Long Time No See!

Ok, so, WOW!  It has sure been a long time!  Life has been so busy!  Suffice it to say that we are settled in, school year now coming down to the wire, and I am knee deep in my etsy shop!  We are loving our life here in Virginia, and are so happy for the move we made!
I will be trying to keep this blog updated at least a couple times a week!  Let's just see how this goes! ;-)

We. Made. It.

Oh my word!  What a journey it has been!  So much to tell along the way, but suffice it to say....WE MADE IT!  We moved across the country, leaving behind dear friends, and are home now closer to our families!  We are now in the process of getting settled...trying to put down our roots as fast as they will grow.  School, doctors, dentists, church, grocery stores, gas stations, hair dressers, etc.....we are learning our way around and getting it done!
Since it has been a crazy few weeks, we decided we all needed a break...so we went to the fair!  We had a blast!  It has been literally years since I have been to a fair and I forgot just how much fun they are!  I figured I would throw some pics up here for you to see :)

 Here I am with my oldest daughter, Dianna.  We are at the top of the Ferris Wheel, and no, I don't like heights.  Actually I HATE heights.  But I sucked it up and got over it long enough to enjoy a family moment at the fair.  If you look close, you can see I am gripping Dianna's leg and the side of bucket!  :/

 Here's my handsome hubby and our other two, Maddy and Sam.  Clearly they are a little more relaxed than I was, lol!

 Only my California kids would be so impressed by Bessie the pregnant cow!  Gotta get them out more, hehe!

One of the many rides my hubby took the girls on.  We learned there are pros and cons to not having to stand in line for rides....Pros: there's no lines....Cons: there's no recuperation time between crazy spinning rides to let your stomach settle!  They literally would get off one ride and walk right on to the next! Needless to say...their ride experience was limited this year....lesson learned to pace yourself (at least no one got sick!!)

...and it all begins....

Well, today began the 1 week countdown to moving day!  Actually when the movers show up at the house :)  Being a (former) military family, we have moved many, and I mean MANY times!  This, however is the very first time we have used packers and movers.  From what they have told me, they actually don't want me to pack anything!  WOW!  I can't get over the feeling that my house should be full of boxes at this point, with all the decor packed, half the kitchen loaded, and down to just a few essentials in all the bedrooms.

Well, even though they pack and move everything, they don't actually do everything.  There are some things about moving that I have to do: cleaning the grill, taking the trampoline apart, all the change of address and forwarding address, cleaning out the fridge, etc.  So today I started the process.  I have to admit, I don't know that reality has set in just yet, but my excitement is certainly growing!

The Life of the Self-Employed, and a "Bored Jar"

For those of who don't know, I recently quit my full time job.  Mainly because we are moving, but this opened up a huge window of opportunity for me:  to focus solely on my sewing and further develop my etsy shop into a full time business!  Can I just tell you how excited I am!?!  I know its going to be a lot of hard work, but I am sooo ready!  

Monday was my first "official" day on the job.  It was fabulous!  I got so much accomplished!  

I was so excited I was able to finish this quilt in a day and a half!  

I even did stippling all the way around the circles...I love how it looks!

Speaking of stippling, I actually broke not one but TWO needles on my machine while doing this!  I guess I was a little over zealous, haha!  Actually, I got on a roll and was working ahead of my needle speed.  Lesson learned I guess.  

And now for the "Bored Jar" which I am sure you are all wondering what it is!  It is a jar full of ideas when your kids say "MOM I"M BORED!"  which I am sure all us Mom's have heard....and are probably gonna hear a lot of this summer!  I have been on my kiddos about this lately.  They are ages 11, 8, and 4....so plenty old enough to figure things to do for themselves.  I think I am going to put a mixture of suggestions in it, like some chores for sure, but also some things like put puzzles together for 30 mins, or play in the sprinklers, etc....  click on the link above for more info and ideas!  I think it's genius!!  

Weekend Goodbyes...

We are preparing to move across the country in the next couple weeks, and as time gets closer we are beginning the process of saying our goodbyes (something I am completely not good at)!  We have been here for 6.5 years and have made some pretty awesome friends and some really fun memories!  This would probably be a much more difficult process if I weren't so excited about where we are going.  We are totally looking forward to being by our families...which is something that has become so important to me.

In the meantime, we are enjoying spending precious time with our friends and looking forward to the new adventures that await us!

Dressed up and out for one last time with all my girlfriends!  We stayed out 'till  1 AM talking, reminiscing, and of course lots of laughing!!  I will surely miss them.

Sweet flowers I got from some of the ladies I work with.  I always help them with the annual craft fair, and I will miss not being involved in that this year.

The completely aaaaa-mazing cake my coworkers got me for my going-away lunch.  It was so yummy....with tons of caramel oozing out the center.  And, yes, I took a large piece home with me, and that was my dinner :)

Even my oldest daughter, Dianna, had a going-away party!  Her friends planned everything, and completely surprised her!  

My First Post!!

Well hello there!  Can I tell you how happy I am to FINALLY have a blog going again!!  I am so excited to share things with all of you....my life, my business....everything...well, almost everything ;)  Looking forward to many more posts! :)