A New Venture

I've been a stay at home mom now for approximately 25 months. And I love it. It has great benefits, no dress code, and I can usually take a bathroom break whenever I feel the need. But there is one slight disadvantage.

Lack of payment.

Yes, I get paid in love, tickles, hugs, peanut butter and jelly, and an occasional nap. But as far as seeing a monetary benefit, I've got nothing. Hopefully that will change in the near future as I'm getting closer to taking my National Counselors Exam (NCE) and securing a (cross your fingers here) PAID internship. But until then, money remains tight. Knowing that I'm a Freeland, it may not surprise you that I'm careful with our money. We save, Save, SAVE - all the time. But since I've been without a job for two years, it's been harder to take advantage of various "fun" activities because what we save has been paying bills...and insurance...and school loans. Going to the movies, out to eat, getting a pedicure, or buying clothes and shoes are all luxuries that I don't get to partake in very often. And now that graduation is over and the degree is in hand, more school loans are about to arrive in nice little white envelopes come November.

My solution for this has been to not only seek a paid internship, but to dabble in a little side business. I may not have mentioned it before but I love to sew. Back in college, I was able to train and learn under an awesome guy named Mark at Kansas State when I worked in the costume shop. I learned how to make lots of things, from petticoats and corsets, to ballgowns and dress pants. Within the past year, I've started making more things with my nifty little sewing machine. Specifically baby items. So far I've mastered how to make Slings, Embellished Burp Cloths, Nursing Aprons, Blankets, Diaper Bag Changing Pads, and Snugglers (mini-security blankets). After I started making these for friends, people kept telling me, "You should sell these." So after much prayer and a leap of faith, I decided to go through with it. Here's a peek at some of the items I've made over the past year.

The following are various other custom orders for friends -

from Burp Cloths to Nursing Aprons:

For Baby Liam

For Baby Owen
For Baby Caitlin

Various other designs and items (Snugglers not pictured)

Right now I'm working on choosing a name, getting a logo and website, and setting up an online store. But in the interim, I'm taking orders over e-mail and Facebook. I would love to make you something special. As an incentive to try me out, I'm offering a 20% discount to anyone that contacts me and mentions my blog "Some Babies Just". I guarantee you'll receive an item that is made with love and creativity. Leave me a comment or e-mail me (find the email in my profile box) if you're interested in having me start a special project just for you or someone you love.

With a swipe of the brush...Wa-la!

Michael and I just recently finished our next home improvement project. We finally finished painting the inside of our house. About 2 or 3 years ago, Michael did a wonderful job painting our kitchen, but we decided to hold off on the rest of the house due to lack of moo-lah to buy more paint and the time it would take to finish. Well, luckily, we held off and got a great deal on paint at Lowe's Memorial Day weekend. Michael dissembled our living room and hallways, and drug out the paint brushes. We set G up in his play room with a movie and away we went. We were able to get the whole living room and both hallways done in just a couple of days. We're pretty happy with the results. Now, it's time to move on to making pillows!

BEFORE

BEFORE

BEFORE

BEFORE

Drum Roll, please.....

AFTER

AFTER

AFTER

AFTER

Sugar and Spice

I told myself that this summer was going to be the summer for projects. I have loads of things on my list, which I'll be sure to share throughout the summer. But the first project that I was ready to head up was organizing my spice cupboard.

Now I love to cook, but I often get frustrated because my cupboard is booby trapped. Where is Data from The Goonies when I need him? I have approximately 50+ spices and seasonings, so this organization is LONG over due.

Spices are crammed in there so tight I have to take
half the cupboard out before I can find what I need.
And look how ghetto I am! I have some spices in Ziplock bags.
This is to show how much was in that cupboard
and the varying sizes of everything.

I got the idea to tackle this from my friend Jenny (check out her blog, it's cool...). She was in the same predicament that I was. Lots of spices, all in different size bottles and lacking uniformity (something us perfectionists REALLY need). She did the leg work and found out that buying jars that would be cute and fun would cost approximately $2-3 a piece. Well, who has that kind of money to spend on spice jars? So she came up with a brilliant idea to re-use baby food jars! I had no idea what she was up to when she asked me to start saving Gabriel's old ones, but let's just say I was thoroughly impressed. She caught some great pictures of her results. Now, my pictures are not nearly as fancy or artistically taken as hers, but you get the point.

I used Goo Gone to get the sticky off the jars
(see my notes for a better way to do this)

Washed them several times to make sure they were sanitized.

This was about half of the jars I used.
I also used larger 6 oz jars for spices I had a bigger quantity of.
Clean Lids!

Spray painting the lids with chrome paint and polyurethane.

I decided to use a polyurethane to seal the lids but it's so important
to let this dry fully before you try to use them.
(I got a little impatient and left finger prints on some of my lids)
Look at how cute my jars turned out!
You can hand write the labels like Jenny did
(which she has fantastic handwriting!),
or you can cheat and print them off like me!

FINISHED PRODUCT!! I feel so fancy now!
Don't they look pretty? I love how the colors look against one another.
My new cupboard!

Couple of things that I wish I had done differently (if you think of doing this yourself):

1. No matter how anxious or excited you are about finishing up, WAIT FOR THE PAINT TO DRY! It's worth it to wait.

2. If you are able to get a hold of jars with the label still attached, keep them on there and soak them overnight in a soapy bath. Then use your fingernail or a razor blade to take the sticky off. I used the Goo Gone which worked until it dried, then I realized I had smeared the glue everywhere. It was a pain to take off.

