On Blogging...

At some point, every blogger blogs about blogging. (Say that 3 times..!)
I've been thinking a lot about my blog but haven't taken the time to sit down and articulate my thoughts very well. What better place to do it than here!

First of all, I love blogging. It's fun for me. It's a creative outlet that I really enjoy. It's a place I love to share and get ideas.  It's also a place that friends and family can keep up with our lives. I absolutely love (and am humbled) that people are actually inspired by my blog. When someone tells me that because of my blog,  they busted out the sewing machine that's been collecting dust, I'm so excited for them. I especially love helping people see the potential in ordinary, old, seemingly-hopeless items or furniture. I love sharing thrifty ways to redecorate and ways to save money. I just really like blogging.

I don't see an end in sight with my blogging career, I am just starting to wonder what it is going to look like. The question every blogger asks, "Can I make money off my blog?" has of course been running through my mind. It pretty much as been for a year or so after I had friend from high school contact me and tell me that he saw potential in my blog and thought I should monitize. I mean what creative woman doesn't want their job to be crafting and blogging about it?!

BUT, the more important question I have been asking is, is this something God wants me to do or is it something I'm taking on that he hasn't called me to do? Can blogging be glorifying to him or will it take away from areas that I know he HAS called me to (marriage, Adelyn, friendships, part-time work). Is this something HE is putting in front of me or have I taken the reigns without listening? Just lots if questions...

While in the midst of processing these questions, I found myself in a meeting with a guy I know from church who happens to be a web developer. He graciously agreed to meet with me and talk though what it would look like to have a blog like mine that generates income. As we navigated the waters of google search engines, meta-coding, blogger, wordpress, affiliates, domains, etc. I walked away from that meeting feeling a range of emotions. Excited, overwhelmed, confused, unsettled, eager to start but still very unclear about what I wanted.

That meeting was over a week ago so I've had some more time to process. At this point I know the following:

• Of course I would like to see my blog grow-but I also am determined to not change what I write about for that purpose.  I want to remain genuine, personal, informal, and free to write about a multitude of topics and not be tied down to a specific category.
• I don't want blogging to feel like a job. This is what I most fear about moving into monetizing my blog. Sometimes I just don't have anything to post about and I want that to be ok. 
• I realize that once Adelyn is born, I won't be able to do as much crafting, re-purposing, house projects, sewing, and thrifting as I now do. I'm an ambitious gal but I've heard an infant can slow down the busiest of women. My blog will probably morph into more mommy and baby stuff despite my best efforts.
• I realize that keeping blogging as a hobby and not treating it as a job will probably hold it back from being a "big timer" blog. I have to be ok with that.
• I DO want to give my blog a fair chance to grow, despite my opposition of making a commitment to be a full time blogger. I pretty much want to keep doing what I'm doing but set it up in a way that is more user friendly and easily accessible to search engines.

I'm pretty much a paradox right now. Trust me, it's more confusing in my mind than what it is when I write it out. Then add some pregnancy hormones to that and you get a very confused, passionate woman who can't make up her mind on what she wants.

So here's where I'm at: I'm going to take baby steps forward with Learn and Go. It started with creating a Facebook Group.  My web-designer buddy (Josh) has sold me on the benefits of moving my blog to Wordpress so that will eventually be the next step. After that, I'm really not sure! I may add some ads but I don't think my 300 hits a day will total up to much right now but I will eventually be moving in the direction of affiliates and adsense if it will earn a little something. Even if it's just enough to cover my crafting budget, I'd be thrilled!

But who really knows...

One of my favorite quotes is, "Men plan, God laughs."
I'm sure I will find this to be true, not only in my vision of my future but also with whatever direction this blog decides to go.

P.S.
If you made it all the way to the end of this post, consider yourself a true follower :)

Dogs Can Garden Too!

Remember our garden I happily posted about a few days ago?? 

 Well, SOMEONE thought it would be good to do a little gardening of their own.

When I got home from work today, I discovered this...

 The pictures don't quite capture how deep this hole really is.

 I'm not exaggerating when I tell you the hole is close to a foot deep.

 Both dogs displayed evidence of guilt: Sophie's muddy paws

 Chauncey's muddy nose.

Apparently the fence protecting the garden serves absolutely no purpose. 

Luckily, they decided to do their gardening in a spot where nothing was planted yet. If they would have dug up a planted area, they would have had a hormonal, ranting pregnant woman mad at them. Nobody wants that.

Wheat Rolls: FAIL

 This afternoon I was feeling ambitious. I decided to attempt to make homemade rolls for dinner. I've never made my own bread but thought it couldn't be that hard, right? Wrong. Well at least not with the recipe I found.


Instead of kneading it myself, I decided to put the good ol Kitchen Aid Mixer to work. Maybe I should have taken its response as an omen to my future rolls. (Watch the video below)

 My mixer literally took on a life of its own while kneading it. I was cracking up. My next instruction was to let the dough rise for 1-2 hours in a warm place. So I warmed up the oven, then turned it off and put the ball of dough in there and covered it.

