New Year, New Word 2014

More information about the One Little Word meme can be found on Ali Edwards' blog.  My word for 2014 is FORWARD.  There are several ways to use this word, and it can be almost any particle of speech.  I like that about this word!  It's flexible and can be used in so many ways.  For the sake of this post, I'm only going to define the word as I see myself being able to use it.  (For example, although it can be a noun meaning a position in football, basketball and soccer, I'm not looking at FORWARD that way.)

for·ward
Adverb Also, forwards.

• toward or at a place, point, or time in advance; onward; ahead (to move forward; from this day forward; to look forward.)
• toward the front (Let's move forward so we can hear better.)
• into view or consideration; out; forth (He brought forward several good suggestions.)
• ahead

Adjective

• directed toward a point in advance; moving ahead; onward (a forward motion.)
• being in a condition of advancement; well-advanced (It was quite forward in the season when we finished our planting.)
• ready, prompt, or eager.
• presumptuous, impertinent, or bold (a rude, forward child.)
• situated in the front or forepart (the forward part of the ship.)

Verb (used with object)

• to send forward; transmit, especially to a new address (to forward a letter)
• to advance or help onward; promote (The training will help to forward your career.)

I'm ready for my life to move ahead.  I have been separated since December 2012 but my divorce is not yet final.  I'm ready to move on past this failed marriage and on to something better. 
I have many projects that have been at the bottom of my to-do list for too long; it's time to either do them or abandon the idea entirely. 
I see a point in the near future where my priorities will be changing.  Diet and exercise must be put forth to the top of the list.  My very life depends on it.  I am well-advanced on this already, with having my gastric bypass, but life has been forever changed for me.  

I am ready and eager to be healthier (and smaller!) and I believe my self-confidence will improve to the point where I can be bold with sharing my ideas, thoughts and feelings with new people.  

(I have no plans to be rude, though.) 
I want to be situated in the front seat of my own life, to be in control and not so reactionary.  I want to promote myself in my life, in my community and socially as well.

I'm looking forward to 2014 in general.  Life has been good to me in the past year and my blessings have been abundant.  My gratitude is stronger than ever.  I am stronger than ever.  I'm ready for this year!

New Year, New Word Review of 2013

In 2013, my word for the year was BETTER.  I think it was one of the most successful words possible and my life was better in 2013 in more ways than I can count.  My year was "of a superior quality" than any year in my recent past.  I got out of my comfort zone more often than not.  I made sure that my life was transparent in such a way that I was living up to my morals and values.  No secrets, no lies, no shame.  My year was "morally superior and more virtuous."

My health has undergone an amazing "improvement."  On December 10 I had gastric bypass surgery.  In the past 27 days I've lost more than 30 pounds, and I'm down more than 50 pounds since October.  By the time I left the hospital, my blood pressure was back to normal and I no longer need medication for it.  In fact, I've been able to stop taking several medications.  I'll write more about my gastric bypass in another post. 

My life is now "preferable" in every way in comparison to my life in the past 15 years or so.  It is "more" in all the best ways imaginable.

This is not to say my life is perfect; it isn't.  In fact, it's far from perfect.  And I don't want a perfect life--I believe there is no such thing and to have that as a goal is to fail before beginning.  But my life is better than it was a year a ago when I chose my word for the new year.  That was my goal, and I have succeeded.

I discovered my strength this year.  My creativity has flowed in new directions.  I discovered courage in my heart during times when I thought there was none to be found.  2013 will be remembered as one of the best years of my life!

I want to remember... List

Saturday April 20, 2013: 

• James "got" a cultural reference on The Fairly Odd Parents and gave what I can only describe as a "guffaw" in response to it.  It was partly a celebratory "Hey, I understand that!" and partly an honest laugh to the show. 
• James and the little girl he was playing with at the Local Arts and Craft show running out of the welcome center house and down the stairs as if they were being chased by some ghost.  And then the fire truck rolling by and the deep fear I suddenly had that they had pulled the fire alarm for fun. {they didn't!}
• I'm proud of myself for not tying my self-esteem to my crafts, and for taking the risk of putting myself "out there."  I'm reading Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead and I feel like I totally showed up for the challenge and survived.  I allowed myself to be vulnerable without sacrificing my values.

