Hobby Happenings

What a long week! I got hit with the stomach flu AGAIN, making it the second time this flu season. How did I get so lucky? 🙄 After 2 1/2 days of doing nothing I was finally able to work on some fun stuff. I usually have an ever growing list of things I would like to do and when I finally have time to do something, I’ll choose to do a completely new task or craft that I hadn’t planned on doing. That’s how most of today went, with the exception of my first craft, pictured below. 

I bought some mesh on sale for $1.50 at the end of last summer and have been planning on making a wreath since then. Today I finally decided to figure out how it’s done. It’s super simple, by the way. I have a HUGE tote full of flowers so I didn’t need to buy any, and the wreath frame was $1.00 from Dollar Tree. So I have around $3 invested in this wreath. Not too shabby, in my opinion 😏. 

Oh, when I say I have a HUGE tote of flowers, I’m not kidding: 

And the best way to look for what I need? Dump it, of course. Philip and all the girls I work with can attest that this picture perfectly captures how I work on anything. There’s always  an enormous mess before something beautiful happens 😉. 

While I was deciding what to adorn my wreath with I randomly remembered that I have a birdhouse that I bought a while back. I probably wouldn’t have remembered except I just reorganized my craft room for the thousandth time earlier this week and I saw it then. Anyway, that’s how project #2 came under way. I looked on Pinterest for some inspiration on how to paint it and then ended up doing my own thing. 

I think I was inspired to do these colors because they are similar to a painting I shared with you all that I did a couple of months ago. It was a tree with snow on it and the background was really pretty. Well that painting no longer exists because a certain puppy, who shall remain nameless, ate it while I was in the shower last week 😡. 

When I was searching for flowers to put on my wreath I found these beauties. I was unimpressed with the spider leg looking pistil so I removed them and replaced it with a bedazzled jewel and then threw them in a mason jar to make a cute little bouquet for my table ❤️. 

Bedazzled jewels are soooo much prettier than spider leg pistols! 

While I was busy crafting, Philip was working on a project as well. I talked about making an aquaponic garden last year on here and we’ve been back and forth about a dozen times since then but we finally bought supplies and got it ready to start. An aquaponic garden, if you don’t know, is one where plants grow in gravel instead of dirt and fish are used to filter and fertilize the water, which is pumped up to a grow bed above the fish tank. There are different ways to set them up so it may not happen exactly like that but that’s the gist of it, anyway. Philip read about making a bell siphon with different sized pieces of PVC pipe. Basically the little piece sits inside the bigger one and when it fills up, it creates suction, which pulls the water back down. The water will run through tube and pour back into the fish tank, which has a pump that pushes more water into the grow bed. It’s supposed to be a very low maintenance garden and aquarium. I’m nervous about having animals that won’t yell at me if I forget to feed them 😳. And yes, I care about the fish. I will be sad if (when) they die 😢. I think we’re going to get goldfish so hopefully they’ll live for a while. We should get beta fish because my grandma had a beta fish that had 9 lives. I want to say it’s name was Simon but I may be mistaken because I had a lot of fish growing up and each one had a name so I may be getting my fish confused. Anyway, we’ll call him Simon. So one day Simon was doing his little fish thing, swimming around, and for some unknown reason, he leaped...LEAPED out of his bowl and onto the carpet. I wouldn’t have believed it but I saw it with my own eyes. One moment Grandma and I were just sitting there talking and the next moment Simon was on the ground. So what did I do? I picked him up, of course. Only I completely underestimated how slimy he was going to feel and it grossed me out so I threw him back down on the floor  😳. (By the way, I was like 9 when this happened. Not that that makes any difference because I would probably still be freaked out if I did that today.) But I came to my senses quickly and grabbed the net Grandma used to clean his tank and scooped him back up and returned him to his watery home. Now the question is, was Simon suicidal? It’s over 20 years later and I’m questioning this fish’s intentions. There was no precursor to the leaping..no loud noise, nothing hit his tank. This leaves me feeling very perplexed. Did I thwart Simon’s attempt to escape his fishbowl misery? And come to think of it, that’s not even the first time that had happened. Grandma told me that she had found him on the stand that she kept the bowl on once before. I’m also about 90% sure he got knocked into the soapy dish water once that was being used to clean his bowl. I’m not even sure what ever actually killed him once he finally did die. Or did he? Maybe he’s still out there, an old fish, just swimming around in the sewer, because I know Grandma flushed him. He probably drowned himself since everyone was so eager to rescue him out of water. Oh Simon. I’m pretty sure that Simon was unique though because I had plenty of beta fish (you can find their bones buried in the yard of my childhood home) and none of them were as resilient as Simon. We had cats though so.. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Anyway, here are the pics of the aquaponic garden so far:

