Pinterest Project Week 2 of 52: Yarn and Strawberries

Week one was a success!  I sold 3 of my dry erase boards and I am putting that money towards my Great Strides fundraising.  As of right now, I should be on week 3, but I was on vacation in NY celebrating my grandfather's 90th birthday and my nephew's first birthday, which are actually both today.  When I am on vacation, my Pinterest Project is on vacation as well.  NY was a blast.  I got to spend time with my family as well as see Kathleen and Julie.  They always take the time to see me when I am home and I am so grateful for that.  My mom and I went to the city on Saturday to the Dooney and Bourke store and to Bloomie's.  Later that nite, I went to dinner with Kathleen and Julie.  I also ventured to Valentino's, the chocolate place, got a burger and fries at a diner, and had a fantastic roast beef dinner to have an early celebration for Grampy's birthday.

When I was home, I spent some time just admiring my Gramps.  It is hard to believe he is 90.  When I got to my house, he was sitting in the back yard with Stina, feeding the birds.  He saw me when I got to the gate and recognized me instantly.  We had a long conversation about gardening and the weather.  He showed me all of the pots that he filled with soil and the area in the yard where he climbed onto a 3 foot wall and dug all the holes and planted seeds for his cucumbers and peppers.  He pulled out the hose and watered the plants then rolled the hose back up again.  He put the chairs that were in the yard back into his shed and then walked swiftly to the side door where he walked up the steps and into his house.  Once we were inside, he made himself dinner, checked his blood sugar and gave himself his insulin as well as took out all of his pills and took them.  When we were at dinner, I watched as he ate, still being able to use his utensils with ease.  While my mom and sister cleared the table, I took one of his hands in both of mine and told him what great hands he has - not a wrinkle and callous free, which is surprising for someone who has worked in a garden his whole life.  His nails were nicely manicured and his hands were tan.  The only signs of aging were only about 4 or 5 little age spots.  When I was spending the afternoon with him, he dropped a twist tie on the floor and he bent down with ease and picked it up and stood right back up again without a problem.  He is AMAZING!!!!  90 has never looked better.  I only hope that I look that good when I get to be half his age. 

On to my Week 2 projects.  The first project I tried was cheesecake stuffed strawberries.  They were so easy to make that I have made them twice in the matter of a week and a half.  Plus, they were so yummy, my sister is going to make them for Easter.  I found the recipe on this yummy blog!  I used a paring knife and a wooden skewer to take the insides out of the strawberries and I used my brand new pastry gun that I purchased several months ago but was too intimidated to use.  I had a 50% off coupon from Hobby Lobby so that is what I used it on but opened the box and got scared.  Not only was it easy to use but it made the strawberries look spectacular.  Sam brought them to work and they disappeared in a short amount of time.  Here are pictures of the finished products.

My second project were yarn balls that we are now using in a vase in our entryway.  I could not figure out what to put in it for the longest time and when I saw them, I knew they would be great.  As always, I did not read the instructions prior to trying this, so I am sure that it would have been a whole lot easier if I had done it the way it is supposed to be done.  I used cotton twine, Elmer's glue, and water.  In order to get them another color, I tinted the water and glue mixture with some gold paint and some brown paint.  The next time I do these, I will use the colored yarn that the blogger recommends.  Also, the blogger made hers in the shape of Easter eggs in order to make garland.  I used water balloons and only blew them up large enough so they would form a perfect circle (well, almost perfect).  The blogger blew the balloons up so that they would form an egg shape.  I found this project on this crafty blog here!  Here is a photo of my lovely yarn balls in our entryway!  If you are interested in them, let me know!  I can whip some up for you for only 5 for $7! 

Please remember that 15% of the profits goes to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to help find a cure for this nasty, stinky, awful disease!  Stay tuned for Week 3 of my Pinterest Project. 

“Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the gift of 'you' to the world.” ~Author Unknown

“Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.” ~Jack Benny

Project Week 1 of 52: Frames and Buns

I really enjoyed this first week.  There were several things that I tried, but I am narrowing it down to just 2 things to post about because I am sure there will be a week when I can't try something.  The 2 things I did this week that I am writing about.......the "I Love You Because..." dry erase board and the Sock Bun.