Friday April 26, 2013:

•  The joy and pride I felt for my niece who graduated college tonight.
• That in spite of wheezing, I was able to walk the whole thing, including steps with no handrails.  "Before" I would've assumed I just couldn't do it and stayed home, missing out on life.
• Listening to MrRonald make jokes--I love his sense of humor.

Saturday April 27, 2013:

• Doing a great grocery shop with James.
• Helping my mom clean out her garage.  I helped, and that's not something I can say very often.  And it was fun watching Mom and MrRonald argue over the keep/toss piles ;P
• Playing card games like Skip-Bo Jr and "War" with James. 

 Sunday April 28, 2013:

• Setting all of James's toy men up, army-style in rows of good guys vs. bad guys
• James asking me "What is that white thing on top of the new tea pitcher?" and me having to explain "It's a lid."  So funny!
• Playing Uno and having to call James out for "excess celebration in the end zone."  And realizing how weird it is that I consider us a "non-sports" family but I use football terms like that.  Also "foul ball," "home run," and "fore!"  
• Still wearing the blue topaz pinky ring from my Mom, and realizing that if I never wear any other stone for the rest of my life, I love blue topaz enough to be happy with it.  Reminds me of my mom's eyes, and James's eyes.  Plus it varies in blue color from navy to almost-clear, so it matches everything. :)
• Reading the brand-new Sophie Kinsella book "Wedding Night" and having a crying fit because Fliss realizes that because of her divorce, her "family" is gone forever, and so is mine.
• Realizing that that's okay.  Really.  It's okay.

Wednesday May 1, 2013:

• I'm blessed that everyone I love is healthy and able-bodied.
• I adore Chloe and she makes me want a dog of my own.  But then it's also just as good to be able to give her back.  She's the perfect dog because she can come visit yet I don't have to bear the full weight of her responsibility.
• Loving Supernatural is unique to me, and I must settle for no one else caring about it the way I do for now.  I must not give in to temptations to call my ex, who doesn't even watch it anymore.  And I'm sad that the show I love so much makes me feel lonelier, but that is how it has to be.
• I'm having a hard time as a parent right now, but it will pass.

I want to remember...

I'm taking a video class on Journaling techniques from Ali Edwards through Scrapbook.com.  One of the methods she mentioned is using a repetitive theme such as "I love..." or "I'm thankful for...."  The third example is very inspiring to me, and I'm planning on using it often.  "I want to remember..." is pretty much my entire motivation for doing Project Life, and especially this year, the first one in our small town, the first one as a single parent in a divorce situation.  A year of firsts, actually!

Sometimes it's easier for me to type notes than to hand-write them for our PL album layouts.  So I'm going to use a repetitive phrase often, and keep a track of it here on my blog.  In this way, I hope to personalize and capture our lives without sacrificing materials or having to keep up with journal cards.  So, the next post will begin my official list of moments I want to remember forever

What I've Been Up To -- A Round-Up

I've been crafting as much as possible, but it's much, much harder being a single Mom than I expected (and I grew up with a single Mom, so I knew it was tough already!)  Also my supplies are here, there and everywhere, and that's a challenge: I have almost no craft paint--where did it all go??  But this also means I'm using and de-stashing what I do have, and that's excellent.

 

It's hard to take credit for these, because it was mainly arranging jump rings in the right way, but these are three of my jewelry pieces I completed in the last month.  These blue crystals are ones I've had since 2010!!  See what I mean about needing to de-stash?   The picture on the left is a crude attempt at wire-wrapping, which is harder than it looks, people!  The 2nd photo of a jumble using a large dark blue crystal is simply on a large jump ring with several wire-wrapped pieces I bought from other sellers, which I took apart and re-arranged.  The 3 light blue crystals are attached to a wide-link chain using jump rings, and I'm so glad to get all 5 of these crystals onto necklaces!

This is a 16x20 canvas with 2 coats of crimson acrylic paint and hearts cut out from a pad of black, gray and white patterned paper.  The shiny paint worked out well with Mod Podge Gloss, so I'm glad I didn't have to handle the sheen issue with this one.  I'm very into black and white decor right now, with red accents, so this piece became my inspiration for decorating our new place (when we get one.)  And my beloved turquoise fits in well too, which makes me happy.



