I can't believe you stuck around, but I appreciate it!

Hello, all! I just wanted to apologize for being MIA for months.  I never intended on taking a break from blogging, but life happened.  Isn't it funny how life doesn't care about my crafting and my lil ole blog? :)

Anyhow, I want to say I'm sorry for leaving you high and dry without a word.  I lost my mojo back in November, then sickness hit our family, then the holidays, so on and so forth.  I won't bore you with the details. Bottom line, I neglected my blog and you along with it.  I'm truely sorry, y'all!  I appreciate so much that you have stuck around and I appreciate the new followers that jumped on this crazy train in the last few months!

I don't know when it will be, but I am hoping that in the near future I can sort some stuff out and get back into the swing of things.  I have been going through a lot, had some friends bail on me in the process, and have hit a brick wall in many areas of my life.  Some good, some bad, some ugly.  When I am able to climb back up on the horse that is life, I will return to posting more regularly.

A sincere thank you for sticking around! 

Today I am thankful for a husband that puts up with me sticks with me no matter what is going on!

Also, for a daughter that calls me sweetie. She makes my day everytime.

My Weekend

I'm sorry I haven't been sharing many crafts and blogging about anything creative lately.  We have been busier than ever!

This weekend, I sewed my little tush off, baked some incredible cupcakes (if you like chocolate), made 50 cake pops, attended 2 birthday celebrations, traveled, and took engagement pictures for our best friends.  As soon as I recover, I promise I will return you to your regularly scheduled craft programing. :)

Until then, I will leave you with a picture of some of my favorite people.  This is Steven's childhood best friend and his sweet fiance.  I love them and had SO much fun doing their engagement pictures!

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and had a blessed week ahead!

Today I am thankful for family and friends to keep us busy!

Hold that thought...

I told you a while back that I was going to be training for a half-marathon.

I started my training, and man, it felt good to be active again.

That is, until my back remembered that it hates me.

I mentioned that I have had a couple of back surgeries.

See, I have what is called Degenerative Disc Disease.

When I was playing volleyball in high school and college, I would suffer severe back pain, and saw doctor after doctor, and had countless amounts of treatments and procedures done.  I had a surgery when I was 18 that got me no where, and from there I was sent to a doctor at the largest free standing spine clinic in America.  He was leading the first FDA research on artificial disc replacement, and performed the first one in the states.  Long story short, I was too late to get in on the research trial, and had to wait months for the FDA and our insurance to approve the surgery.  A week after my 20th birthday, I had an artificial disc put in at L4-L5.  (sidenote-I was the youngest to ever have it done, and the first woman to carry a child after having it done.  He told me that I'm in all kinds of medical journals. Kinda cool.)

While the procedure went well, and I healed well, I still suffer severe back pain on a daily basis.  I looked at this training as a strengthening program, and a way to prove to myself and everyone in my life that I CAN do this, and that I'm not "disabled", which is how I feel most of the time.  I'm constantly being told that my back can't handle that...what about your back...but, Angie, you physically can't do that..  I don't like being told "you can't", and set out to prove everyone, including myself, wrong.  I wanted to prove that I am 25 years old and perfectly capeable of these things. 

I was wrong.  I have been having to turn to my pain medication more than ever, and I do NOT like to put those meds into my body.  I don't like the way that they make me feel the day I take them, or the day after I do.  I finally realize that I am, in fact, physically incapeable of doing some things.  I was a devoted athlete my whole life, and not being able to play with my kids, or run, or reach for things, or lift things, or bend over, well you get the point, is a very hard reality to face.  I feel like I'm in a body that is about 50 years ahead of where it should be.  I know that sounds dramatic, but I don't know what it is like to NOT have pain. All day, every day. That is my reality, and I'm okay with that. 

 But, I hold onto my faith that God is my healer.  He can heal me.  He WILL heal me. 

 Isaiah 53:4-5 (KJV) “ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

I'm putting this training on hold.  And when I'm healed and strong enough, I WILL train for, and finish, a half-marathon.  Until then, I will remain faithful!

Today I am thankful for the healing power and grace of God.

A few things I'm dying to make

There are so many things that I want to make, but today I am really itching to make this

I found the tutorial here, after hitting up I Am Momma Hear Me Roar for ideas for boys hats.

She also has this hat that I want to make. She has the best boy tutorials I've found.  I'm totally smitten with her blog.

Next, as soon as I get the fabric, I'm going to make this bag.  It. is. gor.geous. 

The first part of the tutorial is found here at The Boy Trifecta.
Part 2 can be found here.

I have 8 wristlet keychains, 2 flower hair clips, a pouch and sunglasses case, and a hooded towel to make before I get to start on these.  Maybe these projects I want to make will light a fire under me to get this stuff done!

Today I am thankful for the creative women who are willing to share tutorials and tips on how they make the fabulous things they do!

Random Ramblings

(source)

1.  I officially started training for my 1/2 marathon yesterday, AND I lived to tell about it! :) Whooooo hooooooo!

2.  I checked blogger, and Ashley over at Make It and Love It had posted pictures from her You Made It and Love It Flickr group, and one of my pictures made the cut!  Have I mentioned just how much I LOVE Make It and Love It?  HowDoesShe posted one of my pictures a while back, and I'm a total dork, but it made my day!

