New Year's Thoughts

2012 has flown by. There have been many ups and very few downs. I have taken on more responsibility at work and in other areas. I have gotten the amazing opportunity to teach at the same school in the same grade level for the second year in a row. I have been able to spend more time with Jake in the evenings as his job had some changes. I have been able to take a class which brought me up to my +18 in graduate credits. I have enjoyed many nights and weekends with the MilShelb. I spend my days with 19 amazing children and was reminded this year through a horrible tragedy to never take even a moment for granted with them.
Jake and I have achieved a few of our goals this year which makes me really happy. We were able to get the pine trees in the front yard removed (thank goodness!! (And Reynold's Tree Service!)) We have painted our living room (which was a major undertaking), hallway, and laundry room. We have planned our first vacation together in over 6 years and are excited for that!
I have learned many lessons this year. I'll name a few:
~ People really do appreciate what I do every day and that is an awesome feeling.
~ Jake and I really can do anything we set our minds to.
~ Some Pinterest ideas may work for other people but not for me! (LOL!)
~ It is important to have friends who truly care and those are the friends you focus on.
~ You cannot change things for other people when they aren't willing to see that a change is needed.
~ Family is family. Like it or not.
(Some of the things I have learned are very well-worded by others...)
~"Your beliefs don't make you a better person; your behavior does." (author unknown)
~"Forgive others as quickly as you expect God to forgive you."

Of course, there are other lessons learned- but you don't put everything on the internet for the whole world to see!

2013 will be another whirlwind year if it's anything like the last couple of years. We have many great things planned and new goals set. I hope to still be at the same school in the same grade level next year. I am still contemplating going back to school for my master's. I have done a lot of thinking about goals and what I hope to accomplish this year. I am a very busy person. It's by choice. I take on a lot at once and really enjoy it most days. I do plan to take the summer off from working and work on my house! In terms of the big picture, I keep seeing all sorts of posts and websites about simplifying your life. It sounds like a great idea. It also sounds like a very difficult idea. I think I'll start with simplifying my house by getting rid of junk and move on from there. What I need to do (and am horrible at) is take things one step at a time and one project at a time. So, I'll clean out my junk and then work on my time management and focusing on people that are important to me. I think it's true that you make time for what is important to you. I guess I just have to prioritize first.

Happy New Year! 2013! Here's to a good one and many more to come!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
I am thankful for many things every single day, but mostly I am thankful for my family.

I was going to add photos, but apparently I'm out of space. That's annoying.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Newest Wreath

I decided to make another wreath. It's becoming an obsession. LOL!

So, I already had this garland which I bought at an after Christmas sale last year for SUPER cheap. Don't remember how much. But, it was cheap.

I picked up this ring yesterday at Joann's. I had a 20% off coupon for being a preferred customer! 

All you need is some garland, a ring, and (my personal favorite tool) a hot glue gun. 

Then, you just glue and stick and wrap. Glue and stick and wrap. All around the ring. Takes a little time, but I think it turned out so CUTE!

LOVE it!

Might need to add some color but I haven't decided yet. I'll think about it awhile first. I might put it in the MilShelb's room at Christmas. They're having their own tree this year!

Another Crafty Friday Fun Post!

I mentioned before that I love Pinterest. I LOVE to make things and if I can steal ideas from others it's even better! Well, last night I went looking for something to make from the crafts I've pinned. I found a wreath tutorial and thought it seemed simple enough. Well, it WAS! Here's what I did:

First I went rummaging around my house. I am bad about buying things for one purpose and not using them, but it worked out in this case because I had exactly what I needed! I used 48 plastic (I already had the plastic ones and who wants something that's going to be hanging on a door to be breakable??) Christmas balls. I don't normally do blue as a Christmas color but I'd actually bought these for my students a few years ago for a craft we never made and I knew they liked blue... so now my wreath is blue and green! LOL! I grabbed a metal hanger and then I was good to go.

First you've got to take the thing apart. I thought it's be much harder, but it wasn't hard at all. I just twisted in opposite directions and the thing popped apart! (They just don't make things like they used to- do they?) After I took it apart I bent it into somewhat of a circle and moved on to making this thing.

