State Fair Bound

On Friday, we will be loading up the lambs and heading to the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island. I can't wait! I love going to see all of the work the kids did this year and seeing how E's projects did. I kind of cheated this year by looking online, but nonetheless I am still super excited to go see them in person! This year, she had 7 projects selected at our County Fair to go on to the State Fair. She worked very hard on her projects and I couldn't be more proud of her! In order for a project to be selected for State Fair, it had to first earn a Purple ribbon at the County Fair. Here are her projects and how she did:

1. Recycled Garment - After last years not so good results in Recycled Garment, she out did herself this year earning praise and commendation, a purple ribbon and selected for State from the judges! She used elements from 3 different designs she found on Pinterest and combined them into a really cute dress - made from an old Men's 2x t-shirt!! She ended up with a blue ribbon at state.

Before: Men's 2x Shirt

After: Back view - it actually hangs better.

After: Front view 

2. Shopping in Style - Her other clothing project was a binder/scrapbook for Shopping in Style. This project involves quite a bit of work - figuring out what you need in your wardrobe, setting a budget for yourself, purchasing a complete outfit, figuring out how much it costs each time you wear it (and wash it), and presenting it in a format that's easy to read/understand! She got a blue ribbon at state.

 

3. Photography Unit 2 - Her first year in Unit 2 and being eligible for State Fair selection, and her composition print was selected! Her picture is one of A's friends. They go to pre-school and church together. He was eating his ice cream and though he'd show off his spoon flicking skills. E caught it on her camera. I just love the little twinkle in his eyes - ornery!! 

4. Heritage: Level 2 - E took this picture at her Great Grandpa's grave on Memorial Day 2012. She matted and framed it and wrote a letter to my Grandma about what it means to her that Grandpa served in the Navy and that my brother (her uncle) also serves in the Navy. She also thanked her for her support of him and our family. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it! She got a blue ribbon at state with it.

5. ESI: Interview and Entrepreneur - She interviewed my boss, Dave, about starting the floral wholesale business that I work at. She then designed a poster for it. She got a Purple ribbon at State.

6. ESI: Photo Story - After interviewing Dave, he gave her a tour of Cutts. She took pictures and created a photo story about it. She got a Blue ribbon at State. 

7. Activity with a Younger Child - Last fall, E and her 4-H club planned and raised money to put on a Dreams Come True tea party for the girls that lived at our local City Mission. It was an eye-opening experience for everyone! She created a beautiful scrapbook to document it. It got a Purple at state.

** I didn't have pictures of the last 3 projects. I will blog about her scrapbook and ESI projects once we get them back from the fair. **

The other project going is her sheep. She is taking 2 lambs to show. I can't wait to see how she does with them! I love that she is so active in 4-H. It is such a spectacular organization and she is learning so much! Along with learning skills, she is learning responsibility and how to deal with disappointment if something doesn't do as well as she would have hoped. Life lessons!!

We have stayed in the same hotel each time we've been out there. The kids love the pool and the waffle maker at breakfast. I love that it's not very far from the fairgrounds and my kids love the pool and waffle maker! Priorities!!

I hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day weekend - I know I will!!

Unlimited

For my birthday (a long time ago) my mom got me Jillian Michaels' book, Unlimited, for me on cd, so I can listen to it while traveling for work. I - LOVE - it!! It is inspirational in the no-crap way that Jillian has. Definitely something I can (& will) listen too again & again. It inspired me to start a vision board. 

A vision board is basically an inspiration piece that you can look at everyday. And often! Since I am just getting started on mine, I don't have any pictures of it yet. Basically it includes things that inspire you or things you want. Kind of the whole "Wish it - Dream it - Do it" thing. Mine will definitely have pictures of my family, 

quotes that inspire me, a mustang convertible (because I want one), pictures of open spaces and fields (because that brings me peace). What ever it is you want or that makes you happy is what goes on this board. 

