How do you pick a title?

How do you seasoned bloggers pick titles for your posts anyway? I never know what to pick. Now, on my stamping blog, it’s easy. I choose a title that reflects the project or event that I’m posting about. Over here, I’m never sure what to put. Anyway, on to my ramble for today…

My counselor last week gave me an assignment. Of course, it can’t be something simple like, “Ok Tricia, go home and solve Pi”. No, she has to give me something hard. I’m supposed to look at myself in the mirror, and starting with my feet, go up my body and say aloud to myself what I am thankful for that particular body part for. Hmmphf. Right. I can’t stand to look at myself, let alone name the parts of my body and what is good about them. I start with my toes, and I see them as to short & stubby. They have been referred to as “corn-nut toes”. Yet, they do help me balance, and they do look quite pretty painted this lovely shade, “Holy Pink Pagoda” by OPI. My feet, well, they are a bit wide, yet, they do somehow manage to carry me around. My ankles, well, they haven’t given out on me yet, they do help my feet connect to my legs. My legs, hmmm, well, I do have large calves, always have, yet, even though they are large, they do have good muscle in there. They have served me well for 34 years. My thighs, same thing, they do rub together some when I walk, yet, they get me where I need to go. My stomach, it’s big, it’s got stretch marks, and yet, those things are from carrying three children, what a wonderful gift from God. Traveling up, I am a bit large, and they are uncomfortable, yet, they nourished all three of my children for a while. How much more can you ask? My shoulders are to wide imo. I’ve always thought I had somewhat manly shoulders, but they have held up so much, at times it has felt like the weight of the world has been on them. Yet, their width has allowed them to bear up under so much, and hold it all up with what I hope has been grace for the most part. As for my face, well, let’s not go there. My eyes are a lovely shade of green imo. My nose is thankfully not to large, and my mouth, well, hee hee, it speaks the truth, and it allows me to express my love to my family and friends. My hair is a lovely shade of red right now thanks to my husband, but besides the color, I do have soft healthy hair. My brain, well, if I am honest, I am fairly intelligent. I love to learn new things and read. All in all, I guess I can be thankful for a lot. But to stand in front of the mirror and look at myself as I go through this list? Well, baby steps, right?

I had to do it…

Well, here they are! At least, two of them! I couldn’t hold out any longer and had to post 2 of the last three projects for the Paint Can Class!
The first one is the cutest lantern that I found a while back at the Dollar Spot in Target! I stamped images from Booglie Eyes (107031) in Black Staz-On and then colored it in with Sharpie Markers! So simple! Then of course, ribbon tied on the handle!

The second and third images are a Halloween Squash Book both closed and open. This is a VERY simple scrapbook made of cardstock and chipboard! I used Creepy Crawly Designer Series Paper (109155), Pumpkin Pie Cardstock and Basic Black Cardstock. The cover is stamped with the cute pumpkin from Batty For You (109363), colored with markers, then punched and layered using the Circle punches and Scallop punch. This is the first Squash Book I’ve ever done, and it was so simple, I can definitely see myself making more!

Hope you enjoyed this peek at the last few projects for my Halloween Paint Can class. At least there is still one surprise! If you weren’t able to make it to the class on the 29th, I have had some requests to repeat the class in October. If you would be interested in attending a *make-up* class, please let me know. If enough people are interested I can see about scheduling. )

Hottie…

An interesting conversation this evening. A told me that while she was walking to her friend’s house this afternoon, some of B’s friends were out playing, and they called her “hottie”. She didn’t know what it meant. How do you explain that to an 8 year old? I just told her it was like saying she was pretty. D was not amused. He said, “I don’t want A going outside if B’s friends are going to say that to her. She’s to young for a love affair!” It was kind of neat to see him get so defensive of his little sister. I explained to him that someone saying that wasn’t a love affair, and that we can’t lock her in the house, no matter how much we might like to. B was concerned as well, but not quite as vocal as D was. He wanted to know who, and that was it. You could tell by the look on his face though that he was not amused. Of course, this led to discussions with all three of them about treating people with respect, and honor. Not quite sure what to do though, if anything. While I don’t think it’s a good idea to go charging out after a bunch of 10year olds, I do think that they need to understand that saying something like that could be disrespectful in a way. Hmmm, something to ponder and pray over.