After that I went to work stringing the balls on to the bent hanger. I tried to be random about it. It'd have been easier if I'd had more colors, but you know what they say, "Do what you can with what you have where you are." (I'm not sure who said that, but it was a very smart person!) In the tutorial it suggested using hot glue to keep the tops on the balls. Since these are the plastic kind I didn't need to do that because these don't pop off. But, I'd imagine the tops of the others would since they do that to me just hanging on the tree!

This is my (nearly) finished wreath. I need to grab some chunky ribbon to put at the top. I'm thinking a silver or something with a color combination that is complimentary to the wreath.

Love Crafty Fridays!

I'll admit it- I am a Pinterest addict! Of course, I'd love to have more time to spend on Pinterest but such is life. Tonight I decided to take a look at all the crafts I've pinned and try out a few. I decided to make the fringe scarf. It was super easy and I love it!

I started out with a plain ol' t-shirt. I have had this shirt for awhile and actually own another exactly like it. This one, however, has something weird going on with the side seams. Call me crazy, but I like the side seams of a shirt to actually go down the side of the shirt and not the front! LOL! So, this shirt became my guinea pig.

Next thing I did was cut off the top of the shirt. This is was the picture directions told me to do. So, I did it. Then, I began cutting the fringe. The trick is to not cut it too skinny, because you'll cut the thing right off! The other trick is to not cut it too fat because, let's face it, no one wants fat fringe.

 Voila! Here is my finished master piece. This was super easy, so I am thinking another one is in my future... but I may have to drop by Goodwill to buy a plain ol' shirt because I don't have any more I want to cut up.

A Heavy Heart Day

Source: likesjesus.org via Maggie on Pinterest

Some days I have what I refer to in my head as "heavy heart days". On these types of days I find myself thinking a lot about something going on in my life or the lives of people I care about. It consumes my mind and makes me feel a little sad. 

Today has been one of those days. There are (and have been) some things going on in my life that weigh me down. It's not really one thing, but many little things. You know what they say- it's the little things that make your life. The things is that most of these things are things I simply cannot do anything about. I was sending an email to a new coworker today explaining a few things about a program we have at our school called the Leader in Me and in this email I told her about how I really like the "circle of concern" that is addressed in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. As I was typing that it dawned on me. I am not (though I really do try) truly living all of the 7 Habits if I am sitting here focusing on things that are outside of my circle of concern. 

I have worried over this issue (again, there are more than just one issue, but one BIG one) and thoughts about it and stressed over it and complained about it. I have talked and talked and talked about it. I saw this on Pinterest the other day...

Source: ishareprintables.com via Lynda on Pinterest

I think it's fair to say I haven't. So, today I am going to begin working on praying about it and letting God handle it. I know He has a plan. He always has a plan and trusting in Him includes trusting in His timing and his end results. It just hurts sometimes. 

My Heart

These two are my heart. Love them to pieces!

Day 7: Your Ex

So today I am supposed to write a letter to my ex. I will admit that before I met my Prince Charming (which is funny that I say that because I tell him all the time he has zero charm) I dated around a bit and had 2 fairly serious boyfriends before him. He know this- it's not news to him. So, this letter is a general letter to the ex's.

Dear Ex Boyfriend,
I hope that you are doing well. I hear about you from time to time and know that your life is going well. You're doing what you love and that is so important.
I want to thank you for the ups and downs of our relationships because I was able to learn so much. You taught me to be a good girlfriend, and that has led me to be a good wife.
Things work out they way they do for a reason. You would not have the life you currently have if we'd worked out. I would not have the life I currently have, either.
Thank you for the good times. Thank you for the bad times. Thank you for the lessons.
~Maggie

What a Week

This week has been a disaster. Well, maybe I should say last week. This is Sunday and, thank goodness, it begins a new week. In one week my car has died and been brought back from the dead, our plumbing backed up, and we found out we need a new sewage line. What a week.
I am thankful for today because it's a new week and hopefully this one will be much better than the last.

Day 6: Letter to a Stranger

Now, I'm not so sure if this should be directed at a specific stranger or just strangers in general. So, I am directing it to a specific "group" of strangers.

