Craft room

Now that I have not been working and have been looking for a job I have been wondering how fabulous it would be to able to be creative and getting paid for it. I would love that job! Then I found Etsy.com. So I have been thinking and praying about it. I have had lots of questions running through my head about this....
Is my stuff good enough to sell? Will people want what I've made? Will I be willing to sell what I've made? What do I charge? When do I make things? How much time do I devote? Where will I work? How much do I invest to get started?
Russ is being very supportive about this endeavor, he thinks my things will sell and that I should try it. He even helped me create a space to work. I didn't really want to work on the dining room table with everything out all the time. So we changed my old bedroom into a temporary craft room. It was a bit of a challenge as you can see. Now I have a workable space of my own. I have done a little bit of work and just need to devote more time working in there.
I apologize the pictures aren't the greatest as I took them off my phone.

Before....

After

So that is my craft room. Now I just need to make things to sell. I am going to be making cards and possibly scrapbook pages. If you have any ideas or anything you want, let me know I could do custom orders if needed.

Christmas Cookies

It's time to for the Christmas cookies to start coming out of the oven. I actually made my first set last week, and the way they are being eaten I don't know if they are going to make it till Christmas time. I thought I would share my cookie list with a few links to the actual recipes.
My Christmas cookies are a few tried and true favorites that wouldn't be Christmas without. I like to try new recipes, but during this time when time is premium I stick with ones I know and my family loves!
So here is my list and why they make it on my list.
1. Sugar cookies (this is an old family recipe). Who doesn't love sugar cookies with frosting and decorations. I use a Christmas tree, Santa and bell cookie cutter. The majority of the cookies get frosted and just a few get sprinkles. Growing up my mom made these cookies all the time with an appropriate cookie cutter. I have become a sugar cookie snob. I will admit it. I do not like sugar cookies from the store and there have been very few homemade sugar cookies from others that I have liked. I prefer my own! This is a recipe that my mom didn't pass out and share. She shared many recipes, but not this one. I am not really sure why, but I don't plan to share it either :).
2. Peanut Butter Snicker cookies. I actually found this recipe in the coupon section of the newspaper while it college and made them with my roommate. They are now the cookies that I take to Christmas parties and cookie exchanges. They are yummy!!!! http://www.food.com/recipe/snicker-surprise-peanut-butter-cookies-15477
3. Ginger cookies. I do not like these, these are not my favorite, BUT they are my brother's. And for him it wouldn't be Christmas without these cookies, so I make them for him.
4. No Bakes. My mom only made these at Christmas time so for me they are a Christmas cookie. I know that lots of people make them year round. They are one of my favorites.
5. Peanut Clusters. Again these are not one of my favorites, but that is because I do not like nuts. These are simply peanuts in melted chocolate/almond bark and spooned out into clusters or clumps.
6. Chocolate covered pretzels. Enough said. I use white chocolate/almond bark, nothing too fancy, just simple.
7. Whoopie Pies. These are a new addition to the Christmas cookie list. Whoopie pies were introduced to me by my husband. He grew up eating them and I enjoy them now too.
8. Monster cookies. Not really a Christmas cookie, but we had all the ingredients and these are the ones already made and almost gone. This recipe came from Paula Dean and here is the link http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/monster-cookies-recipe/index.html
9. Molasses with Raisins. I have never actually made these before. This was a cookie that my husband wanted when I asked him what he wanted. I have to get the recipe from Grammy and make them for him.
10. Puppy cookies. These are cookies for my puppy. He likes cookies too. I found this recipe on pinterest. Attawolf loved them when I made them for him before and plan on making some for him and some for my brother-in-law's new puppy for Christmas. They were easy to make and have everyday ingredients, if you have a dog make them! http://www.pinkpistachio.com/biscuits-for-boyfriend/.
That's my cookie list. I have several recipes to make this week so we can enjoy them. If you try any of these let me know what you think.

God's timing

God's timing is not our own, He works on His schedule. He is never late, never early or have a missed appointment. He is always on time!

The Lord is teaching me about trust, self-reliance, and His timing right now. After much prayer and wise counsel I have decided to resign from my current job. My last day is Friday, and right now that seems like forever away. I had decided that working in a call center just was not best fit for me. Russ has recently started a new job, which allows me to resign and take the time to look for a new job that fits better. That's where what God is teaching me is coming into play. I am learning again to trust God to provide and not to be reliant only on myself. The only time I have ever quit a job without a new one to go to was when we moved from Ohio to Iowa. This is something new for me. Even after I turned in my 2 week notice I doubted my design, not because I didn't feel it was the right choice for us right now, but more because of the unknowns I will be stepping into. I know that in God's timing He will provide the right job for me at the right place. I have to do my part in applying and getting my name out there, and trust in His timing. I also have to practice relying on my husband to provide for me. This is a first for me, I have not that sort of provision or support since high school, in a way it is difficult. I don't know if that makes any sense. I am glad my husband is working and wants to support me, it's just taking my hands off and letting him- it comes down to a control issue. I know that God is using this time to shape and grow me.