Here are a few prints that I have found that I sent off to the printer today! They inspire me and will be going up in my kitchen

and by my treadmill.

A little Patio revamp...

With all of the *FABULOUS* weather we had for the past month or so, I decided my outdoors needed a little revamping. I started with the patio furniture, which I will share today & did A LOT of planting/sprucing up of the landscaping. Still needs a little work, but it's getting there! I will share the plant stuff another day.

Aren't my patio chairs lovely?!!?! This is what I had to work with after my mom came & helped me strip the paint off. 

E helped me finish scraping & prime the chairs for their new color.

The chairs that go by the fire pit are "Oregano"

My conversation set ~ the chairs are "Paprika" & the table is "Oregano".

(My brother calls it Merry Christmas!)

There is still a little more to do (like the thing that holds the wood for the fire pit... it's been primed, but needs a coat of khaki, & the lounge chair needs to be primed & painted yet...). 

We have had friends over to BBQ already, but I can't wait to do some more!!! 

What do you like to do when the weather's nice?

Hoppy Easter (a little late...)

HOPPY EASTER!!!

 My daughter's 4-H rabbit - Wow 

We couldn't own a rabbit & not pose for Easter pictures!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Life...

Ok. So I started this blog all gung ho... & after 4 posts I fall off. Ugh. Ok. Time to get back on! Here's what I've been up to since I last posted:

Valentine's Day - as I work in the floral industry, this one kind of goes without saying (but for those that don't get the floral industry, I will explain). Basically from about February 9th through February 15th, it was crazy busy at work. Getting V-Day flowers in, checking/pulling/packing/sending out orders, then following up with the florists to make sure everything was right/good. If I don't do my job well, they can't do their job well. If I've done mine right, then everyone is happy! {Side note: even if I do my job right, if your hubby forgot to get you flowers, that is out of my control...}

I DID manage to sneak in a girls evening with E, & some mommy/son time with A the weekend before V-day... E & I went to this FABULOUS place here in Lincoln called Porridge Papers. Christopher puts on this fantastic event called Love on the Run every year. In a nut shell, you go to the studio, type out a valentine on a typewriter {you know those things before computers...}, take a picture, roll up your valentine & put it in a bottle. Then on Valentine's Day he & his Valenteers HAND DELIVER all of the valentines!!! This year I think there was close to 500!!! The coolest part? Because Christopher is so awesome ~ it's all FREE as a service to the community! That was my girls night with E.

The following day, A & I stayed in while Mike & E went to a confirmation thing. We played games, colored, & did a little shopping. It was a very fun & relaxing day!!

I also managed to squeeze in some time with my girlfriends {check out Cooper Avenue for more details...}.

Then it was mostly day to day life me that got in my way... I had PLENTY of cool things going on that I thought "I should be blogging about this..." but never got it done or did the things I needed to do them (like take pictures)!  Friday the 17th was Hubby's birthday. I planned a surprise dinner party for him with some close friends. It was a lot of fun & oh so yummy!! I tried a new recipe (I love using people as guinea pigs!) with potatoes (spray olive oil in the roaster, put quartered potato wedges in, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Italian seasoning & crushed peppercorn/garlic & roast @ 425* for 25 minutes) Easy Peasy!!! I did over cook them a little (I missed my timing & cooked them for about 40 minutes - OOPPS!!). They were still super yummy though! Paired it with a nice salad & some bacon wrapped sirloin & stuffed chicken grillers. YUM-O!!! It was WONDERFUL to visit with friends & entertain.

There was also a little bit of illness thrown into the mix (me with icky sinus stuff, & A with ANOTHER ear infection - #4 in 2 months)!! I keep hoping things will slow down just a little, but looking ahead at the calendar, that doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon. That's ok though, I will just have to get better about keeping up with things. Hope you are all staying healthy & having fun!!