3. I would still like to find some thing recyclable that goes with my theme to put my extracts and my shakers in.

That's it! I'm so happy with how they turned out! My life is just a little more organized now, which is always a special blessing! I think it turned out really well. And the spices look so pretty in there. It feels so good to be recycling used things and I think the total cost for me was $2 for a can of spray paint. That beats $2-3 a jar and they look just as nice. If you need a place to get jars b/c you don't have any kiddos leaving you with a large amount of them, check out your local Freecycle (this is where I got more jars). More likely than not, some mommy is saving hers and would be happy to give them to you.

Now, all I have to do if I run out of a spice is head to Central Market and just buy the spice in the quantity I need, no wasting of a plastic jar! Go Green and try to organize by using recyclable products. :) Next up, painting the living room!

Finished

It's done. Degree achieved! It took about 7 years to complete, but I'm officially a graduate and have a Master's Degree! Isn't it pretty?


Now what to do? I know! How about a break! I'm planning on taking the whole summer off and just having fun; something I haven't gotten to do in a long time. My hope is that I'll be able to make up for some lost time with Gabriel. I'm looking forward to many date nights with Michael as well! This summer is going to be awesome.


Then come August, it'll be time to start a new journey with a new internship! Yep. It's time to grow up and be a big kid. But for the next three months, I think I'll just play.

7 days and counting

One week.

That's it. One week until my hot little hands are holding my master's degree! Last Thursday I was overwhelmed with relief as I finished up my last class. Then on Monday, God gave me even more relief as I e-mailed off my last paper. Technically, I am finished with graduate school at DBU. It's done and it feels amazing! All that I have left to do is walk across the stage on the 13th.

People keep asking me, "So, what are you going to do next?" As much as I'd like to say, "I'm going to Disney World!" or "I have my future path all mapped out!", the truth is I really don't have a clue. The only thing I am counting on is taking (and hopefully passing) my NCE (National Counseling Exam) in July. Then who knows? I'm not in a huge hurry to grow up. I do plan to take the entire summer off and have fun with Gabriel. My hope is that I'll be able to make up for some lost time from the months of school and evenings I've been away for the past 2 years. I also plan on reading FOR FUN, going on a few small trips, and sewing. But after that, it's really up to God.

I'm not short of goals though. My big goal is to find a good, solid, Christian counseling center that I can start my internship with. But I'm not in too big of a rush. I know that if I'm focused on being in God's will, he'll put me right where He wants me. Until then, I'm going to sit back, relax, and enjoy this long awaited accomplishment!

Lover

So I'm going to get mushy for a minute.

I just love my husband. He really is the best. After almost 6 years of marriage, some people might start to refer to their husbands in less than appealing terms, but not me. I got the cream of the crop ladies.

Last weekend, our family had the chance to be photographed by the ever talented Shelley Foster. She caught some amazing shots of our sweet little guy, Gabriel. But on a whim, she took some photos of just Michael and I. This picture really sums it up of how much I love and adore my husband. And we're past the ooey, gooey, make you want to throw up infatuation. This is deep, folks. Our marriage has definitely had some trials, but the one thing that has remained constant through those trials has been our love for one another.

We're approaching our 6 year anniversary and I can say with confidence, I'm ready to spend 66 more years with this man, if God allows it to be.

Alright, a few paragraphs of gushing is about all I can handle for one day. I love you, babe. Enough said.

The 30 Day Challenge

I get all my best ideas when I'm in the shower, and this day did not disappoint. As I'm trying not to get soap in my eyes, I begin reflecting on the countless times I have failed meeting my healthy living goals. I stink at eating right, I'm horrible at counting calories, and working out is a joke.

But why?

If you were to read my journals, you'd see they're littered with outcries to God to give me the motivation and the will power to make a change that would stick. A change that would push me to get rid of the extra weight having a child can leave behind. A change that would encourage me to choose a carrot over carrot cake.

Then it dawned on me, why don't I make this a game? I have a bit of a competitive nature in me, even if the competition is myself. What if I set up the game to include a prize at the end. I really liked where this was going. And through my routine of lather, rinse, repeat, I came up with this.

The 30 Day Challenge:
For 30 days (5 weeks total - M-F only), the contestant (that's me) will do the following: will get up by 6:00 or 6:30 each morning, have quiet time, and then do 30-60 minutes of physical activity. This activity may include workout DVDs, going for a power walk (Remember, no running aloud. Doctor's orders.), or after child gets up, taking him on a walk in his stroller. If the morning gets thrown off with child waking up early or it's raining, or some other act of God occurs, then working out will be done in the evening after child goes to bed.

This challenge must be met for 30 consecutive days, where upon meeting said challenge, the contestant will win a prize! However, should the contestant miss even one day in the 30 days, the challenge starts over from the beginning.

What do you think? Was I enlightened? Guess we'll just have to see how effective it is in the next 5 weeks. Day one was tonight. So far, so good. I'm following it up by tracking my food intake at Spark People (they have a great app for the iPhone too). It's like Weight Watchers for F-R-E-E. This added portion to the challenge would consist of logging everything I eat. Not just the good things, but everything. Even the bad. It may seem daunting, but I have hope. I have excitement. It's now a real challenge.

Now I have to figure out what the prize will be....hmm....I'm thinking a Coach purse might be in my future.