In other news, B had his first guitar lesson tonight. It went very well. He LOVED it! When I got back to pick him up, he was telling me that he learned a song! The theme song from Jaws! I can’t wait to hear it tomorrow. He wasn’t able to play it for me this evening because by the time we got home it was a quick shower, re-bandage his arm, and off to bed. We had to make a stop at Family Christian Store on the way home. Bryan got a new guitar pick…

On that note, I’m going to go read another couple of chapters of my new book.

OOoh, neat…

Ok, so I logged on here to just vent a bit, but stumbled across this…

http://play.blogger.com/

It’s the neatest thing! It’s a constant slideshow of the most recently uploaded photos to blogspot! So neat! I’ve been looking for a bit now, and have found some of the most amazing blogs! When you see a pic that is interesting, click on it. A new window will open with the blog it belongs to. So neat!

Of course, we all know how easily amused I am, but still, check it out…

**note, some of the images could be offensive, no nudity or anything, but just might not be your particular cup of tea, I know some aren’t mine, you’ve been warned…

Something to say…

Do you ever feel like you have something to say, something you need to get off your chest, but you just can’t figure out what? That’s where I am tonight. Frustrated, tired, a little angry even, but I can’t put my finger on why. I need to vent, but I haven’t a clue about what or why. That’s more frustrating than anything. I KNOW that if I could just figure it out, I’d be ok. Unfortunately, whatever is bothering me is just hovering around, kind of like a gnat. It’s there, and then it’s gone. I try to swat at it, and it just scoots off out of reach, and makes me wonder, was it ever really there to begin with….

Stitches & Ice Cream

B loves dogs. He loves all animals, but he particularly has a soft spot for dogs. Stray dogs, friends dogs, our dog, even that ugly dog that won the contest he thinks is just adorable! We’ve had so many conversations about how we don’t mess with dogs we don’t know, even if it belongs to someone we do know. Well, he learned that lesson this evening, the hard way.

His friends have a dalmatian. When the kids are out playing they keep the dog tied up. He had never bit anyone, but he wasn’t real good with new people, so better safe than sorry. B had been told to not mess with the dog. He wanted to pet it though, and he did. The dog wasn’t amused and let B know it. The boys father drove B home, they only live a block or so away, but he drove B home anyway. I thought that was really nice. The dad is a nurse, retired AF, and he cleaned up B’s wounds and then brought him home. He wanted to make sure he got home ok. Wanted to let us know we should probably take B to the ER that it probably needed stitches. He was so nice! He even called this evening to see how B was, of course, we weren’t home yet, but when Donovan heard from us he let him know.

B was ok, felt a little sick, but he was hungry, so that was a good sign. He ate his dinner, then it was off to the urgent care clinic. We decided that would be quicker and simpler than trying to deal w/ the ER on base. He ended up with 3 stitches total. He has 3 wounds. One on the inside of his wrist, no stitches there, it wasn’t as big. Two on the back of his wrist, one was I think 3.2 inches long. He got 2 stitches in that one, and one stitch on the other one. He did so good. They numbed it up with a topical solution first, then gave him numbing shots, then they soaked it, and flushed it out. B never cried, never yelled, he was such a champ! He asked me to pray for him at one point. That so touched me.

Of course, after all that, we had to stop for ice cream! lol Baskin Robbins it was! He had peanut butter chocolate on a sugar cone, and I had mint chocolate chip. I wasn’t worried about calories tonight!

We talked about how lucky he was that this was someone we knew, and that the dog was current on all his vaccinations. How if it was a stray, which B has been known to run up to and love on, how he could have gotten sick, and possibly even have had to have rabies shots or something. He said he learned a lesson, let’s hope so. He even prayed tonight thanking God for this, so that he could learn a lesson without having been to badly injured. I just pray that the next time a stray comes trotting by, B will remember…

Ramblings

Things are so busy around here right now! The kids are settling into a routine thank goodness!

We haven’t had any major issues at school, the only problem thus far has been lack of self control when it’s not time to talk on B’s part. I’m so thankful for that!

I took D to school this morning instead of him riding the bus. There was a Student Council meeting this morning, and he’s decided that he wants to be involved in Student Council. I was so proud watching him walk into the school this morning. You see, when I was his age, I would never have had the nerve to go to a meeting like that unless I knew that some of my friends were going, and even then I don’t know if I would have actually gone or not. I was so biting my lip this morning so that I wouldn’t push my own fears and insecurities off onto him. It’s so amazing to me that all three of them are so secure. I hope that means I’m doing something right!

