So...Hey!

Hey guys! Sorry it has been so long. I don't know where the time has gone...all I know is it is gone! Let me see...I think a list is in order. Here is a list of all the things that are happening in my life right now:

1. I work all the time! 6 days a week 8 hours a day.
2. I don't seem to have much free time to craft anymore.
3. I love the Classic episodes of Doctor Who, I'm watching them on Amazon Prime.
4. Apparently, I dress eccentrically...
5. I am now, "some lady" and no longer a girl :( 
6. I got to the gym at least 5 days a week.
7. I am trying all kinds of new things with my hair.
8. I am reading through the Bible and am in Job right now.
9. I love the Anne of Green Gables books, currently on book 7 and only one more to go : /
10. I'm working on a 1/4" hexagon project with English Paper Pieces.
11. I have fallen for AHHHs.
12. I go to the movies like once a month.
13. My laptop will not turn on.
14. I still love Etsy trades and have tons to tell you about! 
15. I now have a small collection of vintage Pyrex! 
16. I learn all the time.
17. There are so many things I want to do.
18. I'm planning a trip to Disney World?!
19. I miss my family : (
20. Sometimes I feel busy and other times I don't...what is up with that? 
21. I watch the Mythical Show when I remember too. 
22. Jake is in Japan.
23. I have a new facebook profile pic that everyone loves, but I think it's a lie because I don't really look like that.
24. I want to blog better.
25. I am thinking about 30 day challenges for my blog.
26. I am thinking of different ideas for blog posts.
27. I miss video games.
28. I really like hand sewing! 
29. I love my life, just the way it is and the way it was and the way it will be.
30. I have so many goals!
31. I may be addicted to fabric...
32. I feel very strong in my faith.
33. I have discovered froyo! 
34. I like to get letters and packages in the mail.
35. A friend has introduced me to GLEE...and I really like it! 
36. I want to make a hexagon quilt! 
37. I love having money to shop with.

There. I think that is it for now. I want to blog more and hope to be able to soon. I may have to experiment more with blogging via my iPad...

Number eleven: Getting an iPad?!

Yeah! Can you believe it? If you know me very well, you are probably just getting up from the floor where you fell when you read the title of this post! As you may know, I am not one to spend lots of money on things. So you may be wondering how I got an iPad.

Well, I did not buy it. It was a gift! After doing my internship for awhile she up and gave me an iPad! Crazy huh?!

I have to say, it is really fun. I seem to be playing with it all of the time. Yet at the same time, I don't think that I would buy one for myself. It really is not very productive, but it is fun. I like having it. There are some really fun apps too. I think my favorite might be Magic Piano from Smule.

Oh dear! This is beginning to sound like an advertisement. Well, it isn't. I just wanted to share one of the highlights of my summer with you!

Number ten: Getting a Job

That's right! I got a job!! For so long, I was just not excited about growing up, working in a cubical, doing the same thing over and over. But this summer, I started to feel like I was ready to have a job. To be busy. I was happy at my internship and I figured that I was ready to have a job.

So, I started looking at jobs, not applying, but just looking. However, I was offered an opportunity to be the web content manger at the Hen House were I did my internship! It is just a part time job, but it is still a job and I was thrilled!

Then, on my last day, during the last five minutes of the internship - the shop owner asked me to stay. She offered me a full time job! This is on top of the other job. So I now have two jobs at the same place! I am so excited and I start tomorrow! So exciting!!

I am really happy to have a job and a great on at that! And I am really excited to be able to start paying on my student loans. Yippy Skippy!

Number nine: Finishing my MBA!

Yeah! A little over a year an a half ago, I was so excited to start my MBA journey. And yet...I am so glad to be done! After about 20 years of school, I am finally tired of it. I am ready to be done and I finally am!

My internship this summer was the last part of my MBA and was all research for my thesis. I am just so relieved to be done! Anyway, My thesis ended up being some 48 pages long! And I only got an 82 on it! For those of you who know me, I am pretty obsessive about grades. My GPA for my undergrad was a 3.88. My MBA GPA was a 3.936. I am very happy with that even if I do have a +B in the last class. I mean, yeah, I would have loved to have an A, but overall I did well enough and am happy to be done.

I cannot tell you how glad I am to be done. No more homework. No more discussion boards. No more instructors. No more homework. How wonderful is the world?!

I have decided not to participate in the graduation ceremony. It is not really my thing. But I am hoping to go and cheer! I know some people that will be walking and am really excited for one person in particular ...I think I owe her some Duck Tape Roses....

Anyway! I am really happy and hope you are happy for me too. School is nice, but being done is even better!

Number eight: The excitement of new product in the shop.