As far as a sketchbook, I've just started one this past week.  I'm using a Blick 9x12 Mixed Media wirebound journal.  I have been low on inspiration, but decided to let my desire for organization and order lead the way.  When in doubt, make a color chart!  :)

I have 19 Caran D' Ache Neocolor IIs now, {but no craft paint!!  LOL!!} and I bought myself the 12-piece set of Derwent Art Bars for Christmas, and they're extremely similar so far.  I've seen where other artists greatly prefer one over the other, but I haven't done much with either, so I have no strong preference yet.  

This is an attempt at a side-by-side color comparison chart.  I wanted to see color families together, rather than going by their names.  I've written the name of each in its space, so it's a great way to see what color I need.  (The whole violet/purple/magenta thing gets me every time, and my reds go purple or my purples go red.)  

Up next features this graph which was made on one of those insomnia nights, when I just could not go to sleep.  Allowing myself to go a little insane over straight lines and perfect squares keeps my mind off the clock, so I'm more focused on the page in front of me than on "Oh man, I have to get up in ... hours!"

 These are my markers.  These are everything from Crayola markers to Faber-Castell Pitt Big Brush Artist Pens, and also some Sharpies and "Power Liner" alcohol markers from the clearance section of Hobby Lobby.  In this case, it's about the color and not the quality.  I was also able to throw many markers away that had dried up over time.

I also have a blending marker, and the alcohol inks react with it and makes a kind of watercolor pencil thing happen, and I'll be exploring that in the future.

This last craft is more fun than craft, but whatever.  My son is totally obsessed with Batman right now, and I think we own every single Imaginext Batman toy there is.  Guess who comes with almost every set?  Batman!  We were drowning in Batmen, so James asked me to paint his extras into new costumes.  The lime green paint is a free sample of Liquitex acrylic spray paint, and the dark gray was made using black acrylic mixed with a tiny bit of white.  The 3rd one got painted red, but you can only see a little of him in this photo.  

James named them Grass, Oil and Fire, but I'm not sure if they are bad guys, good guys, goons or sidekicks. 


The Liquitex spray paint is AWESOME!!  It is seriously fun to use, it's not anything like normal spray paint.  There is a depth of color, it's basically the same as their regular acrylics except in a format that is easy to use, inexpensive and I even used it on some papier-mache shapes from Michael's with a brush and it worked beautifully.  (I had no other green to use!  Ugh, I hate moving!!)  I took pictures of the cute lil' flower, but they mysteriously disappeared and I have nothing to show you, but you should try out the Liquitex Spray Paint.

Thanks for seeing what all I've been up to.  I love this last picture of the newly-painted Batmen, so let it inspire you to do something totally crazy with your art supplies!

My 100th Post!! Project Life Weeks 1-5

This is my 100th post on this blog!  

I'm so excited, and for it to be about Project Life is a wonderful coincidence!

I'm doing our Project Life book a little different than most people.  Because we aren't super active, and I don't take a lot of pictures, I'm using only one 12x12 page per week.  This means that when the album is open and you see two page protectors, that's 2 weeks worth.  I am using both Style A and Style D of the Photo Pocket Pages.

I'm just starting and finding my way.  I decided to just BEGIN and then I can always go back and make changes to my album--which I've done several times already.  So here are the photos of my first few weeks:

Opening Page

My opening page, which includes cards from the Cherry Core Kit, some Life Quote Cards I downloaded from Project Life's freebie section, and some digital scrapbooking pieces I printed.  The teal quote on the bottom left is one of my favorites.  It says "everyday I fall in love with you more and more.  well, not yesterday, yesterday you were pretty annoying."  I'm not sure where I got it from, but it's our sense of humor, and keeps things from becoming too "Perfect Life."

Week 1 Left Page

For the first week, I did use a 2-page spread.  We moved into a new place in a new town and started a new school.  So a LOT happened that week. The giant camera on the bottom left is a digital scrapbooking clip art I had printed.  The other elements are from the core kit.

Week 1 Right Page

The bottom center is a card from the core kit that is a beautiful turquoise flower, one I'll be using as filler art a lot, I believe :)  The "Be Awesome Today" and "I have found that if you love life, life will love you right back" are digital scrap elements.