Yesterday was a bad day for me. September has been a hard month for me the past few years. I don’t know why yet, but I’m working on that. Yesterday I had a semi-panic attack. The first I’ve had in a LONG time. It was so scary. I so don’t want to be back where I was before. It’ s so easy for me to hear all the negative self talk, and run with it. I’m constantly battling that. I have to remind myself continuously that I am a child of the King, and that He loves me, and made me who I am, for His glory. I was listening to the new Casting Crowns CD this morning after I dropped D off. At first, I wasn’t really fond of it. But the more I listen, the more I hear God talking to me through these songs. He did the same thing with their last CD Lifesong, but The Altar and The Door is so where I am now. I hear the lyrics to the title song, and to the song Somewhere In The Middle, and that is exactly what I am feeling. I KNOW that I need to fall into God, but somewhere in the middle of that knowledge, I am afraid to lose control. For a long time I had very little control of anything in my life. Now that I’m in a completely different situation, it’s hard for me to let go, and let God take over. I want to, which is I think, the first step. Now I need to take that second step and let Him have it. Trust that He truly does know what is best, and that He will care for me.

I remember when Christina first started talking to me about her relationship with Christ. I was so amazed by her faith. I realized that what I’ve always been looking for, that unconditional, sacrificial love was right there for me. That what I’ve searched for was Christ, I just didn’t know it. I remember that feeling of surrender. Somewhere along the way, I’ve gotten caught back up in the world, and what I’m supposed to be according to those standards. I don’t want to be that anymore, I don’t want to judge myself by the world’s standards. I need to remember that I am, “Fearfully & Wonderfully Made” (Psalm 139:14).

This is where YOU come in. I need prayer. I’m setting out on a journey that is hard for me, I’m going somewhere that I have never been, and I can only get there with God. I need for you my friend, to pray for me. It’s so hard to ask for people to help you, and to ask for prayer should be easy, but it’s not. As a human, I want people to like me, to see me as strong and capable. But I’m not. I am not strong, nor am I capable, except through the strength of Christ, my Savior. I ask you to please pray for me, that I will stay in the Word, that I will rely fully on my Lord to pull me out of this darkness I feel myself sinking into. I ask that you please pray that God will help me to eat only when I am hungry, not when I am sad or upset. That I will use food as fuel and nourishment for my body, not as a false god to hold me up when I am down.

This is probably the hardest thing I have ever said to anyone, and I feel somehow like I’m taking the easy out by posting this here instead of calling all my friends and speaking to them in person. Baby steps though, right? Love you all…

Paint Can Class

Finally! I finished up the paint can lid this afternoon and couldn’t wait to post these for y’all to see! If you’re on the fence about coming to the Paint Can Class, check this out and maybe it will help you decide! )

The paint can itself uses the Creepy Crawly Designer Series Paper (109155), Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black and Whisper White Cardstock. I used the Booglie Eyes (107031) stamp set stamped in Basic Black Ink, then colored using Pumpkin Pie, Lovely Lilac, YoYo Yellow & Green Galore Stampin’ Write Markers. The edges are sponged with Pumpkin Pie ink very subtly. The lid has BOO! stamped using the Big Deal Alphabet (107345) and then cut out and glued on. I cheated on the letter O’s and punched them with the 1-3/8″ Circle Punch. ;o) I tied 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon (Pumpkin Pie & Basic Black), Gingham Ribbon & Linen Thread on the handle.

Aren’t these little Punkin’s ADORABLE? SO easy to do too! I used the Creepy Crawly Designer Series Paper (109155), Pumpkin Pie 1/4″ Grosgain ribbon and the Crop-A-Dile! You can make several and string them for a festive garland!!!

This cute candy corn bag is made with a Small Flat Cello Bag topped with Basic Black cardstock. I stamped the Weathered (105276) background stamp onto the black topper using White Craft Ink. The pumpkin is from the Batty For You (109363) stamp set. I colored the stamp using the Pumpkin Pie, Garden Green and Basic Black Stampin Write Markers. The pumpkin was punched out with the 1-3/8″ Circle Punch and mounted on a scallop of Pumpkin Pie Cardstock punched with the new Scallop Punch! I used markers to color the Happy Halloween from All Holidays (109397) and punched it out with the Word Window Punch. The finishing touch was the Pumpkin Pie corners punched using the new Photo Corners Punch!

In addition to these three darling projects, we’ll be making two more which I haven’t pictured! You’ll have to come to the class to see them! Remember, it is on Saturday, September 29th from 1:00 pm until you’re done! The cost for the class is $35.00 and includes all materials to complete 5 ADORABLE projects!!!