We’ll fill the tank and let the water cycle for a couple of days before we put any fish in it. I think we’re going to have 4 so I need to start thinking of fish names!😉

Luckily, the shelf over the fish tank is a pretty snug fit so I won’t have to worry about any “body” messing with the fish. Although I fully expect nose prints on the side of the glass 🙄. 

Little miss thing has definitely claimed her home and is testing her limits to figure out her place in this family. She habitually barks at me to pay attention to her. Seriously. Like she wants me to pet her or put her on my lap. Normally I would ignore such ridiculous behavior but she’s so stinking cute it’s not funny. And that’s how she gets away with breaking every rule of etiquette there is. She invades everyone’s space, she “man spreads,” she steals EVERYTHING, she stinks up the room all the time, the list goes on. But then you see this adorable little face and you just wanna kiss it. 

Yes, she is sitting on the coffee table and no, she’s not allowed to do that. She is also not allowed to sit on her sister but that doesn’t stop her. Actually, she pretty much parks her little ass anywhere that she sees fit. 

These are two separate occasions in the last two days 🙄.
 

This is what I wake up to. 

That dog is a reverse sour patch kid. You know how “first they’re sour, then they’re sweet?” Well she comes in with the illusion of sweetness by giving you kisses..and turns sour as she bites your hand, arm, nose or anything else she can get her mouth on. I have photographic proof of her evilness, captured by my friend, Kim. Just look at her face! Poor Nala is like, “OH SHIT 😳😳” 

😂😂😂  That is my favorite pic ever. 

Garden news coming next week! Have a great night!

Clearing the Clutter

I am so grateful for this beautiful weekend!! I really needed it for my mental health, I can’t take anymore cold weather! 

I have stayed busy tidying up junked up spaces while stuck inside, waiting for the 96th day of January to be over 🙄. I see a light at the end of the tunnel though and it had better be from a 70 degree heat emitted from the sun and not like, the headlight of a cinder truck! 

Anyway, I have some neat ideas to share on Clearing the Clutter and some dog stories, because no blog post would be complete without them! 

First up: the kitchen junk drawer. This was actually a second take on this drawer. I half heartedly cleaned it up sometime during fall/winter 2016 when I started on my journey of decluttering. I found a list on Pinterest of 100 things you should throw away and lots of them were found in this drawer. Of course, I didn’t throw most of them away (who throws away good pens, batteries, etc? That list maker needs to reassess her methods...) but I did put some thought into what’s necessary and what’s not and sorted accordingly. Please don’t throw things away that others can use. It’s nonsensical. Donate it. Please 🙏🏻. 

It’s still a catch-all junk drawer but it’s slightly more organized thanks to some different bins (that actually hold stuff in them. I had to make a card stock retainer wall around the others 🙄) and a gum container for the all my Command hook tapes 😄. 

Speaking of Command hooks, do you even know all the possibilities they can provide for decluttering? If you don’t, please do some searching on Pinterest. It will change your life, for realzzz. 

Sunglasses, lunch cooler, mixer accessories, jewelry holder by the shower, belts, hats, keys, dog leashes (well we have a dog butt that holds our dog leashes because my mother in law bought it for us and it’s super cute but a Command hook would also work)...the list goes on! 

This one is made specifically for cords. Who knew? 🤷🏻‍♀️

The mixer gets stored in a cabinet with about 5 other things with cords so it’s helpful to wrap it up before it gets put away. 

The bathroom is another space that has been involved in more than one decluterring phase. The undershelf rack is great for storing toilet paper and saves a ton of room. I use two bins for lotion and perfumes and the handles make them easy to pull out. I have been mocked for my drawer system but I’m pretty uncaring about that sort of thing so I’m sharing it with you all anyway 🤪. 