Oh my gosh! New stuff is awesome! Seriously it is great to get packages. Well, you know I love to get mail and parcels. Anyway, it seemed like all summer we were getting packages. Some of them were just items that were restocked, but others were new products. Still, there was one shipment that we all were waiting for.

Jo Morton is a fabric designer that creates Civil War reproduction cottons for quilting. She does really great work and those who follow her are often very loyal. Jo Morton fabric also makes up the entire list of designers that the shop purchases the entire line of fabrics. Other designers make some fabrics in a line that are not as pretty, but Jo always does great. So, we were waiting patiently for the newest line to come. We knew that it was supposed to ship "August/September." But what does that mean? The shop always gets the fabric quicker than others because she buys the whole line so we thought that we might get it by the end of July. By the way, we were expecting 30 bolts in the line.

Everyday when UPS or FedEx came I would rush to open the package. I just could not wait for the new line to come. Then one day....

I was in the backroom which opens to the alley where the deliveries are made. I was pressing something, I cannot even remember what it was. I heard the door open and glanced over my shoulder to see who was coming in. My eyes saw a man in all brown backing in. I turned back to my work...Wait! Brown! That is UPS! And he was backing in! I whirled around...yes, I left the iron on and plugged in...By now he was in with a little trolley holding 4 huge boxes! I ran over to see who they were from...meanwhile he was pushing them into the room. "Where do you want them," he asked, "I don't care! Put it anywhere! Who is it from! Hold still!" Seriously, that is what I shouted out! He finally put them down and I read the shipping label. "Oh my gosh! It's from Andover!!" That is the company that makes the fabric with Jo Morton's designs.

I ran to the front of the shop babbling something unintelligible ...Nancy, the shop owner miraculously understood what I was saying as I was jumping up and down. "It's Leesburg" she exclaimed. She, Ronda, and I dashed to the back to tear open the boxes...leaving four customers in the front. Once we got back there the poor UPS guy with the most bewildered look on his face handed me the electronic clipboard to sign. "So...do you get this excited over all of the packages?" he asked. "No, it's just that we have been waiting for this one for so long!"

I cut open the boxes and we oohed and ahhed over the loveliness  Then the customers came to the back and asked if they could help us carry the bolts of fabric to the front. We said yes, we would be thrilled to have help! The ladies were happy to do it too. So fun! I think we each took two or three armfuls of fabric to the front. It was great! Thirty bolts of fifteen yards each!

The rest of the afternoon we were busy cutting fat quarters and we even had a lady come in to buy an entire fat quarter bundle. It was truly thrilling.




P.S. The next day the same UPS guy delivered some more packages (boring ones in comparison  and asked why I did not get so excited this time...

Number 7: Letters from friends.

I love writing letters, but it is even better to receive them! I have always liked to write letters. Thank yous are  fun to write and I have been writing them for ages. I am not sure why I like to write...maybe it has something to do with my love for paper and stationary, but who can say?

I have a few close friends that I like to write to. Some of them are awesome at writing back super fast, others take their time. Either way, I love to get the letters they write.

Letters are more important than text messages and e-mails. Letters take more thought, more planning, more consideration. Letters offer the reader a bit of the real feelings of the reader. Letters offer more honesty. Actually writing the words offers the writer the opportunity to take time out of the busyness of life and to put down in words what the writers thoughts are at that point in time. Letters are lovely.

Some letters I got this summer were full of good news which buoyed up my spirits. Others where written with heavy hearts - these challenged me to help as best I could. Some of the letters were encouraging and some were just newsy. No matter what the letter said on the page they all told me that letter writing is not a lost art.

Oh! And I cannot forget about the letters from Jake! I was really bad at writing regularly to Jake while he was at bootcamp, but he wrote faithfully to his family with whom I was staying. Jake's letters where awesome! They were full of all kinds of news. Like what physical challenges he had completed and was looking forward to doing. He wrote about his friends he was making and the things they had in common. He wrote about his walk with Christ and his desire to be baptized once he got home. His letters encouraged those it was written to and was read with tears in the eyes of the reader more than once.

Letters are lovely.

Number six: My sister got a puppy!

That's right! In July, my sister got a puppy! His name is Wellingtin and he is a six month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He is totally adorable! And we all love him!

Now this might not seem like a big deal to you, so I will give you a little background information. Ever since my sister was able to ask for Christmas and Birthday presents she has always had two answers. #1: she wanted a puppy and #2: she wanted a dog. Now, as a kid, I was terrified of dogs. Seriously, terrified. On top of that, my dad worked swing shift for awhile and needed his sleep. Then later he had brain surgery and now requires at minimum 8 hours of sleep. 

It always seemed that a dog was just out of the question. My sister was not mature enough to take care of a dog on her own and mom did not need more things to have to do. They were able to placate her by allowing her to play with the neighborhood dogs and she babysat some dogs too. But she always wanted a puppy. 