 Thirty minutes later I decided to take a peek at its progress and about jumped out of my shoes when I saw it had risen to this! I figured it needed a bowl upgrade so I took it out and put it in a bigger bowl more accommodating to its size. 

 Much better. Back in the oven for more rising.

 After an hour or so of rising I pulled out the dough rolled it into balls and put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes of rising. They were looking very promising. Austin was even giving the rolls a thumbs up.

 We were both naively excited at this point.

 Well, the rolls came out we had a little taste test before dinner. We both wore expressionless looks as we chewed the fresh hockey puck rolls. "Maybe with a little butter and honey they would be better?" I suggested through laughter. I'll be honest, they weren't good. There were way too dense and had a dry/wheaty taste. We both attempted them again with butter and honey and didn't make it too far. Honestly, it made me laugh more than anything. Sadly, we ended up throwing them away. At least the doggies liked them I guess.

Garden is Growing

Well, we did it!
Our garden vegetables are growing as I write this. My back hurts like crazy but the dang thing is done.

 It was a poor sight to see this morning.

 The garden had become dumping grounds for the dogs. It also served as a digging hole for Chauncey when he got bored. Needless to say, there was a lot work work to be done.

 We combed it out, dug out weeds, filled the holes, de-pooped it, and mixed in a few bags of organic miracle grow.

 After that we sectioned it off and planted! We ended up not doing the potatoes. They needed more space to grow than we were willing to give up.

 After planting, we fenced it off to prevent the doggies from intruding. They'll have to find somewhere else to dig and dump now. :)

 We didn't water it because the forecast was calling for rain. Glad we didn't! We got lots of rain tonight. Hopefully not too much!

Hopefully healthy, organic veggies are on their way!

Changing Table is Done

You've probably seen the changing table makeover a few times but I realized that I never made an official before and after post about it.

 In case you forgot, I scored this dresser on Craig's List for $40.00. It started out like this...

Then looked like this...

 Then started to look like this...

 And turned out like this!!

 

 I lined the drawers with fun scrapbook paper. To see details on how I did it, visit this post.

I love love love the way it turned out. 

Week 25 Update

Week 25

Adelyn is the size of an eggplant

Well, hello my little eggplant. Glad the most recent ultrasound shows you are growing just like you should be!

I'm kind of in that stage where it feels like I've been pregnant forever and it feels like it's still going to be forever until we actually have Adelyn with us. If it weren't for the increasing kicks, I'd be a little bored with being pregnant. Is that bad? There just isn't much to do right now except for wait. 

Here's the rundown on the past few weeks:

Maternity Clothes? Thanks to good friends, Rachel and Jen, my maternity wardrobe had tripled. They graciously are letting me borrow some of their maternity clothes. It's nice to have options again. 

Stretch Marks? Nada. Unless you count stretching marks on my clothing.

Sleep? Eh. Not bad but not great. I have good nights and then bad nights. Last night was a bad night. In the middle of the night I woke up to a horrible leg cramp. My intense, "Owe owe owe owe owe" scared Austin half to death.

Movement? Oh ya. I can pretty much tell which way she is positioned depending on which rib she is attempting to dislodge. We've also hit the stage where we can feel her from the outside. She kind of plays Hide and Go Seek with us though. She'll be kicking away at one spot and the second I have Austin try to feel it, she'll stop. Little rascal. 

I've also learned that talking about the baby kicking weirds some people out- particularly high school girls. At lunch the other day I mentioned that the baby was kicking (as we were eating) and one girl looked at my like I had three heads. I'll have to be a bit more discerning who to share certain details with. Haha.

Mood Swings? Yes. Not so much the uncontrollable weeping associated with pregnant women. Just more of a irritability/crankiness. I feel like I've been more short with people- particularly Austin. We had to have some -ahem-marital reconciliation last night because "the 'tude" I've recently been getting. Those conversations are never fun especially when you know you are the culprit.

I also have found myself worrying a lot more than I usually do. I just get fixated on something and get super stressed about it and totally lose perspective. For example, last week I was in tears because I was convinced our dog Sophie had cancer and was going to die. Sounds laughable now but any pregnant/hormonal woman can relate to how convincing emotions can be.

Cravings? Lately soda has sounded really good. I don't really drink soda- especially since I got pregnant but anytime I see someone with one I just want it! My aversion to minty flavored gum had grown stronger. I can hardly be in the car or in a small space with someone who had gum in. It's weird.

Gender? Confirmed again at our most recent ultrasound. Girl.

Labor Signs? Nope. Labor is something I have been thinking about a bit more. At our last appointment I talked to my doctor more about two vessel cord babies and their deliveries. She told me she was pretty sure I wouldn't go past my due date. Most likely one or two weeks early. I don't mind that at all!

Belly Button? Looks the same to me.

What I Miss? My normal jeans.