The last hack I’m sharing is a bit outdated because it involves store loyalty cards and most places nowadays are able to look up rewards systems with your phone number. However, if you’re still toting 25 cards around in your wallet, I may have an idea for you. A few years ago I decided to stop carrying every card around with me all the time because living so far away from shopping areas means that I don’t need them most days. I gathered them all up and used a hole puncher to make a hole in the corner of each card and then collected them onto a binder ring. I just stashed them in my glove box so that when we did go to the mall or wherever, I could just grab them and use them and then replace them. Some of you women can probably relate, the less crap I have in my purse the better. I found these in the junk drawer and rehomed them in the box of toys I keep for the kids to play with when they’re here. I know my youngest niece will enjoy using them as “credit cards” for playing store. 



On to the important stuff: Sansa and Sophie. The little one has really come into her own personality lately. I think she must’ve been raised on the set of The Walking Dead because she does a very good zombie impression when she’s trying to intimidate Sansa. She also tries to bite Sansa’s face off so I think I’m on to something here. However, I don’t think I have to worry about Sophie eating Sansa because a) that’s a lot of meat for a little dog and b) she loves her way too much. Poor Sansa can’t get a break from her. Just look: 

These were not taken on the same day. They just don’t wear clothes so everyday looks the same. I knew you needed that explanation. You’re welcome. 









They even flip their ears back together 😂

I find it amusing when Sophie puts her butt in Sansa’s face because Sansa gives me the butt all the time 🙄. 


These are all from different days. Sansa would like to let you think that she’s the older, cooler big sister who finds the baby annoying and lame but she totally loves Sophie, too. We had a play date with my friend, Kim, and her dog, Nala, and when Nala would get too rowdy with Sophie, Sansa would come shoulder check Nala and put herself between them 😂. It was really sweet to see her defend her little sister.

Sophie hasn’t caught onto the value of treats yet. 

 They all behaved very nicely together but leave it to my two to find the only muddy spot around 🙄. Seriously, that is MUD she is laying in: 

She was soaking wet and my recently detailed car is now a mess 😡. Sigh. Life goes on. 

When Sophie isn’t following Sansa around she’s following either me or Philip. And this is how she checked to see what we were doing on the side of the deck when we were planting blueberry and blackberry bushes: 😂

These dogs sure do make life interesting. That’s all for this week. The garden is coming along nicely and im hoping to have something to report in a few weeks 😍. 

Good night! 

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Healthiness

Well, most of you know by now but in case you haven’t heard (drum roll, please): Balanced Life Yoga is in operation! For now I am offering classes at a couple of different places around the area with hopes of finding a permanent location in the near future. You can stay up to date on days, times, and locations by following Balanced Life Yoga, LLC on Facebook. Some day I will have a functioning website..just as soon as my techie husband stops doing unimportant things, like school work and going to his job, and finishes my site 🙄😝. I’m just teasing him. It’s actually really great for my business plan to have people do work for me for free so I guess I can’t complain 😉. The Wetzel County Museum hosted a free event for the community last Friday evening and I taught two full classes. I had such a great time! It’s also good for business to have friends who can get you the hook up 😉 (Thanks, Holly! You da best!). So now I tell everyone to come do yoga, including the tattoo artist who did my most recent ink. He wanted to go outside to smoke before he got started and after telling him that he should quit smoking (he said he had no idea smoking is bad for you so it was a good thing I informed him! 🙄) I agreed that he could if he would do some yoga poses while doing it. So I showed him tree, flamingo, and warrior 3 and he humored me and did them all. Dan at Starkey’s Tattoos is a great artist and ridiculously funny, I highly recommend him. Especially if you want a mandala, those are his favorite (no they’re not). If you get one, make sure you tell him I sent you. I told him I would be sure to send all the mandala lovers I know to him 😂😝. 

Below is a pic from my gig Friday night. I was telling them to drop to their knees if the plank was too much for them. We had such a great turnout that I believe the Museum will host another event soon so I’m super excited for that! 

