Week in Review: June 13-19

Last week...

•We got super crafty!

•Was my most favorite Crafty Night ever!!

•The girls & I got daddy a remote control helicopter for Father's Day. (We think he needs to learn to play more.)

•I baked bread.

•I lost 2.5 pounds!

•Overheard this while the girls played dolls:

Zoey: "Do you wanna come to church with me?"

Pazely: "Sure!"

Zoey: "Well, I'm not sure there's enough room in the car."

Pazely: "That's OK. I have a jetpack."

•The girls & I got halfway through "The Little House in the Big Woods"

•I ate cotton candy.

•I bought squirty grape jelly for the first time ever.

•I played with vintage fabrics.

•I ran down to the basement with my kidlets after hearing the tornado siren.

•I mailed my birth dad THIS awesome Father's Day card.

•Watched a game of croquet.

•Munched on my most favorite frog eye salad. (If not restrained, I could eat a whole bowl full.)

•Stayed up way too late almost every day this week.

•Knitted.

Thanks to all of you who are following along in the 2011 Summer Diary series.

It's so much fun to hear all the feedback! 

(I just noticed that the "2011 Summer Diary" badge on the right side of the blog is not working to connect all the 2011 Summer Diary posts. I'll try to figure it out...)

Here's to another happy, busy, fun, super terrific, mellow & crafty summer week!

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review: May 23-29 (OOPSIE.)

Oopsie.

I coulda sworn I had posted a "Week in Review" while I was gone on my vacay.

I made up this photo collage & everything.

But I just noticed it wasn't on my blog.

So, here it is.

A piece of my vacay.

♥

Week in Review: May 30-June 5

I can't believe that last week I was in Washington. Oh, it was so good to be with family. It was a short visit & of course it went by too quick. I knew it would. A part of me wishes I were still there. I miss my family very much. What tearful goodbyes I had with my mom & grandmother! I love that this mosaic lingers with some photographic memories from my trip.

(More photos soon from my visit. Did you hear I yarn bombed for the first time?)

I felt like this week was the first real chance at summer play with my girls. We've been on the go & finally have a bit of summer routine under our lazy belts. Swimming lessons have started. We're looking forward to the Summer Reading Program at the Library. We hope to fill our mellow days with many adventures.

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review: May 16-22

Last week was the last week of school for the girls. Our summer fun is already under way! We are ready for playing, fun, adventure, crafty good times & relaxin' until it's time to play again.

We're kicking off the summer with a family vacation to Lincoln/Omaha. In fact, as I write this it's 12:30 in the morning. I just got off work. We're leaving at 7 a.m. Yep, that's in about 6 1/2 hours. I still have to pack & do a bunch of fretting before we leave. Definitely gonna be bringing my pillow. I believe it's a 6 hour drive, so I'll get a lot of nappin' in! We're planning to make it to the zoo on Thursday---the only sunny day during our adventures.

The rain won't stop us from having a good time.

We will find fun.

Promise.

Don't forget to follow along on our 2011 Summer Diary series. (A button is on the right sidebar. Or click HERE for the most current posts.)

Click HERE for a photo mosaic play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review: May 9-15

Less overwhelmed than last week. Yay! Trying to make the most of every minute. Freaks me out that the girls are completing their last week of school this week. The fam & I leave for a vacay to Omaha/Lincoln in 9 days. It's no tropical resort in a sunny locale---but it's someplace we've never been as a familiy. It'll be great fun! The zoo! We can't wait to visit the zoo!! And then I'll depart on a solo flight from Omaha to Washington, where I'm visiting my grandmother for 5 days. Her health is failing her.

I cried in church yesterday thinking about how this might be the last time I see her. I was just sitting there, taking notes, listening to pastor hubby preach & my mind started wandering & I began thinking about how I'm going to prepare my heart for this trip. I came to the conclusion that I have no idea HOW I'm going to do that. When I say goodbye, I'm saying goodbye forever. And every time I think that, I start getting all glisteny in the eye area. Like now. I know there's the whole, "You'll see her in heaven someday" thing. But I want her here on earth with me. I know that's selfish. But that's where I'm at right now. I hate being so far from my family. It's hard. I want to enjoy every moment I have with her while I'm there visiting, but I'm afraid I'll be a mess of emotions, thinking about how many days I don't have left with her. Maybe I can cry out all the tears before I leave so that I won't have any left when I get there.

