Friday One Liners

• ·         Oklahoma weather is schizophrenic

• ·         Whatever I have done to my right foot/ankle is making me limp.  Which messes up my left hip.  I may need to visit the Chiropractor

• ·         Ree Drummond, Pioneer Woman is my BLOGspiration.  But I don’t cook.  Or ranch.  Or have Basset Hounds.  But whatev’s!  She says to write like you are talking toyour sister.   I don’t have a sister.  But I write like I talk, so I guess I am good there.  Always wanted one (a sister).  Glad my girls have one each.  I had a brother for 36 years… (That was a lot more than one line…)

• ·         I am a big fan of the internet

• ·         Micro-preemies keep you on your toes and keep you learning new things.  I still want to learn sign language.  Just for fun – not because I need to…

• ·         My first son is six years old today.  I am going to have a hard time remembering to say 6 instead of 5.

• ·         “Scandal” and “College” seem to go hand in hand way too often

• ·         I’ve got a very understanding boss that lets me do what I need to do when it comes to my family.  So grateful for that.

• ·         Thankful that I have found a creative outlet.  May put that “learning to sew” thing on the back burner…

• ·         I’ve added more designs to my ETSY shop  – including CHALKBOARD ART for Valentine’s Day!! Readers – use the code LOVE14 at check out for 14% off your order now through February 14!

Betsey on Etsy

Have you ever had a wild hare?  Then actually ACTED on it?  I don’t know if it is the stress I am under, or too much Diet Coke, or maybe I took two Zoloft today or something, but I went out on a limb.  I opened a little shop on Etsy.  If you are not familiar with it STOP!  Stop right now and head over there and look around.  I would go broke over there!  I have bought a few nursery and clothing things for Finn, decals for computers, a blanket for Finn, presents for others, etc.  I love just looking for inspiration, but I also find things I *think* I cannot live without.  My wallet can live without them, though, so I leave them there for other treasure seekers…

This “Subway Art” fad is all over the place.  I have seen several cute little birth announcement type things styled with that, and I even pinned a few on Pinterest.  I was looking at them again the other day, and I decided, “I CAN DO THAT!”  So, I did a little internet searching, some font downloading (I love DaFont.com), and started playing around!  Here is what I came up with!  This is about the 4^th or 5^th “version” of these, but it is the one I settled on (click on the image to make it larger):

So, I showed them to my hubby, saying I wanted to print them on canvas when Canvas People have one of their sales, so I can have all four of them for our house.  You can also just print them on photo paper (I love mpix for this!), or there are tons of tutorials on the internet about how to put them on wood and make them look distressed.  Like I said I just want them on canvas. He agreed that they were very cool and was impressed with my work.

But somewhere along the way while working on them, I decided I could sell mine, too!  Other people do it!  They range in price from about $7.00 all the way up to like $20 on Etsy!  Granted some of them are the actual print or a framed print, and I am just interested in making digital files to self-print (for now), but still!  I need Sonic Run money!  So, I did it!  I bit the bullet!  I made a shop banner, and listed my subway art birth announcements!  SQUEEEEEEEEE!  In the listing I also mention weddings and graduations and other special event dates.  I need to get some examples up of those, but this is a good start!

So, why don't you click on the banner and check out my shop:

All Feedback is welcome!

*****UPDATE*****

January 16, 2013

I added a product to my store!

I had said I could do wedding signs,  but I had yet to actually create one... Until now!  They always say, work with what you know, so I did! And here is the wedding announcement I made for Britt and I:

Click on the image above or this link to my Etsy store to see this listing, and many others!  Thanks for taking a peek!  Use the code LOVE14 now through Valentine's day for 14% off your total order!  What a great time to stock up on gifts!  I can't wait to fill YOUR order!

Life… HAPPENS!

A school board bond and new member election, 2 more snow days, Valentine’s day parties, a cold, cheer performances, a migraine, out of state relatives in town, 2 weeks without my LifeGroup, Girl Scout cookie sales, and I look up and an ENTIRE WEEK has gone by since I worked out last!  How does that happen?   Oh yeah!  I’m a full time mom to 3 active and involved kids, a full time wife to my amazing husband, and I hold down a full time job at the University.  Some days, I am surprised myself at how I get it all done.  Don’t get me wrong!  I LOVE the chaos that is my life – most of this time.  And this week has been especially good.  Everyone seems to be getting along, I’ve laughed a lot, enjoyed the things we have done as a family, taken the time to be in God’s word every day, but my diet/exercise routine have suffered.

Pastor Craig (Groeschel) spoke a sermon last month called I Quit… Complaining.  I don’t think I am a complainer, but I can see where others might call me that.  I have a hard time discerning what is a “complaint” and what is a statement of fact.  Take my ailments from this past week as an example.  In my opening sentence, I stated that I had a cold, then a migraine.  FACTS.  But, because I mentioned them in a laundry list and basically used them as excuses for my less than stellar behavior, does that make them complaints?  I could go on about this forever – ask my husband or anyone in the lobby of LifeChurch.tv Stillwater that week as we stood around and discussed it after the Host Team huddle… I don’t want to be a complainer, but I want the facts to speak for themselves.  Fact is, I don’t know how to do that, and I end up sounding like a complainer…

But, I digress.  My point is that I need to recommit to my health and fitness this week.  I will weigh again on this upcoming Monday morning, so that is my first step of accountability.  I think I am coming to the end of this cold, so I should start feeling better.  We have all but a few boxes of the Girl Scout cookies sold, so that madness is winding down.  It looks like the window of opportunity is opening for me again, and it is totally up to me to SEIZE it and get back on track!  It’s all about the balance of things, right? Things shifted the past 7-10 days, and it is time to shift them back.