What I'm Looking Forward To? Lots of stuff. I have a baby shower coming up in a month. My besties will be in town staying with me that weekend so I'm pretty excited about that. Also- my mom scored a baby jogger on Craig's List!! It was originally sold new at $350 and she got it for $75. Boom!

What I'm nervous about? Not being able to fit back into my old clothes. Breast feeding. Sleep deprivation. Going from two salaries to one. Am I preparing enough? Etc. Etc. Etc. I told you, I'm a nervous person right now.

Weekly Wisdom? I've been clinging to a few verses lately.  

"Lead me to the rock that is higher than I..." Psalm 61:2

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11

"O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me." Psalm 131:1-2

Milestones: I've been noticing that Adelyn responds to noises. Particularly when the dogs bark really close to me or if I play music right by my stomach.

Currently Reading

This book was lent to me by someone who thought I would enjoy it. Boy, was she right! The author is a witty, entertaining, genuine, 30 year old who has compiled 40 short essays, each an exploration of something mundane and wonderful. As a Christian woman and mother she has a way of making the most ordinary stories and moments something entertaining and to be learned from. 

 

I'm also slowly working through this book, A Praying Life. Gosh, it's good. I'll be honest, I'm always hesitant to read books on prayer because it makes me realize how much I don't do it enough. And yes, as expected, I've felt convicted of not being the prayer warrior that I could be. However, I have felt so encouraged by this book as well as motivated to pray more (not guilt tripped into praying more). It's given me a fresh perspective on my relationship with God and my approach and reasons to pray. Really really good!

I LOVE book recommendations so if you ever have one, please send them my way.

I Can't Stop Giggling

Seriously, for the last 10 minutes I've been in a constant state of giggling while browsing a website I found. Let me explain...

Most avid phone texters can relate to the woes of the auto-correct feature. I've had my share of misplaced words that go unedited before sent to friends or family. It can be confusing and really embarrassing if the wrong word is misplaced.

Well, I stumbled on this website where people can share their embarrassing/slightly inappropriate texts they sent that had been incorrectly auto-corrected. Haha.

http://damnyouautocorrect.com/

Baby Shoes

I can't get over how cute these turned out!

 I found the tutorial to make them at Stardust Shoes. It was super easy to follow her instructions.

I actually made another pair that same night. Still working on accessorizing them a bit before their big reveal :)

The Joys of Craig's List

 I have a strong Love/Hate relationship with Craig's List.

Love it for obvious reasons: great deals, local, unique finds, etc. Hate it for mainly one reason: Unreliable people. I think the anonymity of buying and selling on Craigs List makes people flake out more on their commitments. I'm always a little leery of  my business dealings but the lure of a good deal always brings me back to browse. 

Lately, I've been a stalker of the Baby & Kids section. What I discovered is that there is an abundance of baby swings selling for around $20. I was registered for a baby swing at Target that costs around $130. Wowza. I couldn't bring myself to allow my family and friend to pool together $130+ for a swing that I could very easily get for $20.  So I've been on the hunt for a baby swing. And boy did I hunt...

See all the links in purple? Those are ones that I clicked on at one point or another. Yikes. That's embarrassing. Anyway...









I'd emailed a few people here and there trying to nail down a good deal. I eventually landed on one that I liked.  Pretty new, $20, good ratings, etc. After some emailing, we arranged a time to meet.

I met up with her at the Home Depot parking lot. She seemed very sweet, had two kids with her (one who had gotten car sick on the way making her 20 minutes late to our rendezvous). Poor lady.

Anyway, after emphatically apologizing for her tardiness, she pops open her truck and pulls out the swing. However, it isn't the swing in the picture. It was entirely different and a bit older looking. I was totally caught off guard and racking my brain to figure out what to do.

I assumed that amidst my wheeling and dealings I had mistakenly contacted the wrong person about the swing I had really wanted.  I assumed that the error was on my end and that I had replied to her Craigs List ad accidentally. I chalked it up as another Pregnancy Brain mistake.

I didn't have the heart to say that I made a mistake and didn't want it. I mean this woman had driven 30 minutes with a carsick kid to meet me. She really didn't seem like someone who would hussle me either. So, I bought the swing. The swing I didn't really want but didn't have the guts to say no to. Ugh. Here's a picture of it. It's not horrible. It's just a lot older and has a lot more wear and tear.

Well THEN, I got home and hopped on my computer to figure out where I had mixed up my communication. Turns out, I WASN'T wrong! The picture that she had posted was in fact NOT the swing that she brought. WHAT?! How did this happen?

And you know what, right now I don't have any answers. I am waiting for a response to my email I sent her sheepishly explaining that I didn't say anything about the wrong swing she had sold me. The dilemma is: Is it my fault that I bought the swing I didn't want or is it her fault that she sold me a different swing than advertised. When I word it like that, it's probably more my fault. Ugh.

So now I have a swing that I'm not super crazy about that I'll probably end up selling on Craigs List, encountering flaky people who say they want it but will never follow through with actually buying it.

The Joys of Craig's List