Thanks for listening friends.

I'm sure there will be more where that came from...

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review: May 2-8

I had a pretty nice Mother's Day... Woke to flowers & cards & a school-made gift from the 8 year old, who had it packaged in a brown paper sack for the past 2 days & was so anxious for me to open it ever since she brought it home. After church this morning & an omelet-n-hashbrown lunch at the local diner, the fam & I headed home for what I was hoping would be a relaxing bout on the couch with my yarn & needles while everyone else did anything else but bother me. But instead, I decided to plant some grass seed in the 8 pots on the porch. And, somehow, that turned into me cleaning the entire garage & setting up a sweet little potting bench (which is odd, since I have no green thumb... which is why I've resorted to grass seed & not wildflowers or veggies or something exciting like that in those pots). And then I swept & arranged & organized a tidy space on the front porch. And then I cleaned up the back porch. And then I helped the 6 year old create a poolscape where she waded & splashed & lounged in the 90 degree weather!

All the while, the hubby napped.

Eventually I got a few moments of stitching in, while watching Beethoven's 3rd with the girls. We haven't seen Beethoven 1 or 2 yet. And then Mr. WhiMSy love took the girls to pick us all up some ice cream for dinner. We munched it on the now pretty porch where we shared our nightly "highs & lows" & watched Zoey blow bubbles while Pazely pouted because Zoey wasn't sharing.

Note to self: buy more bubbles.

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review: April 23-29

What a great week. That's all I can say!

I knitted.

I cleaned. (Purged & organized, really.)

I mailed birthday thank you post cards.

I ate cinnamon rolls & ice cream cones.

I received happy mail in the form of Crafty Night supplies! 

I BBQ'd.

I worked.

I skyped.

I skyped again.

I skyped yet some more.

I crafted.

I wrote.

I knitted a bit extra.

And I ended the week with some great fun: kite flying & frisbee tossin' with the family & some friends, finished off by a root beer float!

(Tonight I speak at the Bayard MOPS group, & lead the craft as well. I am SOOOO nervous!!!!)

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Reivew: April 18-24

Some weeks I feel like I didn't do a whole lot. And then I put together my "Week in Review" & I change my mind. Like this week...

I had another super fantastic evening with my Knit Witz group. Three friends & I have formed a knitting/crochet posse. And I officially started my first big project: a blanket! I am just knitting squares & squares & more squares. And I'll eventually stitch them all together into a giant blanket. I decided on 20 squares (4 squares with 5 different stitches). 1 1/2 squares down. 18 1/2 to go. Right now I'm just at the point where I want to knit this stitch & that stitch, oh! & that one too....but I can't decipher the knitting codes. And I've decided: knitting IS brain surgery. But, oh, how awesome it feels to be conquering one of my crafty intimidations!! The Knit Witz also had a fun little celebration in honor of my birthday & the lovely awards I recently won. I was even surprised with a cake that said "Happy Birthday Award Winning Nikki". It made me laugh & smile real big. (It even had an owl on it!) There were prezzies too: My first self-healing cutting mat (It was pink!) & 12 cans of 'Think Pink' salmon! (There was a theme...)

There were also the Easter projects to make: chocolate lollipops & felt bunny finger puppets & little goodie bags to assemble & pass out to the kidlets on Easter morning at church.

And, of course, the traditional painting of the Easter eggs. Last year I started dyeing eggs with the girls on the actual day OF Easter. I love doing it this way so much more. I always grew up dyeing them with my siblings a day or two before Easter. And this year was our 2nd annual Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt. SO. MUCH. FUN. I also fill a basket with little toys & trinkets for the girls every year. This year I spied adorable butterfly nets & dainty wooden Chinese fans at Pier 1 Imports. (Among other things...)

Mr. WhiMSy love bought the first package of sidewalk chalk of the season... I was gifted with a tiny bouquet, plucked by tiny hands. (Around here that means Spring has officially begun.)... I created a "first" while crafting: wire/bead nest pendants. (SO excited to show the Bayard MOPS group how to make them!)...

I had a VERY relaxing Easter weekend. The girls had playdates aplenty. Daddy worked on his sermon. Mommy worked & played & crafted. There were egg hunts (4 total between all of us). And on Easter Sunday we enjoyed a BBQ at a friend's house, where I eventually fell asleep on the couch with a full belly & a happy heart.

