The Greatest Danger in Marriage is a Good Marriage

Between Two Worlds posted this blog about marriage

“Your marriage may be good. It may even be great. You may have grown together in appreciation, respect, unity, understanding, and love. You may have learned where problems typically exist for you as a couple, and you may have learned how to solve them together. You may have identified places where you and your marriage need to mature. You may have created a lifestyle of honest communication and efficient problem solving. You may have forged a solid and enjoyable friendship between you. You may be able to look back and be thankful because you recognize what you once were compared to what you are now.

“But there is one thing that you need to accept: your marriage may be great, but it is not safe. No marriage this side of eternity is totally problem protected. No marriage is all that it could be. This side of heaven daily temptations are constant threats to you and your marriage. This side of heaven the spiritual war goes on. This side of heaven good marriages are good marriages because the people in those marriages are committed to doing daily the things that keep their marriages good. Things go wrong when couples think they have reached the point when they can retire from their marital work and chill out, lay back, and slide. Perhaps the greatest danger to a good marriage is a good marriage, because when things are good, we are tempted to give way to feelings of arrival and forsake the attitudes and disciplines that have, by God’s grace, made our marriage what it has become.”

Picky-Picky

The guest bedroom in our house has been a thorn in my side.

We've already painted it twice and both times the color just didn't sit right with me. The color is too dark and makes the room seem cave like. I knew I didn't like the color so I didn't even bother to do the touch up work on the trim. Needless to say, it's been on my "to do" list for a while now.


I'm learning that Austin does not get as excited about repainting rooms as I do. He's probably in the majority on that one. Knowing he would want no part in sprucing up the guest bedroom, I suggested that I take on the project while he is at a conference all weekend in Minnesota. It didn't take much convincing when he knew he wouldn't be the one laboring away in a room he doesn't care about. Having the thumbs up from my hubby, I headed to Lowes to get some paint swatches. As you can see, I grabbed about every color that was even close to what I want.



I've learned that paint can look completely different at different times of the day. It can also look different on each wall. So for about 30 minutes, I taped my favorites to each wall, looked at them with lights on-lights off-blinds open-blinds closed-etc. I even waited until it was evening to go back in and check out the colors.

I eventually kept coming back to one called, "Night Frost." It's a greyish-blueish-greenish color.

Let the work begin!

Here are a few links I found helpful in the paint-picking process.

http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/10-tips-for-picking-paint-colors/index.html

http://valspar.com/explore-colors/choose-a-color.html

http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/paint-colors/

Learning to be Thankful

From The Desiring God blog:

"I have a friend who serves in Malawi, Africa. She was able to distribute Bibles to a village there, and when they received these Bibles, they ecstatically broke out in thanks, praise, and dance over their new possession of God's Word! See for yourself"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X72Hn2fvTq8

"When was the last time your lips poured forth praise and your tongue sang because you possess the very words of God in the Scriptures? For me, this kind of joy in God and his Word does not come often enough. I take it for granted that I have multiple copies of the Scriptures at my fingertips every day."

I don't know whether to respond with a smile or tears to this video. I wish I had that joyful response to having the Word of God in my hands.

"Raz-ma-taz" Strikes Again

Yesterday I came home from work and saw a big package on our porch. It reminded me of the pre-wedding days when I would come home to multiple Bed Bath and Beyond boxes on my porch...sigh...

I was racking my brain about what I had ordered and couldn't figure it out. Austin and I eagerly opened the mystery box and instantly saw the glory inside.
If Valentines Day could manifest, this would be its form. One of my favorite inclusions in the package:



I mean what girl doesn't need lady bug sock/slippers!?


It's a widely known fact that my mother (nicknamed Raz-ma-taz) LOVES holidays. Valentines Day is no exception. It made our day! Now that our kitchen is bursting with candy and red decor, we can truly celebrate the holiday. Thanks, Mom!

Feeling Ruffled?

I made a scarf.It's ruffled.

Sophie helped.
(she seriously sat there the whole time I sewed)

Here's how I did it if you care...


I stumbled upon this tutorial but decided to give it my own twist.
http://everycraftyendeavor.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-make-ruffle-scarf.html
Get two 1/2 yard pieces of Jersey Knit fabric. Jersey knit doesn't fray and is super comfy.
Fold it in half and fold it again. It should be around 18-19 inches long.

After folded, in half. Apply the steps to both pieces if you haven't figured that out yet.

So now you should have 4 long pieces of fabric.

Sew the ends together to make one long piece of each color. Don't freak out- it's deceivingly long.

You'll need some elastic thread for the next step. Hand wind your bobbin with the elastic (not too tight) and prepare your machine with a thread that will match your fabric. Make sure your setting is on baste stitch.

Next, pin the fabrics together and sew a straight line all the way down the fabric. I stitched mine around an inch and a half in. You'll see the fabric start to gather as it is sewn.
Now do the same thing down the other side of the fabric.

At this point, the scarf it technically done. However, I got nervous relying on one elastic thread to hold my entire scarf together so I went back over my seam with a zig-zag stitch.

Badabing Badaboom. Ruffled scarf.

Sophie vs. Laser Pointer

Learning to Pace Myself

I've discovered a entire subculture of crafty blogs.
As a result, I have been to Hobby Lobby about 10 times in the past two weeks and my allotted spending money has only $8.00 left for the month. Oops.

Let this be a fair warning to you before you peek into this amazing subculture of our society. Once you step in, there is no getting out.


Young House Love: The story of two people falling in love with their first house
http://www.younghouselove.com/
This is the blog that got me started on this train. Their DIY obsession empowered me to take on multiple projects in my home. It's almost like a story you step into that you can't walk away from.

Create Studio: Tap into your creative side
http://createstudio.blogspot.com/
Lots of ideas. Lots of variety. All things that seem very doable. A good one to add to your google reader.

U create
http://kari-youcanmakeit.blogspot.com/
The name explains it well. They feature things that the average-non-crafty-goddess could do. I love that they have sewing stuff in addition to around the house projects.

Noodlehead
http://noodleheads.blogspot.com/
A fabulous sewing blog! So many cute ideas with great tutorials. This is one of my favorites right now.

Ever Crafty Endeavor
http://everycraftyendeavor.blogspot.com/
The name explains it well. Lots of variety. I actually just made a ruffled scarf from a tutorial off of this blog. It's a fun read!

Drab to Fab
http://gorgfabgoodies.blogspot.com/
One of my newest addictions. I love their continuous treasure hunts at local thrift stores. They seriously can turn the most ugly possession into something that would sell for big bucks. I'm learning a lot from these ladies.