Week 2

 The yellow card on the top right will be a picture of me celebrating after hooking the TV, Blu-Ray player and cable box up by myself--something all single Moms should celebrate!  This page includes a small photo of one of my son's pictures of his Angry Birds toy set--he loves to take pictures of his toys, and they're usually a good fit for the 3x4 slots.  One day I'm sure we'll look back and try to remember what happened to those!

Week 3

There's that beautiful turquoise flower again!  Week 3 started off with a make-over for me (thanks Mom!) and spending a beautiful sunny MLK Day exploring town and ended with me and James both sick with bad colds.  The temperature dropped significantly that week!

Week 4

So this week started with us both being sick--and the funny picture of me is one I would never have scrapped before, but one thing I've learned through Project Life is that the "normal" moments, the ones with your hair messed up or laundry in the background, are often the best photos to keep.  The silhouette of the girl with a ponytail is actually the card that came with a stamped necklace I'd ordered from a site called Between You and Me, and I love it so much.  The blank spot on the bottom right will be a picture of it.

Week 5

This page is one I'm not happy with.  I can't really explain why though; too much white, maybe.  I love the picture of my Mom, taken in Home Goods while we shopped on a "Girly Day" while James was at his Dad's.  The Visitor card and the receipt below it are from the Book Fair--and I'm always a sucker for buying books for James, and this was the most I'd ever spent at one fair.  But we got some cool new books, real comic books for Adventure Time (which is totally mathematical!!) and Ninjago.  

The book page photo on the bottom right is probably not going to stay, but it's an important lesson for me.  I'd been collecting Book Page projects for about 2 years.  Since I'm such a book lover, I thought I'd love these craft projects.  So I finally (yes, after 2 whole years) got around to making one from a canvas I was trying to salvage, and...I HATED it.  It looks like a bunch of torn pages laying on the floor.  Or hanging on the wall, depending on where it is.  I ended up deleting almost every pin from my Book Page Pinterest board and throwing away some books I'd been keeping just for these crafts.

Ironically, I found this quote on Pinterest last night, and it sums up my major problem:

Source

Instead of collecting Book Page projects, I should have tried one first.  Oh well, Life Lesson learned!

At this point, I fell behind.  My son's birthday was at the end of February, and between that and Valentine's Day, school conferences and a trip to my brother's house in Alabama, I was too busy living life to have time to create my layouts.  I have sooooo many pictures though!  I'm planning on making a couple of 12x12 classic scrapbook pages for James's birthday pictures and another for our trip.

I also have a TON of new journaling cards and 3x4 art cards.  Most are from Studio Calico, who has a monthly Project Life kit I was on the waiting list for, and from Memos Cards from Echo Park paper company I bought at Hobby Lobby.  So I know for sure that these pages are going to change.  But I also know I must STOP going back over my first pages obsessively and instead move on and catch up!

Since this is an image-heavy post, I'm going to make my 101st post a round-up of my crafts and art that I've been up to.  Thank you for reading!

Book Review: Pastors' Wives by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen

I received a copy of this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.  I enjoyed it, a lot more than I thought I would.  The story is told from 3 points of view and this is an effective way to move the story along.  I feel there is something to be admired in each woman without watering her personality down too much.
Ruthie is the wife of a man called to be a pastor at a time when her own faith in God is failing.  The two move from New Jersey down to Atlanta for him to become the Associate Pastor at a "megachurch."  She is an honest and complex character, one I felt would be overlooked in an average "chick lit" or "beach read" type book.  She is a born and raised Catholic, and while she attends her husband's new church each week and doesn't hesitate to work there without pay, she also never feels fully embraced by it either.
Candace is the wife of the Pastor of the megachurch, one who is not paid but nonetheless spends every minute just as immersed in the life of the church as her husband.  She was my favorite character--I love female characters who know how to get things done while maintaining a ladylike demeanor.  (I'm from the South, and to me, Candace is a classic Southern Lady.)  But I also love her relationship with God, how much time she spends in prayer herself, and how she is brave enough to go where the Holy Spirit guides. 
Ginger is the 3rd woman in the story, and she is married to Candace's son.  With 2 children under the age of 5 and an absentee husband who is off saving the world, she 's left alone to make it through the day as best she can.  Candace is an overbearing presence to her, as many mother-in-laws are, and Ginger has reason to fear: her past is not what everyone believes, it's much dirtier, and living the lie each day is the real challenge she is facing.  While I found the choices she makes to be hard to believe, they're also valid, well-thought-out and add a surprise twist to the story I didn't see coming.
I highly recommend this book to readers who love women's fiction but need something new to make them excited about the genre again.  I also think fans of Christian lit will enjoy the book; as I said, Candace's faith is a shining example of what we can all aspire to have as our own. 4 stars out of 5