(P.S. Thank you Jesus for what you did for me...)

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review: April 11-17

What a week!

Almost half my week was spent away from home, where I accompanied my co-workers/co-horts/boss peoples to the 137th Annual Nebrask Press Association (NPA) Convention in Lincoln. First of all, we drove there through a crazy winter-like blizzard!! In the middle of April? It was insane! We had to resort to dining at a gas station/convenience store due to the fact that the on-ramp we had hoped to hop over was block by a semi-truck sliding backwards!! Yikes. So, I munched on a 4-course meal of cheesy nachos, mini Nutter Butter cookies, wasabi & soy sauce almonds & an ice cream bar. Blizzard Schmlizzard. Two days later I was shedding my sweatshirt & getting sunburned while attending the Huskers Red & White game at UNL. I just don't get this Nebraska weather.

Anyway, the convention was pretty cool---we attended workshops where we learned about all sortsa stuff beneficial to our jobs. Even how to do slideshows, which I'm pretty stoked to get into.

Miss America also spoke (she's from a small town just an hour away from here) & I also got my pic taken with Olympic gold medalist Curt Tomesevicz, who won in the bobsled event in Vancouver 2010. I think I mighta got a bit too giddy with his medal though.

Susan & I walked around downtown Lincoln & had an awesome time snapping photos & laughing & freezing our bums off. We finally found a rad coffeehouse at 10:30 at night, where we popped in & sipped on hot mint cocoa & cinnamon lattes. 10:30?? Ah, I sometimes miss the perks of a big city. We played "no-rules" Scrabble where words like "zorf" & "weet" & "ipeiduiz" & "xie" TOTALLY count for points. And, even though we didn't keep score, I'm sure I won.

I was kidless & spouseless all weekend. I stayed at the Cornhusker Marriott. I ate really well. There were plenty of jumpy photos. Did you know that in a recent Gallup poll, Lincoln was declared the 2nd happiest city in the nation?? I tried on vintage clothes for an hour straight at Ruby Begonia's.

But, but, but....the HIGHLIGHT of the weekend was the recognition of various newspapers, journalists, photographers, columnists, etc. from around the state. I am SO PROUD to be the 1st place winner of the Sports Feature Photo (class C), where I took a picture last summer of a turtle race at Camp Clarke Days. The judges comments said that they debated long & hard about the "sportiness" of the photo, but decided it was "too good to ignore."

And, and, and...my column "WhiMSy love (in print)" won 2nd place in its class for Best Personal Column!!!! I submitted a column about the wheat harvest & also one about my personal adoption story in the form of a kid's tale. The judges said that "Whimsy" is "a good description of Mans style."

I am SO excited!!

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review: April 4-10

I felt so loved this week! What an awesome feeling. It was really great to be spoiled & pampered after a previous week of hard work & prepping & planning & late nights. But now it's back to a more normal routine. (Normal?? Who am I kidding.)

I'm excited for Crafty Night tomorrow night! *But I get so nervous beforehand.* (Just hoping everyone likes the projects I come up with.) It's gonna be the biggest Crafty Night yet too! I've set up a limited number of seating this month & all the spots have almost filled up. So, basically, all that means I'm gonna have a busy morning & afternoon tomorrow setting up. I really couldn't do these every month without the help of a few awesome friends. I love my Crafty Night crew. I look forward to it every month!! And I can't wait to take pictures & share the night with you all too.

Happy Monday!

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review: March 28-April 3

About 75% of the photos in this picture mosaic are from the grand opening of ON3 Photography that I just helped plan & put together. It was a FANTASTIC night!!! In case you missed out on all the deets, click HERE to read the blog post. Good food, awesome atmosphere, beautiful building over 100 years old, live guitar music, comic polaroid booth, prizes, gift bags, mingling & laughter (& later: dancing & jumpy photos)...what's not to love??

The preparation for the grand opening consumed me for the past few weeks. I'm happy to get back to a semi-normal sleeping schedule & work on other projects.

And guess what the month of April brings?? Why, my birthday, that's what!! Celebratory plans are already in the works. I'm getting excited! And, in case you are curious, HERE is my WISH LIST from amazon.com. Now remember, it's always being updated & changed, so visit often. (HAHA!)

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

Here's to a happy birthday week!!
(3 days & counting...)

