I have a history of wearing my heart on my sleeve. Not so much these days as I find myself guarding my feelings and responses a lot more in my old age, but I do slip back into old habits.
Speaking of old habits, I did so well last year to not buy those little candy corn pumpkins at Halloween. So you can imagine my guilt after eating half the bag of cinnamon jelly hearts… and the tummy ache that follows.
cinnamon jelly hearts = the evil
Any old habits of yours dying hard?
As I start listing my destash items on Etsy again, I can’t help but take a browse now and then through the jewelry section. I’m sadly disappointed with most of the jewelry. Much of it looks the same.
When I ran across Jesika Jack’s shop, I was so impressed with the focus behind the idea. Her pieces are beautiful. I couldn’t help but write a quick post on her jewelry line.
Leo Constellation Necklace by Jesika Jack on Etsy
Virgo Constellation Necklace by Jesika Jack on Etsy
The necklaces are quite a statement piece. If they’re too much for you, take a look at some of her more compact necklaces or even her earrings:
Southern Cross Constellation Necklace Spiral Motif by Jesika Jack on Etsy
Southern Cross Constellation Disc Earrings by Jesika Jack on Etsy
Makes you want to wear your stars, huh?
When I look back, I find the ordinary and routine moments of the day make the best memories of baby girl. The morning wakeup, snack time, the snuggle before she’s tired and ready for a nap, bath time…
Playing with duckies, whales and octupusses that blow bubbles… I never get tired of this.
These are the things that make me smile, laugh and giggle. Someone remind me of this when she hits her tweens and wants nothing to do with me.
Ok, so this is uncharacteristic of most of my posts, but my husband just asked me to look up the preview for the new Betty White tv show. It’s hilarious!
If you haven’t seen it, here’s a look:
My grandmother should be on this show. She’d fit right in naturally. lol
Anyone else have a “saucy” grandparent?
Earlier I mentioned trying to find “my new normal”. My friend Brandi said she liked the term a lot… and I’ll be honest it kinda stuck with me, so I’ve made it the theme of this year – finding my new normal.
"Don't Go Through Life Without Goals" Wall Art by Walls That Talk on Etsy
To that end, I thought it might be good to create some goals for 2012. Originally, with 40 looming next year, I was thinking of resurrecting my 101 list from back in 2008, modifying it to a more reachable 40 items, but really, the whole process just left me feeling like it was all so rushed. I just haven’t had time to contemplate what I really want to complete to feel a sense of accomplishment before the big 4-0.
Instead, I pared down my list to this varied 12 goals. One goal a month seems achievable. I suspect most of you would agree.
So here’s the plan for the next year:
Sure… doesn’t seem like a lot, but with baby girl running in tow, even the littlest of tasks can seem like a mountain to scale. Who doesn’t know that feeling?
What about you? It’s the second week of the year, have you finalized your goals – made plans for the things you want to accomplish?
Two years ago, I started participating in a 52 Weeks of Self-Portraits group on Flickr. With the announcement of Baby Girl, all my personal projects fell to the wayside.
Not that I need anything else on my plate, but more that I need to find that new normal I talked about at the beginning of the year, I decided to pick up the project again. Narcissism is far from who I am, but let’s see how it wears on me for the next 52 weeks. ;)
Clearly, Baby Girl has taken over my life. I’m in dire need of a pedicure. Let’s see if I can’t work a little on me this year…
Anything you need to put in balance in your life?
As the sun set on this last day of 2011, I took the time to review my year, as much of the world has done, I’m sure. Browsing my post archive for the past year, you’ll see I haven’t been posting much about jewelry. A lot of it has been about the baby girl and how she has taken over my life like a storm. Everything is shaded by her presence in my life.
Of course, I don’t have a problem with that. However, maybe you who have come to know my blog for the beautiful (if I do say so myself) jewelry I created (considering I only created two pieces this year, we’ll keep that in the past tense) and other jewelry related items I talk about, might. So, let me apologize now and say “Sorry.”
Unfortunately, I can’t say I’m going back to jewelry posts. This year has been an eye opener. I’ve realized life can’t continue as it is. Not that it is bad, just that it’s different.
What has worked for me before isn’t working now. It’s time for a change… again. It’s time to turn a new leaf.
In the meantime, the blog will just be a jumble of different things. Family, life, books, baby girl and maybe some jewelry every now and then. I should probably change the intro to the blog, too, since it hasn’t been centered around jewelry for a while now.
Hopefully, while I try to find my voice again it will lead me to where I need to be… and that is my goal this year – to find what my new normal should be. I hope you get to start a new adventure, too.
Happy New Year to you all!
By now, we’ve all ripped open presents, drank pints of hot chocolate and are sitting on the couch in a food coma! (I know I am!)
While you ponder how you could eat so much so fast, I hope you take a moment to mediate on the following:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
—Isaiah 9:6, King James Version
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Eve!
It’s interesting how things I hardly thought of when it was just Jason and me are now drawing my attention. For example, growing up, Christmas Eve was when my family celebrated Christmas. With tons of guests – family and friends and a HUGE buffet dinner, we’d have anywhere upwards of 80+ people in and out of the house.
I left for the Army, spent many a Christmas away and I’ve never really celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve since the last Christmas I lived at home. Not so much because I didn’t respect the tradition - more that I was alone and with no one around to celebrate with on Christmas Eve, my celebration days slowly became Christmas Day.
Would we ever do a Christmas Eve celebration? While my parents loved to cook and entertain, that’s not really us. I don’t think we would ever undertake such a huge endeavor. (And boy was it huge!)
However, I do like the fun of opening presents Christmas Eve. Even so, I will probably continue to have Fiona open presents on Christmas Day and let her open just a present on Christmas Eve as a nod to my traditions. This Noche Buena, though, Fi was literally falling asleep as I changed her out of her dress. Maybe next year…
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Eve! Make sure you leave some milk and cookies out for Papa Noel!
You’re probably wondering what’s been going on with the girl and her sleep training. I’m so happy to say the two weeks of crying was worth it. Just last night we made it upstairs, through the bedtime routine and into the crib with minimal crying. She even laid down by herself once in the crib. I may yet get the little girl that takes me by the hand up the stairs to her bedroom. Woohoo!
As far as naps, we’re still working on them. Nothing solid yet, still tracking the times and her crying and such. Some days she easily takes a nap in her crib, other days she won’t nap without being on me. Having a nap routine works sometimes, other times it doesn’t. I’m considering it a work in progress. I’m sure it’s just going to take a little longer than what I expected.
Hope all my sleep training mamis out there are hanging tough! You can do it. :)
This Girl Beads
Glass Beach
MsBelle
Brandi Girl
Petals & Metals
mis•cel•la•ne•a
A Place Called Simplicity
Surprised by Hope
Black Daisy Designs
Amy Olsen Jewelry
Jenna Appleton
Letters to Dave
Journey to Jeremiah
BonHomie Jewels
Loella Medina Jewelry