Movies & date nights

I was so excited to get my mail today - in it was a movie I have been waiting for!! One of my favorite movies- possibly ever! Know what it was? Lady & the Tramp. It has been *ages* since I watched it (owning it on VHS but no longer having a player kind of had an impact...). Anyway, now that it's out on BluRay, I HAD to have it! Call it an early Valentine's Day present. I had to put it in right away & start watching it with my family (I didn't really give them an option).

While driving through Kansas today, I decided I really needed to have a date night with each of my kids. It's been a long time since I've done that & now seems like the perfect time. 

Starting this weekend, Porridge Papers (a fantastic business here in Lincoln) is doing their annual Love on the Run. You can find more details here: http://www.facebook.com/events/161838283918579/   They are doing a special Ladies night on Friday. They are going to have a photo booth, dj, & other fun "girly" stuff there. It's a fantastic idea ~ you can type a little note on an old typewriter, stick it in a bottle, & it will be HAND DELIVERED to your valentine! I think E would have a blast & that it will be perfect for our "date."

My husband teaches confirmation at our church, & E happens to be in the class this year. They have a learning day scheduled for Saturday. Perfect!! I can take A on our "date" then ( & since it's my only day off this week, that will be a nice thing to do). Not sure on where we will go or what we will do yet (I have a feeling it may involve Chuck E Cheese or something of the like)... 

Now I just need to get a date night set with my hubby (the last one was cancelled thanks to all of our snow)!

Do you do date nights with your kids? Any special plans for Valentine's Day? I'd love to hear them!!

An expression of Love

Have you ever read the book, The 5 Love Languages? If not, read it! You will learn so much about yourself. The 5 languages are Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, & Physical Touch. It's been quite a while since I've taken the quiz, but Acts of Service is at the top of my list.

After a long day at work getting ready for Valentine's Day flowers to come in, I ran a much needed errand with our daycare director tonight. It was a get home at 4:55, help E turn right around & go back out the door at 5, put together a flower arrangement, hubby in the door at 5:15, I leave to meet with the daycare director. Fast forward to 7pm I finally come in the door. 

Know what I found when I got home? Supper was ready & waiting for me!!! I about melted! It was so nice to come home & be able to sit down & relax while eating dinner. Yes, there are still things to be done. But, for  now, I am so incredibly lucky to have a family that loves me. And the rest will wait while I spend some time with them tonight.

What are some ways that make you melt?

Happy Anniversary

Today we were going to celebrate my grandparents 60th Wedding Anniversary. Thanks to the 12+ inches of snow we received yesterday, we had to postpone it.

What a cute couple!

My aunt had asked me to do a flower arrangement for them, in a basket that was first used for a 50th Anniversary in 1933!!! It was in fantastic condition (& I was a little nervous to have it with a crazy 3 year old running around)!

** Sorry the picture is so dark, I need to work on the lighting in my living room at night! **

I had a lot of fun putting this together for them. I used 7 roses in the front - one for each of their children. There were 2 roses in the back for them. Getting together with such a large family is kind of crazy but a lot of fun. I have so many great memories of playing & doing things with my cousins, & now watching our kids play & do things together.

60 years is AMAZING & I know it wasn't always easy for them. Seeing people that can stay together that long & work through the tough times is such an inspiration. I hope my hubby & I can make it that far!!

A new start...

Today, we had a snow day (a BIG snow day)! As bummed as I was that it cancelled several events planned (a birthday party for one of A's friends, a Dumpling party with my friends, & a double date this evening), it gave me time to do a few things I'd been wanting to do. One of those things was to start blogging. 

One of my favorite ways to unwind & keep my creativity going is to peruse a selection of blogs that I like to follow. My daughter E is in 4-H. I really enjoy helping her with her projects, as well as doing a few of my own. I want to use this blog as a way to document the "how-to" on creating the projects, as well as reminding me of the fun times I have had with my family. 

After a fun trip to the craft store in the snow with a friend, I now have some new projects coming soon!