♥

Week in Review: March 21-27

Amidst the busy-ness of prepping for the grand opening of my friends' business, I did find time to play. And bake. And cook. And twirl parasols. And have a friend over to craft in the art studio. (Which I've never done before---how odd is that?!) And get together with friends to knit. (We call ourselves "The Knit Wits".) And I was so proud because, for the first time, I followed a pattern & made a leaf!! And it actually LOOKS like a leaf!! I tell you, this fear & intimidation I had of knitting is getting knocked down...one teeny stitch at a time. 

Last week I also discovered that both my girls need glasses. Zoey already has hers. Pazely is waiting anxiously for her pair. It just seems sad that such little new eyes don't work so well. It doesn't seem right. It makes me kind of sad. I hate having to wear glasses.

There are so many secret projects & going-ons happening that I'm planning for the grand opening of ON3 Photography that I cannot share. (Only because my friend Laura, co-owner of ON3, & I discussed that she should be surprised with all the fun little details.) But I will have a WHOLE bunch-of-a-lotta stuff to show & tell by the end of this week!

Buuuuut....I might sneak a thing or two in before then. Shhhh! Don't tell! 

OH! And I almost forgot. My cupcake planters were featured in a little TV segment about whimsical spring crafts from Beth Engelman of 'mommy on a shoestring'. HERE is the link. The samples on the show don't look as full as I would have made them. And the sidekick TV host says: "looks like the aliens landed in my garden..." haha! Anyway. HERE is the original blog post about my cupcake planters, complete with how-to instructions!

♥

Week in Review: March 14-20

The weather is getting all happy again! I opened my windows & front door numerous times last week. My mood has lifted tremendously--& I didn't even realize I had a mood! I also sat on the porch to enjoy the bits of warm sunshine. The girls had spring break (a whopping 2 days long. what?!) & we journeyed overnight to Cheyenne where we invaded Barnes & Noble & then I took the girls to some of our favorite shops: Michael's & The Dollar Tree! I know, doesn't sound exciting, right? Well, living in a small town makes you get excited about things that, once upon a time, you had so readily available & at close proximity.

I'm working on a couple fun projects which will be finalized at the end of the month. The first assignment is to help my friends put together the Grand Opening for their photography studio & frame shop. (It's the same place Crafty Night is hosted once a month!) One thing I'm SO excited about is a sort of polaroid photo booth I'm setting up where I'll have suitcases filled with props. Guests can get all silly-like while I snap a polaroid for them to keep. There will be live acoustic guitar players & wine & yummy eats & mini cupcakes made by moi. OH! And I'm gonna try my hand at making a giant balloon arch to set outside the studio on the evening of the celebration. I'm also putting together photo-themed gift bags for the first 100 guests. I'm having WAY too much fun shopping on Etsy AND crafting up unique items!! (SERIOUSLY, if you're able to make it to Bridgeport on March 31st for the Grand Opening, it'll be a super fun night! Just look for the awesome balloon arch on Main Street. haha!)

The second project is a little less intense, but also involves my friends' photo studio. My amazing photographer friend, Laura, is having Easter photo sessions the first week in April & she's asked me to make up Easter themed goodie bags for the kidlets that participate. I can't wait to show off the fun gifties that the kids will receive. You'll have to wait to see 'em though!! (I might have to peek in on the photo sessions---she's gonna have live baby chicks & a bunny on the scene! Not to mention the most adorable kitty named Carly. I've also ordered pastel colored parasols for additional props. Sweetness to infinity!!)

The next week & a half is gonna be a busy one!

But, golly, when you love what you're doing it doesn't seem to be overwhelming at all!!

Happy Monday!!

Happy Spring!!

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review: March 7-14

Someone recently told me that having Crafty Night once-a-month makes it seem like a special holiday. And I couldn't agree more!!! I'm still buzzing from last Tuesday's crafty holiday!

And last week I also got to introduce my girls to cootie catchers. (Also called "fortune tellers".) American Girl Crafts (which I am TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH!!) has a kit that is so amazing for those just beginning to make cootie catchers. The folds are all pre-scored & there are 8 different designs in the kit, complete with stickers & "fortunes". Super fun!

The week ended with a night of bowling, complete with super nachos, grilled ham & cheese, cheesy fries, a super deluxe large root beer....but surprisingly: no heart burn.

Happy Monday!

 Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review: Feb. 28-Mar.6

Happy 12th Anniversary to me & the hubby! A dozen?! That seems like forevers!!

