Another silly momma moment.

So, I just realized that, while I've taken over the Creative Adventure blog, Live the Creative Life, I've failed to mention that on this blog. Duh!! How would anyone ever know if I don't tell you and have absolutely no links to it!!??? Ahhh...you mean you can't read my mind either? (I thought it was just Adam!! lol!)

Well, it's been about three weeks now since I signed up with Stampin' Up! as a Demonstrator and wow, have I been having fun creating! Since I am not the best "sales" person, at the moment my goal is to make kits similar to the ones I designed at Creative Adventure. The "Simply Stickers" kits are going to be super easy and fun! Not only are the cards pre-folded, but almost everything is pre-cut and ready to go! For example, let's say you were headed to the cabin this Memorial Day weekend. Now, in a perfect world, if I had these kits available to purchase (which I almost do!!), you could pick one up, take it to the cabin (along with only adhesive and scissors) and during that rainy day (because you know it always has to rain once on a long weekend) you could get out your "Simply Sticker" Kit, assemble and wha-la! You've got 8 cards, scrapbook pages &/or a mini-scrapbook!

Gosh, I am so excited about this and I hope you keep checking back to the Live the Creative Life blog to see what's new! Of course, if you would like a catalog, to order, host a party, class or workshop or even sign up to be a Demonstrator yourself (which is only $75 for the month of May!!), just let me know!

And because no one can read my mind :) you can also shoot me an e-mail: livethecreativelife@yahoo.com to sign up for my monthly newsletter that I am going to start in June!

I love hymns!!

I really, really love singing hymns. So when a local church advertised on their sign about a "Hymn Sing" tonight, I was all over it. I have always wondered about this church and thought, hey this is perfect. I would be able to see the church and sing hymns! Well...

Did you know that not all hymnals are the same?! What?! Oh dear, silly momma did it again. I flipped through the hymnal and maybe recognized a handful of songs. Oh no, I thought, this is NOT what I was expecting. I wanted to sing hymns I knew and grew up with. But I stayed and I am glad I did. It was fun and interesting learning new hymns from other denomination churches. I can't remember the names of any of the hymns we sang (and it was just an hour ago) but going, getting out of the house and singing songs for an hour really lightened up my heart! And made me strongly consider joining my church choir!

I haven't done it enough lately but I really enjoy playing hymns on the piano too. We recently bought a keyboard and Adam plays quite a bit because of the tutoring feature it has. I haven't played so much. But, I NEED TO. I just finished playing a few of my favorites and I can't explain the feeling I got but it was awesome! I miss it! I used to play the piano while my grandma sang along. And although I miss that SOOO much, I know she is singing from Heaven right along with me while I play.

So, yep. Along with writing, I think my new task is to play and sing more hymns on our keyboard. I'm only 28 but I already feel stubborn (oh geez) because for now I'm stuck. Stuck on the hymns I know and grew up with. Hopefully some day I'll be able to pick up a different hymnal but for now it's the trusty "blue" one...

God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies:
Our grateful songs before your throne arise.

Some of my favorite hymns:

God of Our Fathers
I know that my Redeemer Lives
I'm but a Stranger Here
Hail Thee, Festival Day
At the Lamb's High Feast We Sing
Christ the Lord is Risen Today
We Praise You, O God
Sing to the Lord of Harvest
God Bless Our Native Land
Lift High the Cross
Earth and All Stars

Kiss that baby for me...

Above are his famous words that I will always remember him by...

I have to write about this. Let me first tell you about the man in this post. I met him a few years ago at the office where my husband works. He and my husband have known each other for quite some time. He is the nicest guy that I have ever met. Really. Every time I saw him he had a smile on his face and a kind word to share. He always asked and went on about Ami and would express what a joy children are. If Ami was not around, he always ended with "Hey, Kiss that baby for me."

About 3 weeks ago now, Adam and I saw him at the gas station. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk to him. He's just that kind of guy. And, as usual, we are greeted with a big smile, a few fun stories and a "hey, Kiss that baby for me." As we drove away I commented on how I always like to run into this man and how I wanted to meet his wife...they must be the perfect couple.