First, the dry erase board.  This was a really fun project and the part that I had the most difficulty with was finding my color scheme and realizing that I did not have a whole lot of patterned paper, so I need to work on that!  I splurged on a Cricut Expression this past November and those things are pretty stinking expensive so I am trying to get some use out of it so that I can justify purchasing it.  It is a really fun little gadget and I have gotten some use out of it, but I not nearly as much as I should.  I got the idea on Pinterest from a posting from this blog .  It is a really cute idea and you can hang it on the wall or put it on a counter or table with the stand on the back of the frame.  From this idea, I have come up with a few other ideas, but I have not made them yet and they are gifts for other people so until they get them, I don't want to post them.  I was a little weary as to how it would go with the dry erase marker - I was unsure if it was actually going to erase completely or just get smudgy.  But it is great!  Take a peek:

The next project was the Sock Bun.  I have massive amounts of very thick hair, so again, kind of weary about this one as well.  But, Sam liked it and so did I.  I was kind of bummed because I did it a nite before work so I had to wear it in a ponytail and I did not get to keep it down.  I did have to add some product to my hair because I also have a tad bit of a frizz issue.  This idea was from this blog .  I definitely recommend trying it.  There is also a link to the video on how to do it.  Looks like it would be difficult, but if I could do it, anyone can :-)

So those, my friends, are my Pinterest projects for the week.  Please let me know if you would like me to make one of the I Love You Because... signs.  They can be customized by color and I have several other graphics that I can use.  I am selling them for $10.00.  If you are interested, email me at marisa1221ATgmail.com or comment on my blog here, or message me on Facebook.  Remember that 15% of all of my profits will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  Don't forget to tell your friends and family about my blog and become a member!  Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all!!!!

"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time -- a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic."

"May you have: A world of wishes at your command. God and his angels close to hand. Friends and family their love to impart, and Irish blessings deep in your heart!"

The Pinterest Project - Combining Crafts and a Cure

I have to say that I am rather proud of myself for not going on to Facebook too much as well as not going onto Pinterest as much.  During the past few weeks, I have actually been productive and I have gotten alot of stuff done that I have wanted to do.  Sam finally came home after being in the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks.  The final diagnosis was a broken rib.  It had been like that for over a month.  They realized that there was not much that could be done in the hospital that he couldn't do at home.  Except for the morphine drip.  He came home with some new medications and quite a bit of new equipment.  Here is hoping for a speedy recovery so he can be ready for tennis again soon. 

On to my brilliant idea.  I am starting my Pinterest project - combining crafts and a cure.  For the next 52 weeks, I am going to be posting a blog each week about things that I have tried from Pinterest.  This will range from recipes, cleaning tips, crafts, fitness tips and anything else that might pop up on there.  I will try these out and then post how successful or unsuccessful I was.  So where does the "combining crafts and a cure" come in?  Any of the crafts that I make, I will also be replicating to sell.  I will donate 15% of the profits to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  This way, I can combine my love for crafting with my passion for raising money and awareness about cystic fibrosis as well as helping to find a cure for this awful disease.  There might be some weeks where I don't do a craft and just try tips.  Also, I will be featuring some of my own original craft projects with some tips from Pinterest.  The CF Foundation is working so hard to raise money in order to fund these drug trials which could potentially save my husband's life as well as give the generation of patients that I take care of a whole new lease on life.  Money buys science which in turn buys life.  The CF Foundation has spent millions of dollars as well as Vertex Pharmaceuticals.  Their recent drug discovery of Kalydeco has done wonders for the CF population with the gene that it targets.  The CF Foundation has done something AMAZING!  For more information regarding this fabulous organization, please visit www.cff.org . 

I will post my first Pinterest blog on Friday.  As I am typing this, I have my hair in a sock bun.  Hopefully it will turn out as planned.  Stay tuned for Friday when I will have my first of many Pinterest successes and fails.  Hopefully more successes than fails.  Thanks for checking out my blog and feel free to share it with your friends and family!

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” ~Marcus Aurelius

"When I saw you, I was afraid to meet you... When I met you, I was afraid to kiss you...... When I kissed you, I was afraid to love you... Now that I love you, I'm afraid to lose you." ~Marcus Aurelius

"It has been said that we need just three things in life: Something to do, Something to look forward to, And someone to love." ~Marcus Aurelius

If I Could Save Time In A Bottle........