Now, now that she is 21 and everything is right and I am not so afraid of dogs. Now, she has a puppy! Welly was a gift to her for college graduation! (Congrats Sissy!). 

Welly is a true delight. We has a very sweet disposition and a kind spirit. He is very active, loves to hunt moths and crickets. Enjoys walks around the neighborhood. He is happy and just makes us all happy. My sister is teaching him to sit and come and such and he begins obedience classes next week! Ho-rah for Welly!

Number five: Discovering Downton Abbey.

You will probably think I am coming late to the party, but I just discovered Downton Abbey this summer! Crazy, I know. I guess I have been living under a rock because there were two entire seasons for me to watch!

I love period drams like that and like Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Anne of Green Gables, etc...They are wonderful.So it is no wonder why I enjoyed Downton Abbey. I think that Katie was the one that really encouraged me to watch it. And Amazon Prime had it for free with instant video. So that was nice! I would watch at least one episode before I went to sleep at night.

But by the time I was ready to watch season 2, Amazon did not have it for free (they do now). Katie, the wonderful cousin of mine! Works at the local library and she came home with season 2 for me the very weekend I needed it! We watched the entire season in one weekend! It was great!

Now I cannot wait for the third season to come out! But it does not come out until January! Ugh! I guess I will have to console myself by watching Supernatural with Katie instead. Oh well, I enjoy that one too.

Number four: Watching others grow

This one might seem funny, but it is true. One of the best parts of the summer was watching other people grow in many different ways. One friend became pregnant over the summer and it seemed like she grew on a daily basis. Other people grew in other ways. Some grew in faith. Others in physical strength. Some  grew in knowledge. Some in kindness. Some people grew in leadership.

No matter how they grew, watching was fun and meaningful. Watching others make realizations or learning new things is always wonderful. Change is good and when we see it in others - we look back at our own lives and look for ways that we can grow too.

That is one of the coolest things to see. Person A is experiencing change and is growing in so many ways is being watched by Person B. Person B admires Person A and strives to grow too. This is what I enjoy watching!

Number three - Church and My Relationship with Jesus!

Oh rejoice! Rejoice rejoice rejoice! My heart cannot hold it all in. Life is wonderful and good and sweet!

So at the beginning of the summer, I was going to church with my aunt and her family. Not that it was horrible or anything, but it just was not for me. Worship was hard and the message was hard to relate to. Plus the service started at 8:30 in the morning!

One Sunday Katie and I decided to go to a later service and after that we were kinda laughing about church hopping. Then Katie suggested that we go to her old church in Lansing.

We made our plans and told her parents. The next Sunday we found ourselves at South! I have not been in a church that is so alive, so in love with Christ since Spring Arbor! It was amazing! Worship was wonderful and the messages spoke to my very soul! The best thing was that it really filled my spirit and helped me get through the stresses of the week.

Katie and I would be practically sobbing while we sang praises to Jesus. It was wonderful!

Meanwhile, furring the week, I was stressed beyond belief. The shop owner was out sick and I was doing my best to keep the shop together. My classes were challenging (I should probably say I was having issues with MY instructor, but I don't want to name names). I was having more trouble than I thought I should have been having writing my thesis. I missed home. I was not getting as much jewelry made as I had planned. I did not have a job for after my internship. I just felt like I was failing at life!

Crazy thought for a 24 year old right? But let me tell you, we feel them just the same. Like I told Katie, life is harder than they tell you.

So there I was, loving church, but not really growing closer to Jesus. That is when the pastor did a sermon on hesitant Christians. And I was like yeah! That is me!

That week, almost every night. I cried while I talked to Jesus. I needed to know why I was not trusting him with everything...I discovered that I was afraid of what he would do with me...as if his perfect will would be bad for me! Crazy, I know.

So that is when I decided that even if he wants me to go to some crazy bug infested, wild place with no flush toilets, that I would go. Do you know why? Well it is because I know that he will take care of me wherever he sends me. I finally trusted him with everything. I gave it all to him, I cannot and I do not want to be in charge of all the things in my life. There is too much for one person to deal with!

Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we think that we can do better with our lives than Jesus can? Why do we worry when he is right next to us asking if he can help?

I don't really know why we do these things, but I do know that he will take anything we give him and he will do a better job than we can by ourselves.

Thank you Lord Jesus!! Master of all!! Praise your name forever!!! Amen!

Number Two - Work with Amazing women in a Fantastic Quilt Shop

This is a big one guys! Over the summer I worked at the Hen House. The Hen House is a quilt shop that has been open for over 30 years. A family friend owns the shop and was selected to be in the Spring Issue of Quilt Sampler magazine! This is a huge honor and has brought in tons of new customers.