(source)

3.  I just ate 2 cookies instead of eating lunch.  Do you think that could interfere with #1?

(source)

4.  I chopped a jalapeno this morning to make some salsa, and stupidly, keep rubbing my itchy eye.  Burn baby burn!

5.  I have a ton going on this week, so I don't know if I will get to post anything crafty. sigh... (I don't have a picture of my hectic schedule, so here is my ornery little cutie instead!)

new

old

6.  I made a new header the other night with Picasa.  What do you think? Do you like the old one better?

7.  Last, but not least, I just picked up my 50th follower!  I know 50 may not seem like much, but it is exciting to me that more than 2 complete strangers find something about my blog interesting!  Welcome,  Lareinabenros!!  :)  I love you already.

Today I am thankful from that smell coming from my oven...

Craft Night with the Ladies!

Last Decemeber a good friend of mine, Lindsey (HI LINDS!) started up a craft day.

A moms-only, once-a-month, wear pjs, day for crafting.  We have done it every month since, but took the summer off.  Last night we finally got to resume our crafting! We had a craft 'til ya drop night.  We all all brought a snack food and the supplies for a group craft and whatever else we were wanting/needing to work on. We got there around 6:30 pm and left around 3 am!

It was so much fun and much needed!

However-I was so tired and talked WAY too much!  Sorry girls! Haha I don't get to talk to adults-only for hours at a time very often!  Seriously, I don't even know what I said I was so tired.  And basically giddy from adult only interaction for a moment in time! ;)

The group project was glass etching.

There was another cute cookie jar made, but she went home before it was documented!

I also made a halloween sign like the Grandparents Day gifts here. I got the idea from HowDoesShe's friend board.

Lindsey made me pose with it...I don't like having my picture taken!  In my defense, it was (I think) at one o'clock am, and I just ain't pretty at 1 am. At all. :)

My friend Ashley from Me & You +2 made a really cute witch's hat and even cuter witch's legs with feet. Adorable.  Go see her here and tell her I said hi!  (She designed my header, btw. She's great!)

I have known a couple of these girls since elementary school, and the rest since high school.  I love that we are all still friends and get together to craft!

Today I am thankful for crafting. It's amazing how theraputic it can be!

I've completely lost my ever-loving marbles.

I am NOT a runner.

Never have been.

I was an athlete in high school and college, but when coach made us run, I seriously wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.  I stunk at it.  I had no endurance, and I was an L7 weeeeiner when it came to running.

(name that movie!)

So it seems only logical that I have decided to train for a half marathon.

And I dragged my sister into it! Ha!

Atleast I'll have someone else with me that will be totally out of her element.

I texted her at 8 am today and said, "Wanna do something completely crazy with me?"

I expected to get back a "Depends on what you're talkin about." Because, really, you never know with me. Instead, her reply was, "Sure!!"

me-"Wow, even without knowing what you're getting into??"

sis-"Yea I trust u!! Crazy is fun, too!!

me-"Hahaha let's see if you do in a minute...I want to train for and run in the okc half marathon. I would love to do it with you"

sis-"Btw I am probably crazier than you, but that is crazy. I will do it. It's a good bucket list item to check off! Where do we start?"

And with that I was commited!

(To the race...not the looney bin.)

There is a running group in our little town that trains together and competes in this marathon in Oklahoma City each year. I watched (well lived vicariously through my FB friends) as these women trained and completed this 13.1 mile race. And I envied their courage. Many of these women were in their 40s and 50s  and some were over weight.  That didn't stop them. They trained daily and DID it.  They completed a half marathon.  I thought  "I can do it, too."  I had been invited to join the group when they began training, but I had a 8 month old baby (who was a very needy baby) whom I was nursing.  I just didn't see how I could pull it off.  Not this year.  I am determined to accomplish something great this year.  To push myself to do something I never dreamed I could do.  Plus, I wouldn't mind getting into shape.  Going from being a college athlete who literally worked out 6 hours a day 6 days a week-to having 2 major back surgeries, 2 babies, and giving up on working out all together, it will feel incredible to get back into shape.

The race is on May 1st, 2011.  That gives me 205 days to train.  That is a reasonable goal.  I have found a fantastic training program that starts slow and builds up to it.  Now, all I need to do is commit myself to the training schedule, and I can do this.  It is so wonderful knowing that I will have my sister along for the ride!

Wish me luck!

Today I am thankful for a solid support system!

Home Sweet HOME!!

We made it home last night from our roadtrip!

Sorry I have been MIA, but we travelled over 2,000 miles in our car this week! It was so much fun spending all of that time alone with my hubs.  I fell in love with him over and over this week. 

But, we are happy to be home!

Posts may be few or far between this week while we get our feet back under us. 

Our babies were with my parents and granny for the first half of the week, and then with my in-laws the last part of the week. We are trying to re-adjust to being home and getting everyone back in the swing of things.

I promise I didn't forget about you guys!

Oh and HI and WELCOME to my new followers!

I am so happy to have you here! :)

I will be back to posting more often as soon as things settle down around here! I hope everyone is having a blessed weekend!

Today I am thankful for my home and my own bed!!