Dear Stranger,
Do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it. Remember that the entire world does not, in fact, revolve around you. Keep in mind that other people have their own lives and their own things going on. It's not right to think it's all about you all the time.
Signed,
Someone who is tired of selfish strangers

Day 5: Your Dreams

It says to write a letter to your dreams... but I'm not really sure how to do that, so I am going to write a letter about my dreams instead. I am also going to assume it's ok to write about "dreams" as in goals and aspirations and not "dreams" as in what goes on in my head at night- to be honest by morning none of it makes any sense.

Dear Reader,
I am a person with many dreams. I find that they change as I change. As I grow older and move through life my "dreams" of what my life will be change. I used to dream of having a huge house, expensive clothing, a fancy car, and tons of kids. I don't dream of those things any more. Funny how reality can play a role in your "dreams" for the future. Nowadays my dreams consist of always being happy, healthy, and successful. You see, my dreams are simple. :)
~Maggie

Let's Try This Again

I started to do this last year, but never got past day 4. So, here we go...

WRITE A LETTER TO THESE PEOPLE :

Day 1 — Your Best Friend

Day 2 — Your Crush

Day 3 — Your parents

Day 4 — Your sibling (or closest relative)

Day 5 — Your dreams

Day 6 — A stranger

Day 7 — Your Ex-boyfriend/girlfriend/love/crush

Day 8 — Your favorite internet friend

Day 9 — Someone you wish you could meet

Day 10 — Someone you don’t talk to as much as you’d like to

Day 11 — A deceased person you wish you could talk to

Day 12 — The person you hate most/caused you a lot of pain

Day 13 — Someone you wish could forgive you

Day 14 — Someone you’ve drifted away from

Day 15 — The person you miss the most

Day 16 — Someone that’s not in your state/country

Day 17 — Someone from your childhood

Day 18 — The person that you wish you could be

Day 19 — Someone that pesters your mind—good or bad

Day 20 — The one that broke your heart the hardest

Day 21 — Someone you judged by their first impression

Day 22 — Someone you want to give a second chance to

Day 23 — The last person you kissed

Day 24 — The person that gave you your favorite memory

Day 25 — The person you know that is going through the worst of times

Day 26 — The last person you made a pinky promise to

Day 27 — The friendliest person you knew for only one day

Day 28 — Someone that changed your life

Day 29 — The person that you want tell everything to, but too afraid to

Day 30 — Your reflection in the mirror

Of course, I never keep up with these things... but I'll give this one a shot. lol

Work Hard? Why?

I found this on Pinterest the other day and thought, "Yes. Exactly. What a great motto for life." 

                     Yet, sometimes I feel that people simply do not understand or value the awesomeness of hard work. There is a lack of effort on the part of many people. Why? Why do people no longer feel the need to work hard? Why do people no longer feel the need to work for what they have? Why do people think handouts and mooching is the way to go? I simply do not know. I do not understand. I may never understand. 

                      I am one of those people who has had a job since I was 15. I worked during high school (and not just on the weekends). I worked during college (except for freshman year- and that was only after saving a ton of money to be able to do so. And, I'll admit, some generosity from my parents.)  I work now. I work hard every single day. Even when I'm not teaching, I'm still working. 

I feel like sometimes I stop and look around and wonder why on earth no one else seems to be working. I don't get it. I don't just mean a job that pays your bills, though that is mainly what I'm talking about. I mean working for what you have. Earning your keep, so to speak. 

                      I often hear people say that they are hard workers. Really? I've yet to see you get off the couch. I hear people say they can't find jobs. Really? Are you too good for good ol' McDonald's? I hear people say they'll just get on welfare. Seriously?! Since when did that become something to brag about? I have no problem with people receiving assistance from the government when times are tough. I think it is awesome that those programs exist, but I do not think it is awesome for people to abuse those programs.

                       For the second half- "Be nice to people." Why can't people just be NICE? When did that become such a foreign idea? I actually had someone basically tell me the other day in a store that because I was not raising heck over bad customer service they didn't see the need to take me seriously. Really? Since when is it better to be rude to others than to be nice? Just because I can smile and be polite to you when what I really want to do is jump up and down, scream and yell, and then tell the manager that you aren't worth the air they are allowing you to breathe doesn't mean my complain shouldn't be taken seriously. 

