Silhouette!

I'm finally (I hope) getting the hang of using my Silhouette machine that I got for Christmas two years ago! I got it when My Love and I were in the process of moving, and so I was sort of forbidden from setting it up, because we were going to be in transition, and didn't want lost pieces, etc. And then, once we moved, other things took priority. Then, we had a baby, and I still hadn't gotten to play with it much.
When I finally did really attempt to use it, I chose too big a project, and got frustrated. I personally don't feel like the program is very intuitive. I mean, I can do basic stuff without TOO much trouble, but I've made a lot of "rookie" mistakes because I just don't understand how everything functions. The most basic functions aren't impossible to figure out, but I think there is like a million other things my machine can do that I haven't figured out yet.

Anyway, my first new project was to label the dog bowls. Since Little Man has become mobile, we've had to re-evaluate the placement of MANY things in our home. The dog bowls (and water bowl, for that matter) are one of them. So, the plan is to move the food storage bin into the laundry room (something I've wanted to do for a while now anyway), and put the bowls in there on top of the bin. With three dogs, however, this gets slightly complicated, because they appear to be very aware of which bowl is theirs, even if we can't tell. Thus the need for the labels. I found a font I liked (Sunshine Poppy), and cut their names out of black vinyl. The end result was:

I'm so pleased with how they turned out! Now, I just have to get the laundry room more organized, and ready for the bin and bowls! I'm sad that I think this will require a day at the laundromat to wash all of our larger blankets :P Our washer is already pretty unbalanced (no idea how to right that), and washing the big blankets always sounds like it's going to blow up :(


The other project was something I thought that I wanted, realized I had no place for it, and then couldn't decide how to repurpose it.
I found this "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" sign at Goodwill for like $3. It was originally from Target, and still had the sticker on it (though not the price tag). I really like to recycle when possible, and my husband always complains that there's not a "simple" way or process to do it. We don't have a trash bin and a recycle bin in our kitchen, for example. So, there's really no rhyme, reason, or functional system that we have...most of our recycling (which we do a lot of) is by sheer force of my will ;) I think I intended to use this sign for a recycling station or something, but the idea wasn't completely formed, and the sign was way longer than was practical for the space that I would end up needing it for, should I use it for that...so I decided not to pursue that any further.
The sign went on a shelf, with other incomplete projects, or items that need to be refinished/redone/repurposed. I don't even want to know how long it has sat there.

Then, I finally realized what I wanted to put on it. "This Too Shall Pass." Once I actually made the sign, a bunch of people made bathroom jokes...like, I should hang the sign in the bathroom. I get it. I'm not offended. But they don't realize the significance it has to me.
A long time ago, I heard a proverb about a king who issued a challenge for someone to fashion him something that would make him happy when he was sad and sad when he was happy. I'm not sure if there was an incentive, other than it was the king's wish, but nonetheless...one man brought him a ring with the phrase on it "This Too Shall Pass."
I've been very convicted lately about living in the moment. As in, I need/want to live in the moment. I'm a huge worrier, and tend to borrow more trouble than is coming to me. I have a small son who is growing so fast. There are so many times I feel like I have failed or messed up, and I can berate myself for those mistakes, rather than learning from them, growing, and moving forward. So, this phrase is my mantra, for now, I suppose. It's meant to help me to remember to cherish the good moments that I have, because they won't last forever. It's meant to keep me humble, and my head on straight, in moments of accomplishment or success. And, it's meant as an encouragement, to keep on keeping on, even when things are dreary and difficult, and the situation I'm in feels insurmountable.
So, that's why I made this sign. Here's what it looked like, before and after:

And, here it is hanging over the door leading into our garage from our kitchen. Despite not being a super great cook, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and experience a lot of frustration there. I think the sign will help me refocus a lot :)

That's all for now. I have, as usual, big plans for the next week. A dear friend is coming to town for a visit, and I've got to get the house more together than it is now. I'm hoping I can pull it off! I'll post some pictures if I do! One of the hard things will be focusing on the things that NEED to get done and setting aside my projects until those things are completed. I have some fun ones coming up! :)

It has begun!