God has provided some new friends into our lives. We have started going to a new church. We are involved with a small group of people who have become sweet friends. I know that God has brought this specific group of people for specific reasons. It has thrilled my heart to meet sweet Christian friends there who have brought much need sweet fellowship, encouragement and spurring onto growth. I am glad God brought us to Grace Brethren and I am excited in how God is going to use us there.

"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,

And in His word I do hope."

Psalm 130:5

Still alive

I know that I haven't posted in a long time, basically it's because that not everything in life is blog worthy or should be.

There isn't a ton new in our lives. I am still working at the same place. Russ just got a job and starts next week. So we have started the house hunt again. We are both ready to find a house of our own.

We celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. It doesn't seem possible that it has been a year. We got to celebrate in Chicago with our good friends Steve and Amy and their girls. It was a good weekend of catching up and spending time together.

At that time Amy got me addicted to pinterest. I am glad. I have made a few things from ideas I have gotten on there. I need to take pictures and actually. I have made several scarves from t-shirts, a wreath and a small cake plate. I am enjoying collecting ideas and recipes to try. So know it's finding the time and resources to try recipes and crafts. It has really gotten my creative juices flowing and I am enjoying that "ability" that God gave me.

I know this isn't a huge or deep post. Maybe more will come later. But I am not completely silent in blogger world any more.

Listening

I have realized anew recently that generally people don't listen. Not only do people not listen they don't know how to think or reason the words that were just said to him. Why is that? Do we not teach our children anymore how to listen, not hear? Because listening and hearing are completely different things. At this moment I am hearing the lady cooking on the Food Network. I can hear that she is cooking fish but I am not truly engaged with what she is saying. If I was listening to her I would be engaged with the recipe she was sharing and thinking about how I could make that myself and how to do that. People just hear, it goes in one ear and out the other. They are busy thinking of what their response will be or what is next on their agenda. Do we not teach our children how to think and reason, do we just tell them to do it and believe it because we say so. They did to learn how to think on their own, how to take facts and thoughts and mull them over in their minds and come up with their OWN thought and decision about it. Unfortunately I experience this on a daily basis on the phone. Somedays it is worse that others. Recently, I have made the intentional decision that I when I have children I will teach them how to listen, reason and think. I do not want them to come out of a conversation with someone not having learned anything new or even being able to know what they spoke about and reflect about it. I know that I still have to practice and learn to keep listening and not just hearing. Does anyone else see this problem out there or is it just me? This is something to think about and come up with your own decision. I would love to hear what you think!

Job

I got the job! I got the job!

This is such an answer to prayer. In order to put an offer on the house that we want I needed a full time job- not a temporary/contract job. Banks will not consider temporary income when considering income for mortgages, which makes complete since. Now that I have a full time position- officially starting on July 11, we just need Russ to also get a full time position then we can maybe buy a house.
The good news is that the house that we want is still on the market and has dropped in price. I know that if that is the house God has for us then it will still be on the market when we are ready for it and at a price we can afford.
My husband being the sweet loving man that he is got me a fantastic congratulations gift. Russ bought me a cricut!!!! I have wanted a cricut for a very long time. This paper cutting machine will be extremely usable for the crafting when it comes to scrapbooking and card making. I just wish I had all my supplies and time to play and use it. I got to play a little bit this weekend.
Now I have this dream of a craft room that will be in the house we hopefully can get.
Thank you Russ, for doing research and finding an excellent deal and giving me this special gift that I will enjoy for many years. I love you!

Time

Sometimes I wish I had more time in the day to get things done that need to be done and things that I just want to do. I know that you make time for the things you really want to do, but sometimes you still run out of time. One person can only get so much done in 24 hours in a day. And try as I may I am not the superwoman I try to be, and lovingly my husband reminds me of that.

If I had more time in the day what would I do....

I would cook a wonderful dinner every night for my family, like the ones they make on Food Network and then clean up the kitchen.

I would straighten up and clean up the house so that it wasn't so dusty and cluttered.

I would craft- whether that be sewing, embroidery, scrapbooking, card making, or trying something completely new.

I would keep up with everyone on facebook, blogs and emails.

I would spend quality with my husband Russ and my family.

I would be more involved in my church and serving God.

I wouldn't be tired when coming home from work, especially on Fridays.

I would be productive on the weekend's getting lots of extras done- like making sweets for my family to eat during the week, making a menu for those fabulous meals I would make, going garage saling for deals and special finds, planting flowers in front the house and all the other extra things that I want to get done.

But alas, I don't get much of that done. My house is not very clean and the clutter tends to drive me nuts. I would love to deep clean, but to do it in the evening just doesn't work like when I was single and on my own. I usually cook my family dinner, nothing close to gormuet but still tasty, but lately my husband and brother have been doing a lot of the dinner cooking. I do just a little crafting- last weekend I made a dress and have patterns and material to make a couple more dress and skirts, just haven't found the time to do it yet.

Weekends seem to go by too quickly- never enough time to get everything done. Monday comes around awfully quickly. I never seem to get everything done that I want to do. Sometimes there is just not enough time in the day.

How do I get everything done??????