So, you can imagine my surprise when Adam came home from work this past Monday and told me he had some of the worst news to share with me. I asked if he was ok and when he said he was I immediately asked if everyone was ok at work. Adam finally had to put his hands on my shoulders and said who the news was about. I immediately thought the worst had happened to him and felt sad. You can imagine my sadness/shock/confusion when Adam said "Momma, he shot and killed his wife, stayed with her all night and in the morning set the house on fire and turned himself in."


For awhile, all I could do was look Adam in the eyes. I couldn't move, couldn't think. Of course after a few minutes I just started crying. I was hit with emotions I didn't think I could have all at once. We had just seen him, talked to him. No way could it have been him, it must be someone else. How could the guy I thought was the nicest, most uplifting, compassionate, thoughtful, caring, funny, handsome man do something like this? How? Why?


The rest of that day was gone. I felt sick to my stomach. I felt confused. I felt helpless. I felt betrayed. I felt even a bit silly for feeling all those things. Heck, I didn't work with him. I'm not part of his family. In fact I ran into him probably only a handful of times. But those times with him were happy, uplifting and I always left with a smile on my face.


It has been a week and I still can't fully grasp the whole situation and that it really happened. I pray for him and the families involved. They paper said that he said that they got into a fight. Only God knows the full story. I know that it is going to take awhile to fully understand. Ok, I may never understand his actions and how I may never see him again.


While I put this whole situation into perspective, it does help me focus on how life is so precious. So, when I get stressed out over life...Adam being gone, Ami fussing, Jukka going nuts, my head hurting, feeling down, etc. I will always remember his words and I WILL "Kiss that baby" and be thankful for everyday with my family. *sigh*

Writing.

As a preface to my next post, I've been seeing a counselor for about 4 months now for various reasons. He always tells me to write, write, write. He's figured out that I am the kind of person that needs to actually SEE what I am thinking/feeling and therefore need to write it down. First to just "get it out" and second, to SEE if I am actually thinking clearly and if my feelings are just and real or petty. I have taken his advice and I know that I feel a whole lot better once I get my feelings on paper. And, sometimes days later I re-read what I wrote and realize that how I was acting/feeling/thinking was justified or was waaaayyyy off! Too bad I just can't realize it at the time. It would make my life easier and Adam's too! So I know I should write and I know it makes me feel better, makes me consciously look at the situation & helps me understand my feelings but I do not do it enough. So I am going to try to do better. Starting....now.

But where is my fireman...

I took on the challenge of organizing the pantry this afternoon and apparently a firetruck was called to the tiny room. No one has been able to see any floor for months now, which is probably why the firetruck showed up...but where oh where is my adorable fireman???? Maybe he is here...

My new toy!

I have always wanted to be able to stitch on paper. And it doesn't make it any easier to ignore when Close to My Heart is all about stitching! But being extremely initimidated by those big, heavy, fancy sewing machines, I was always able to supress my "sewing desires" until....I saw this totally cute mini, light weight sewing machine at Walmart!! I had my reservations on how well this little machine would work and I did get a bit upset because the knob kept flying off every time I would start the machine. But, Adam (with his super man muscles) snugged the knob on and it hasn't popped off since! Of course, the hardest part for me was having to read the directions on how to thread the bobber and stuff (because who wants to read directions when there are so many crafts to make??!!) I created a scrapbook page and a card with stitching and I have even sewn up some pants!! I am so glad I got this machine! It may be little but the possibilities are endless!!

Home-made donuts!!

Tonight I made pumpkin donuts...they are going to be the snack I bring for ATC club tomorrow. At least I hope they'll be the snack I bring...I am a bit worried how they will be in the morning. Should I cover them or leave the lid off? If I cover them will they be soggy by morning? If I leave the lid off will they dry out? I guess I'll look at it this way...if they don't taste good tomorrow, then I'll have saved everyone a couple hundred calories for the day. If they rock tomorrow, awesome...because they were so much fun to make!!