Oh my. I just looked back and saw that I only officially finished two of my Christmas movie entries. Lame-o. I have a draft written with the other movies that I wrote about. But, to be candid, December was kind of a cruddy month. We enjoyed our Little Man's first Christmas, had a great time with family, and probably appreciated them more due to all the mayhem...but there were other circumstances going on that just really...sucked. My dad always got mad at me when I used that word; he said, "Vacuums suck." Haha. I know it's not a very proper word...but it seems to communicate my feelings rather well. I probably appreciated all the little things more because of these unpleasant things, but still...

Any way, I may or may not post my Christmas movies later. I don't want to make MORE promises that I can't keep :P
Due largely to the same circumstances, I also didn't make any more progress with (at least in posting) the 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home. And, while I haven't posted about it, I have actually done several things in working toward getting more organized. I have spent a lot of time perusing one of my favorite blogs, I Heart Organizing. Ooooh, this woman is a genius! I drool reading all of her posts. I look at the pictures of what she's done, listen to the ideas that she has and has implemented, and let my mind wander and dream. It's like therapy. It's delicious :) I know, I sound like a crazy person. And, while you would never know it from the current state of my house...deep, deep, deep in the recesses of my brain, perhaps even my soul, I am essentially OCD. I "developed" it when I went off to college. Two people sharing a very small space was much nicer when things were organized. It still got kind of out of hand, every now and again, but I always felt calmer, and more at peace, once everything was back in its place. That feeling only intensified as my education continued. It was at its peak when I had an apartment at the university where I obtained my degree. But then...I got married :D
My Love is a great many wonderful things, but he is not OCD. He is not a neat freak. He is not even, in general, remotely neat (as in tidy - he is a remarkably interesting person, IMO). So, to maintain my sanity, and the health of our marriage, I adapted. Fast forward six years, and now I'm a bigger slob than him. Funny thing is, there's a constant anxiety that gently buzzes around my insides when things are out of sorts. Which means that I'm dealing with constant anxiety! ;)

So again, I find myself, to maintain my sanity, and the health of our marriage, adapting again, only trying to revert back to those glorious days of OCD, with a healthy balance of reasonable expectations and grace that should be attributed to any person with a family and pets.

The main area where I have succeeded the best at being organized is Little Man's room. I'm about to re-organize, as he is growing like a weed, but I'll try to remember to post a before and after even of that. I'm grateful and optimistic that I've been able to maintain an organizational system, as well as make changes to it in order to improve it. It gives me hope that I can do it elsewhere in the house. Here's hoping!

I do intend to use the 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home, and hopefully soon. When I do, I hope that I'm good about posting results.

In the meantime, I took one of the cabinets in our kitchen that was previously littered with drink koozies, medicine, my recipe box, and other miscellaneous things. I decided to convert it into a Little Man cabinet - that way, all of his food, utensils, and feeding accessories could be in a central location.

[mom rabbit trail] We're just now entering the solid foods arena. Or, well, really entering it. We've dabbled with rice cereal, cereal puffs, and pureed baby food. I wanted to buy some to determine what sorts of things he liked before I started buying fruits and vegetables in mass, and pureeing everything in sight ;) I'm getting a handle on his preferences. Thus far, though (thank goodness), he doesn't appear to be a very picky eater! So now I just have to beef up my knowledge on making baby food, and get to it! The cabinet might change again once those changes have been implemented. [end of mom rabbit trail]
I know there are far more important things in life. but this little cabinet is somehow symbolic to me of taking ownership of my life again, and starting fresh. Re-evaluating what is important, what isn't, and living in a way that is more simple, and enables me to give to others more.

I'm hoping, once I get a grip on things, that I can catch up on art projects LONG overdue. While doing that, I plan to also brainstorm art ideas, and hope to begin taking my "future" in art more seriously. I want to develop some products, and maybe put them in an etsy shop. If that does alright, I hope to add more. At some point, I'd love to be able to contribute reasonably to our income, and start saving for going back to school to get my associates in art. It's a mad dream...but they are goals for me to strive for. And I think that's what I have been missing, to some degree, lately. Direction. Not that my life is or was without purpose, but perhaps personal goals? I'm not sure...still mulling it over.

That's all for now.