I really need to get some yoga action shots taken but I’m waiting on this unbelievably-cold-for-April weather to warm up. I’m so done with it. I’m pretty sure the amount of time it takes for a dog to pee is directly affected by the temperature outside and the colder it is, the longer my two goofballs want to stay out and sniff things or watch birds or dig for moles or chew on some rocks (Sophie!) or anything besides pee. They know after they do their business they have to go inside so I’m 100% I have been outsmarted by a dog. Sophie’s still a baby so she pretty much pees as soon as she hits the grass. Sansa, on the other hand, is a master manipulator. She does this thing where she like silent barks (I’m aware that makes no sense but that’s the only way to describe it) and tells you she has to potty. So you hurry and take her out because you figure if she’s yelling at you, she probably has to pee pretty badly. Well let me tell you what, Sansa lies. She’s a big, fat liar liar pants on fire and she doesn’t even wear pants. You’ll take her out and she will just roll around in the grass and make you wanna scream but you can’t because your neighbors will think you’re crazy. I really shouldn’t worry about that though because some of them read my blog and know it’s true 😋. 

Anyway, where else was I going with this? Oh, yeah. I wanted to share my recent experience using HelloFresh, a meal delivery service (like Blue Apron only not Blue Apron). So my friend, Ali, tried it and told me about it and sent me a referral link to try it for $20. This included all the ingredients for three meals and detailed instructions on how to prepare them, all in a super insulated box that was delivered to my house, conveniently at lunchtime when I was home and able to put it in the fridge. However, had I not been home it definitely would have been fine until I got here. I had created and account and chose the three meals I wanted from a menu or about 7 or 8 options. Philip is quite the picky eater but I was able to choose meals that he would try. 

We got Pronto White Chicken Pizzas, Peppercorn Steak with creamed kale and potato wedges, and Sesame Beef Stirfry. All three were good but the stirfry was my favorite and then the steak because you make a shallot/beef concentrate sauce to top it with and that was amazing. 

Sesame Beef Stirfry

Pronto White Chicken Pizzas

Peppercorn Steak

I really enjoyed trying some new recipes. I’m so bored with normal eating routine and could also stand to clean it up some. You can choose on your profile if you have an dietary restrictions and there’s a category for “Fit Meals” or something like that, which is what I chose. I think that means just less calories, not necessarily extremely healthy

This and That

I’ve been really annoyed with my FB newsfeed lately so I’m just gonna put this out there and then get on with my day: hashtags on Facebook are stupid. There, I said it. Maybe I just don’t know how helpful they are. Maybe some people actually use them to search for pictures. If you have an event that you want to tag, such as a wedding, and come up with a cutesy hashtag, by all means, tag it. However, if you think that one day you’ll want to remember a pic because it contained a #gymmat, you probably need to expand your horizons. I mean, there’s a whole world out there. In my mind, hashtags are only acceptable in small doses and should have meaning. At least on Facebook. I know Instagram was made for that sort of thing so that’s a different ballgame. If you want to hashtag something to make it funny..awesome. If you want to hashtag an entire story…”I went to #Wal-Mart to buy #bread and #milk and #toiletpaper because the #forecast said it’s going to #snow 1/8” but the shelves were #empty. Just my #luck. #emptycabinets #nowimgonnaneedafamilycloth”(If you don’t know what a family cloth is, google it😳)….I want to throat punch you. Just sayin’.  Oh, and, #whenusinghashtagsatleastspellthedamnwordscorrectly. 

Thanks.

Maybe instead of #hatingthehashtag, I should #embrace the hashtag. Maybe I’m just #sassy tonight because I’m living the #puppylife and I’m tired and not nearly as #crafty at the moment as I usually am. 

Nah. 

Just to be #clear, any use of a #hashtag from me is #sarcasm. 

ANYWAY,

I planned to have separate categories for my different subject matters but tonight you’re getting a mashup. I don’t have enough content to fill any one category so the following will be one from Clearing the Clutter, Hobby Happenings, and Passion for Repurpose. Here we go! (In my best Mario voice)

So, in the very little time that I have spent being creative, I made some more necklaces. I always begin with the intention of selling what I make but then rarely want to part with them. I guess that’s a good sign for potential buyers; I wouldn’t sell you anything that I wouldn’t want to wear myself. I’m starting to experiment more with the lava rocks for using essential oils and I like them quite a bit. I made a special necklace (with the blue clay pendant) for a special little boy. One of my bff’s, Michelle, told her son about essential oils and he wanted to give them a try. I made a necklace for him and mailed it to them and he texted me to tell me thank you. He then asked if I wanted to hear a joke, which I, of course, did, and he asked what animal is the best at playing hide and seek. Do you know? A werewolf…get it? Lol He’s a funny kid. 