Crafting, thrifting, knitting, sipping, making, visiting, cutting.

Quite a lovely week.

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

Crafty Night is tomorrow night (March 8th) from 6-8 p.m.

@ ON3 Photography in Bridgeport.

Reserve your spot!

♥

Week in Review: February 21-27

Bubble blowing on a sunny day with my kidlets.

Going on a day trip to Cheyenne with some gal pals.

A knitting night with friends.

Crafting in a newly cleaned art studio.

Despite the pipe gushing water in the basement & the squishy wet carpet, it was a good week!

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review: February 14-20

Click HERE to view a photo play-by-play.

I've had a lazy, yet productive week. I'm finally coughing less, the strep throat is on the mend & I'm getting sleep at night! Yay! The art studio is almost done being purged. It feels AWESOME!!!!! Pics to come. But I've actually shown so many boring pics of the studio that there really isn't much to show. A bunch of crap. Stuffed on shelves. Not pimped out in a very creative or crafty way. But still, I'm satisfied with being able to see the ugly brown carpet once again. Woohoo!

I'm finishing up a couple custom orders this week & continuing the purging in the children's playroom. So happy for the cleaning inspiration, though I have no idea where it's coming from.

Looking forward to a road trip to Cheyenne next Saturday.....Michael's craft store!! Barnes & Noble!!

I don't get out much.

Happy Monday!

♥

Week in Review: February 7-13

Knitting, knitting, knitting.

Valentine prep.

Baking.

Making.

Picture taking.

Last high school basketball home game of the season.

1st grade Valentine party.

Lazy 4 day weekend.

Crafty Night.

Getting a bit of the sickies.

Dreaming of Spring.

♥

(for a photo play-by-play click HERE.)

Week in Review: January 31-February 6

Last week I got to accompany my photog friends & get snap happy at a wedding! I got lotsa practice with my BIG girl camera. But my main reason for accompanying them was to play the part of Polaroid Girl. I clicked away on a Fuji Instax Mini at the reception & got some fun shots. Talk about having to get out of your comfort zone. The best shots are taken at fairly close range. So, I had to get all up in people's grill. It was a fun bunch of wedding peeps.

I'm gearing up for Crafty Night tonight...& school Valentine parties on Thursday....& a 4 day weekend for the girls.

Happy week!

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review: January 24-30

Well I bet you can guess the best highlight of mine last week....CRAFTY NIGHT! We had crafters show up that ranged from the age of 16 years old to a lovely lady in her 70's! (And everything in between.) Crafty Night's attendance more than doubled since moving to our new location last month too! And in the works of my tinkering brain is....our first Kid's Crafty Afternoon! I'm thinking of doing it on a Saturday & maybe do a  few of these a year. We'll see how it goes. And Zoey, my 8 year old, would do most of the teaching! (My people are currently talking to her people.) 

Next Crafty Night: KNITTING!

Tuesday, February 8th

6 - 8 p.m.

ON3 Photography • Bridgeport, NE

If you'd like to attend, message me!

(Crafty Night is the 2nd Tuesday of every month.)

I'm trying to stay warm in the great Midwest. I'm wearing layers. LOTS of layers. I'm such a weenie when it comes to the cold. I slept in my scarf & sweatshirt last night. And I've been wearing gloves around the house. It's VERY hard to do lots of things around the house with gloves on, I've found out. Like, for instance, spreading peanut butter on toast.

Other than finding creative ways to keep out the cold, on the agenda this week is: to attack my art studio with a fierce vengeance. Since having kids I've gotten more & more lax with the putting-away-of-things. At least that's the area on my timeline that I can pinpoint when my more methodical ways started to disintegrate. I blame it on the children. The fruit of my loins made me do this.

I really think it's beyond finding ways that work for me to stay on task. I've tried almost all of them.

What's a messy crafty girl to do? Will my whole life be filled with this horrible clean vs. messy battle? Orderly & arranged VS. untidy & cluttered? That's just a big fat waste of time & energy. And, yes, I realize I bring this topic up a whole, WHOLE lot. It consumes me.

I really think it's time to purge. 

The pack-rat in me is about to faint.

Yep, yep---I'm hyperventilating....Getting dizzy...Woozy...

Excuse me while I pass o-u-t.

For a photo play-by-play, click HERE.

♥