As always, things are crazy, including me.  In the past, I have had some issues with anxiety and right now it appears to be rearing its ugly head.  I hate driving and the anxiety has gotten worse.  It is holding me back from doing all of the normal things that people my age do, including having a social life.  I have anxiety at work, which I guess is normal.  Being that I am responsible for carrying out acts that could cause potentially harmful effects, most people would probably have anxiety.  There is also anxiety about our house, what needs to be done to it, is it clean enough, will we ever be able to make all of the changes that we need to.  Anxiety over money - are we spending wisely, are we budgeting correctly, do we have enough to do the repairs that we are hoping to do.  Adoption anxiety is another anxiety that I have.  When will I know that we are ready to adopt, what if we don't bond with the baby we are given, or if the mom bonds with the baby and we end up not getting it?  What if when we do get a baby, it cries all of the time non-stop and I never get to sleep again?  What if we end up not being able to afford to adopt?  Am I going to be a doggy mommy for the rest of my life?  Why don't I feel like I am ready to adopt now?  I am 33 - isn't it about time that I became a mother?  Then there is the whole cystic fibrosis thing.  I cannot even begin to talk about the anxiety that causes.  Is there something in the house that is making Sam sicker?  Is the house clean enough?  Will Sam lose his job from having to be in the hospital?  Obviously I have other much more serious anxieties about Sam and his cystic fibrosis, but I don't really want to get into that now.  Now, I know everyone suffers from anxiety.  I just have a tendency to really harp on mine and to let it get the best of me. 

Poor Sam has been in the hospital now for about a week and a half.  His diagnosis, besides the CF?  A previously undiagnosed broken rib.  The poor guy had it for over a month before they were able to figure it out.  It didn't show up on his chest x-ray and it was overlooked by several doctors because they were all looking at his lungs thinking something was wrong with those.  So, after being in the hospital for 5 days having an epidural, and still no relief, they noticed the rib.  Apparently, there were 3 others that have already healed on the right side.  This broken one is on the left.  Right now, he is still attached to a PCA pump and the morphine seems to be doing the trick.  Not sure how long he will be in there for, but hopefully he will be home with the dogs and myself soon. 

I cannot even begin to tell you how annoyed I am with myself.  The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning?  Look at my e-mail and Facebook on my iPhone.  Throughout the day, I cannot even tell you how many times I look at it.  On my days off, I waste hours on end on the internet looking at Facebook, checking e-mails, pinning things on Pinterest, researching new projects for me to start, etc.  Who am I kidding?  I waste so much time on the internet, how am I going to have the time to start new projects.  Plus, in the past few weeks, it has gotten worse.  We now have DVR.  What was I thinking?  Yet another way for me to waste time.  When we got it, my thoughts were that I could record the things that I like to watch and then watch them when it is convenient.  In turn, that ended me DVR-ing everything and then spending any time that I am not on the internet, catching up on my tv shows.  I know what you are thinking.  In the first paragraph, you said you have all of this anxiety about what needs to be done around the house, but yet you are wasting all your time on the internet.  That is where my issue comes in.  Sometimes I just feel so overwhelmed with everything that I have to do, I go into "shut-down mode".  I miss the days of no cell phones.  I feel like it is constantly ringing, dinging, or vibrating.  Sometimes I just don't want to be found.  I don't want to talk, I don't want to text.  But since the cell phone came about, it is considered rude to not answer the phone or text back right away.  I don't like having access to the internet and my e-mail all of the time.  Sam has a dinosaur of a phone and sometimes I am very envious.  It makes phone calls and he can text.  That is it.  I feel like if I don't answer my phone or reply to a text, I have to give them a reason - ie. sorry, my phone was on silent, I didn't hear my phone, I was in another room and I didn't hear it, I was in the shower, I was in the bathroom, etc.  How about I just didn't feel like talking.  And God forbid you turn your phone off.  My mom always used to tell me how much she hated cell phones because she didn't want to be accessible 24/7.  I used to think she was being ridiculous.  Now I understand where she is coming from.  When I was younger, I used to have hobbies and do things that were enjoyable.  Thanks to technology and my lack of self control, I waste way too much time.  One of the things I want to work on this year is having a little more discipline when it comes to time management and just because the phone rings, dings, or vibrates, it does not mean that I need to answer it regardless of who it is. 

That pretty much sums up what has been going on.  If you call, and I don't answer, please do not be offended.  I am just weaning myself from the ridiculous amount of technology that I have become way too dependent on.  Off I go to spend some quality times with the pups and get some cleaning done before I have to go to work tomorrow!
 \
"If you don't fill your days with love, you are wasting your life." ~James Broughton

"Life is not a spectator sport.  If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life." ~Jackie Robinson