As an intern, I was at the shop almost everyday, I did get a few days off. I worked Monday through Saturday 10 to 5:30. It was great. I was able to be really helpful and useful which is great!

A couple of weeks after I got thee, just as I was getting the hang of things...the shop owner got really sick and was out of the shop for basically the whole summer. So guess what...I ended up being the manager while she was out sick.

Now why would an inter who had only been in the shop a couple weeks become the manager? Well, it has to do with the way the other girls are scheduled at the shop.

Ronda works Monday's and Friday's.
Debbie works Tuesdays.
Linda works Wednesdays.
Carolyn works Thursdays.
Do you see the problem? None of them are there two days in a row! I was the only one that was there all the time!

Needles to say, I learned tons. I learned practical knowledge about running a shop. I learned about sewing, quilting, pressing vs. ironing, and reverse sewing.

All the ladies were really wonderful to work with and have all become very dear to me.

I'm back...and how!

Hello everyone! I know it has been ages and I have so much to tell you! All summer I was staying with family in Michigan while I worked at a quilt shop doing my internship and finishing up my MBA. The summer was long and crazy and wonderful!

So here is a list of my favorite summer memories:
1. Staying with family when they needs me most.
2. Working with amazing women in a fantastic quilt shop.
3. Church and my relationship with Jesus!
4. Watching others grow.
5. Discovering Downton Abbey.
6. My sister got a puppy!
7. Letters from friends.
8. The excitement of new product in the shop.
9. Finishing my MBA!
10. Getting a job!
11. Getting an iPad?!
12. Craft show failure.

I know! A ton of things, wonderful things happened in my life and I cannot wait to tell you about them all. I think for the next 12 days, I will write a post about each of the things on the list - one item per day!

Missing Trades - Part 5: HoneybeeHobby

Holly from HoneyBeeHobby is wonderful! She makes amazing crocheted items that are super cool! I have traded with her many times, but I am getting ahead of myself....

It all started on day last November. It was a trade frenzy and I was checking out everyone's shops. then, all of the sudden, I found this great shop! It had all kinds of cool items like a Pokéball Tote. But what caught my attention the most was this amazing yellow headband!

You may be aware that yellow is not my favorite color (in case you are wondering it is pink). Somehow, this headband just seemed to be calling my name!

So I quick sent a convo to Holly asking her if she might possibly be interested in doing a trade with me. She wrote back ASPA with a YES!  We worked out all of the details and I got the headband and she got these earrings! Everyone went home happy!

Still more missing trades posts to come! 

It Came!!!!!

So a couple of weeks ago, I won an awesome giveaway from paper-and-string! And it came today!!!!

I have been looking forward to this package arriving since...something like...December third! And it finally got here!!! I am so excited!!!!!!!! (As if you could not tell by the extreme number of exclamation points I am using!!)

This is some really cool holiday tape!

And delicious European Chocolates!

How cool is that? I think that is is pretty cool to win an international prize! I am just so jazzed about it all!

Thanks paper-and-string! You are so awesome!!!!!

SNOW!!!!

I am so very very happy with life right now!! It is so wonderful. I am just so happy and excited. :D I have been wanting snow for so long and now it is finally here! And just in time for the first day of December too.

Lord, thank You for the snow! Thank you for how lovely it is. Thank You for loving me so much that You sent me some snow! I love you Lord and pray that the snow will make everyone a little bit happier today and keep us all safe in the snow.

My AWESOME Little Sister!!

Oh, I miss my little sister! :( I miss her a lot. It is so hard to be away from home after a nice time over Thanksgiving break. But here I am, back at school and I plan to make the best of it. My sister, who, if you didn't know, is a baking and pastry arts major in Indiana, sent me an e-mail today in which I found some great inspiration for a new jewelry line!! Her is what she sent me:

It is for sale at Etsy.com! Isn't it great?! On further research I also found these little beauties!

My sister thinks I should make an some for her and that got me thinking...why not do an entire line of kitchen jewelry?! It would be so cool! My sister is a great supporter of my addiction to beading and jewelry (well, crafting in general!). She offered to sell them to her classmates! She's so great!

And now for something completely different...a nice Youtube video to make your Monday way better!

The day before Thanksgiving Day!

 Oh! Today was a fun day!I got to make some awesome Cake Pops with my sister! Here are a few pictures!

We made a ton of them!

Isn't it cute!!!!

While we were not making these sweet little cake pops we watched a couple of movies and I made some rings while I watched. Here are the rings:

This one was commissioned by Katelynn.

Another one for Katelynn.

This is one that Casey ordered.

This is just one that I made for myself!

Can you tell I love pink?!

So that was my day before Thanksgiving Day. It was pretty good. It is so nice to be home and be able to create! :D