna
Z - Zoo favorite: Dolphins

five question friday

1. What is better, growing old with out money or dying young and wealthy?
Hmmm...the part I'm stuck on is "without money." Is this like, no money and starving? Or just poor. Poor I can do..starving, different story! So, I guess I'll go with old and almost no money!

2. Who takes out the garbage at your house?
Mostly, my husband. I've only done it a handful of times in 14 years.

3. Have you ever had the same dream many times?
Yes, several in fact. One of them being that my man and I are trying to get alone so we can..um...fold laundry ;o) and we keep getting interrupted. Oh wait! That happens in real life too!

4. Can you play a musical instrument?
Not even a little. I hope to change that someday and learn how to play the piano.

5. If you owned your own store, what would you sell?
Let's see, it would have to be something that I didn't want so I wouldn't hoard everything and go bankrupt! Probably baby stuff. Who am I kidding...I'd keep all that too.