                         Which brings me to another thing- why is it that I always get the cranky register workers at stores? I do. Seriously. I appear to be magnetically attracted to these people. I always get them and I smile and am polite but I really want to say, "you should have blessed us all by calling in." I had a guy at a store one time tell me (and this was not that early in the day) that I was the first person to come through his line with a smile on my face and a good attitude. Now really people. We need to be nice to people who are working. It has to go both ways. I was shocked when the guy told me I was the first happy person through his line and told him there's no reason for me to go around being nasty to other people for no reason and that I hope the next people were nice too. 

So, I challenge you (and myself): "Work hard and be nice to people."

Love of My Life

Six years ago (ok, a little more) I met an amazing man. He had long, thick hair and an out-of-control beard. He was wearing a fleece shirt in June (in SC) and the ugliest basketball shoes I have ever seen. Yet, I knew. I knew the moment I saw him that there was something about him... something that drew me in and made me fall in love with him. From the night I met him we have been a pair.

Three years ago today we made the commitment of a lifetime- we got married. Three years ago we said I do. We promised to love and honor one another, put one another first, prize each other above all others, and remain faithful for the rest of our lives. Three years ago we changed my last name and our lives truly started.

Three years ago we left the church to this song:

Ben E. King's Stand By Me

And we live by it every single day. We love each other. We stand by each other. We are not perfect people and we do not have a "perfect" marriage, but we don't have to work hard to have something pretty darn close to perfect. I know I have someone to lean on and depend on and he knows he has someone who always has his back. 

We have been through a lot in the three years we have been married. We have been jobless and stressed beyond belief. We have moved, and moved, and moved. We have gotten jobs, lost jobs, and gotten more jobs. We have bought a home, learned to be DIY-ers. We have made a life together.
A few weeks ago someone told me that we seemed truly happy. You know, we are. We are very happy.
I am blessed to share my home, my life, and my heart with Jake. He is truly a wonderful person. I cannot imagine my life without him. He has made me a better, more understanding person. He has made me be quick to listen and slow to anger. He, truly, has calmed me down. He knows me, understands me, and loves me just the same. He is amazing.

Three years ago today I officially became part of something wonderful. We officially became an "us". I love us.


Happy Third Anniversary to an amazing man. I love you, Jake.

You are the best part of my life. You make everything worth it. You have taught me so much and have truly made me into the strong, happy, and confident woman I am today. Remember, three years ago I chose you, and I still do. I choose you every single day. I love you more than you will ever know, Jake. I never knew I could love someone as much as I love you, but yet every day I love you more. Thank you for three amazing years. I am excited for many, many more.

Love,
The M-Weeze

Button "H"

I LOVE how this turned out. I think it is fabulous! I bought the plaque at Michael's and painted it white. Then, I mod podged scrapbook paper on the front. I added blue buttons to form the "H" and variations of white to form the border. So cute! Can't wait to hang it in the hall.

MilShelb's Room Part 2

After I painted the room yellow, I knew I wanted to add pink accents- the MilShelb are girls, after all. 

So, first I put pink polka dots on the wall where their book and toy shelves are.

I painted the closet doors... again with getting rid of the brown! I also painted the door knobs a super cute pink which matches the polka dots on the wall.

Milly and Shelby were the first to get new blinds in our home. We bought fresh new white blinds and I now want to change all of the blinds in our house. Our blinds in the other rooms are off-white and gross.

I got pink with white polka dot curtains from Walmart. They were so cute and when I saw them in the store I knew they were exactly what I was looking for!

We bought Shelby a turtle sand box and put a fluffy pillow in it for her. We call it her "turtle bed" and she loves it!

This is the wall with the polka dots, but now you can see the shelves. They are actually shoe shelves from Walmart but they were exactly what the girls need because they are low to the ground, just like the MilShelb.

For decorating I was trying not to break the bank. I went to Goodwill (which I do often in search of treasures to fix up and have fun with). I got the picture frames for about $1.00 each and the cute shelf for $2.00. 