Next up is Clearing the Clutter. I found this collection when I was cleaning out the junk drawer in the kitchen last week. Nowadays, most stores will allow you to access your rewards card by providing your phone number, but if you like to keep the real thing and don’t want your wallet full of ‘em, here ya go: punch a hole in the corner of the card with a hole puncher and keep them all together using a binder ring. I used to keep them in my car when I used them regularly and just grabbed them when I was going shopping. The only rewards card I still use are my Speedway and Kroger cards so I will most likely repurpose these others by donating them to the box of toys I have to keep the children amused when they visit us. 

My Passion for Repurpose project is one that was greatly needed. We have a shoe thief in this house (*ahem*Sophie*ahem*) so I needed a way to keep my boots up where she can’t get them. When we first got Sansa, she decided my nice fuzzy Ugg boots would be a terrific chew toy. I would’ve almost agreed with her if they didn’t cost so freakin much. I still wear them to take her outside, but not in public since they have a hunk eaten out of them on the heel. Anyway, I do not want a repeat of that episode so I constructed a solution. We used to have this expandable bar in our trash closet that had a shelf above it, when we first moved into our house. I took it out years ago and stored it until I found another use for it. Well that day has come! This is my new boot rack. I left enough space so that the boots could sit behind it and rest nose down against the bar. It’s far enough back and the boots are partially covered by my shirts that Sophie should not be able to reach them for a while. While I was installing the bar I noticed that I needed to sort through my clothes and get rid of things I haven’t worn. I made a pile on the floor of shirts I no longer wear and leggings that aren’t comfortable or gym appropriate. I left them there when I went to work my group training yesterday morning and when I came home, every article of clothing was in the living room, along with the contents of my sweatpants drawer, which I’m not even sure how she got open. You can’t open bottom drawers around her without something disappearing. She’ll take your socks, disposable gloves from the kitchen, cleaning rags, laundry as you’re taking it out of the dryer and putting it into a basket. She’ll take your shoes as you’re taking them off your feet, anything that is in Sansa’s mouth, your pillow, anything sticking out of the recycling bag; you name it, she’ll steal it. And eat it. 

There’s never a dull moment with a puppy around. She’s getting used to being on a leash but taking the two of them out together is chaotic at times. Because she’s a puppy and can’t be trusted to not sneak off and potty in the house, we tend to take her out about every hour, and sometimes more if she starts looking suspicious by sniffing around. The problem with that is, Sansa is a jealous ass so you take Sophie out and Sansa sits and looks at you out the window and then goes to the door when you come in and gives you the sad eyes and makes you feel bad. So we tell her, “I’ll take you out but I know you don’t have to potty. You just want to go because your sister did.” So she’ll go out and sniff and then we’ll start giving her more crap about it, like, “Well? Is it everything you wanted it to be out here? I knew you didn’t have to potty. Are you done? Do you fill equal now, can we go in?” 🙄. Some people might feel ridiculous for having a full conversation with their dog but not us. Nope.

The best part about her being jealous is the mommy cuddles I get 😊.  

Look how stinking cute they are!

Sansa taught Sophie everything she knows. 

Chasing a Frisbee 😂😂😂


Uh, Soph, that’s not a toy...


This is a beautiful moment right here. This is Sansa’s bed in our bedroom that she has not previously shared. Although, I’m pretty sure Sophie waited til Sansa was sleeping before jumping up there, BUT Sansa most likely woke up when she did and didn’t tell her to get down so that’s progress. 



Sansa staring at Coen like a goober 😋😂.

 

It sure has been an interesting three weeks so far with this new addition. I’m looking forward to watching her grow. Sansa seems to be adjusting to the new normal and they play together constantly. That makes me heart happy ❤️. 

Happy Easter, everyone!