Here is the shelf before I painted the whole thing. The bunnies were cute, but Milly and Shelby needed something colorful!

I painted it pink and green and put M.S. on it which is short for MilShelb, of course!

Here is their shelf with some of their toys (yes, only some. These kids have more toys than a lot of  2-legged kids I know).

Here is a view of the painted trim. I love how it brightened up the room!

This is a picture of one wall in their room. I put quotes and some pictures of them. The fabric boards are just old sheets or pillow cases cut out and hot glued on to card board. 

I painted the canvas in the middle with a quote the MilShelb Dad picked from Yertle the Turtle that says, "And the turtles, of course, the turtles are free as turtles, and maybe, all creatures should be."

Milly and Shelby loved their new room! It was their Christmas gift and they were very excited! They actually use it more than I really thought they would.

MilShelb's Room Part 1

Before we made the big secret plan to make this "Milsehlb's Room" it was our guest bedroom. We moved the guest bedroom (which has never been used) to the upstairs bedroom. There's only one bedroom upstairs and it is the room above the garage. We don't use it because Milly and Shelby aren't supposed to climb stairs and because the window AC is the only AC up there and it's broken and, let's face it folks, it's always hot here in good ol' SC.

So, this was the bedroom once it was cleaned out.

This is another view of the bedroom before we made it MilShelb's room.

The room was the same color as the rest of the house before we painted anything. This may look like an ok color, and it is, but when you have lived in rentals for the past 6ish years and stared at oatmeal and white walls you are ready for some color!

We started the process of changing this room by taking out the carpet. This was the second room we took the carpet out of and replaced it with laminate flooring.

Here is a view after the floor was down.

This is another view of the room after the floor was down.

Looks much better!

Then, I got the bright idea to paint this room yellow. I will never paint another room yellow for as long as I live. I mean it. It was a HORRIBLE experience. This room took 4 or 5 (I can't remember now- it may have even been more) coats of paint. It took over 2 gallons to paint this room. The room isn't all that big- it's like 10x12 or something like that. 

I went to Home Depot and picked a paint color. I told the guy which one I wanted. He confirmed the color. Had I paid extra close attention like I should have I would have noticed that he actually wrote the "1 gallon" on the WRONG shade of yellow on the color swatch. UGH! So, I wanted "Yellow Brick Road" and ended up with Pineapple Soda. Now, it's not a bad color- it's MUCH brighter than I had intended, but the big issue with Pineapple Soda is that it is a VERY thin paint color. It has a "t" on the swatch, which to everyone under then sun (except me) means that you need a tinted primer. Now, was that explained to me? No. No, it was not. I bought the Behr paint and primer in one and went on my merry way. The guy asked if I wanted primer and I asked if I needed it and he told me since I got the paint and primer in one I should be fine. 

I was NOT fine.

After I painted 2 coats of paint and it was SUPER SUPER SUPER streaky I called the store. The people in the paint department were NO help. I called my grandmother and told her about the situation. She told me to call the manager. I called back to the store and explained to the manager that I had bought this paint and this was not the first Behr paint I'd bought but it was SUPER runny and normally their paint is VERY thick. She said that it was strange for it to be runny and for me to bring back what I had and they would give me another gallon. That was generous of them, I felt, and I took it back. 

When I got to the store there was someone different working in the paint department and I actually recognized him as someone who actually normally works in the paint department. (Yes, I go there all the time. I know who normally works where.) So, I nicely explained the problem to him and he asked if I'd gotten tinted primer. I said no. He asked why and I explained the whole thing to him. He then explained to me that when you see a "t" on the swatch it means that you need a tinted primer. I told him that he should tell people to educate their customers. LOL! He was really nice about all of it and mixed another gallon of paint. I took it home. 

SAME thing again. UGH! 

I was so frustrated I wanted to scream. I ended up still having to buy another gallon of paint after that one and I HATED the color and the runniness of the paint. So, all in all, lesson learned here is I do NOT have the patience for "tinted primer needed" paint and I will not be using it again.

This is how MilShelb's room turned out after I gave up on painting. It is still not perfect, and I will probably paint it again in a few years because it drives me nuts every day, but they don't seem to mind one bit. LOL!