Musings on Spring

Lots of things about my life have changed.  If there is one thing I've learned, it's that the only thing that never changes in Life is that nothing ever stops changing.  Change is a good thing, especially as the freezing cold mornings give way to cooler, foggy mornings that smell like roses and freshly-planted gardens.  We "Spring Clean" to clear out all the old, unused stuff we own and brighten up our homes as we put away the winter clothes.  I've realized just the past week how much I love Spring.  All the bright and happy flowers, the warm sun and the longer evenings make me smile.

I've neglected this blog, but that's actually a good thing.  Life is keeping me busy and I have little time to sit in front of my computer and write about the crafts I've been up to.  My son and I have moved to a small town and we're currently in an in-between home.  I know there is a permanent home for us here; I just pray I find it soon!  Our current place is larger than we need and while it is a beautiful home, it's not our home--and all our things are in storage.  Or the trunk of my car, or at our old home.....

Be patient with me, I have been up to art and have pictures to share.  I've been concentrating first on a Project Life album for 2013, secondly on art, with some sketchbook work thrown in in the past few days.  Good things are on their way!

I hope you too are enjoying the beginnings of Spring.  I'm a Christian, and Easter has always been a favorite holiday.  It feels triumphant, in a different way than Christmas does.  Christ overcame death so that we may have ever-lasting life--how amazing and humbling that is!  Plus Cadbury Mini-Eggs are the best candy ever!! ;D

Books I Read in 2012 30-54

So here's my final list of the year 2012.  I originally set myself a goal of 40 books, but passed that limit with a few more months of the year to go.  So I upped my goal to 60, and completely read 54.  Not too shabby!

Books 1-30 are listed here.

31. Shadow Kin: A Novel of the Half-Light City by M.J. Scott – 4 stars and I’m looking forward to reading book 2: Blood Kin

32. Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer, Book 1) by Karen Chance – Another series I’m re-reading, but in this case, it’s to catch up to the next book in the series. One of the best Urban Paranormal series!

34. Claimed by Shadow (Cassandra Palmer, Book 2) by Karen Chance - 4 stars

35. Embrace the Night (Cassandra Palmer Series, Book 3) by Karen Chance - This was another re-read, and I love it still!

36. Grave Witch (Alex Craft, Book 1) by Kalayna Price - Loved it! 5 stars

37. Throat by R.A. Nelson - Didn't hold my attention well enough to follow the story but what I read was good; I skimmed rather than read. 3 stars 

38. Red-Headed Stepchild (Sabina Kane, Book 1) by Jaye Wells - Laughed my butt off at several parts, so a very enjoyable and unique urban paranormal - 4 stars

39. Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber - This is one of those books classified as "YA" that really are meant for their age level. I believe young readers, especially girls in the 9-12 range, will enjoy it. As an adult though...there was nothing unique or intriguing about this story. 1 star

40. Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card - If you want a book to make you think, deeply, about time travel--this is exactly for you! But I don’t... 3 stars

41. Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, Book 1) by Ilona Andews - This is my absolute favorite urban paranormal series, and Kate Daniels is on my Top 10 list of favorite characters EVER! This is the 3rd time I've read books 1-3; I have books 4 and 5 now, so I'm going to go ahead and list them all. Oh, and 4 stars on this one--it's a bit of a slow start.:) 

42. Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, Book 2) Again, 5 stars Seriously, this has one of the best endings in any paranormal book ever!

43. Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, Book 3) Excellent book, and the romance begins to get really hot in this one! 5 stars 

44. Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels, Book 4) Great ending--love this series so much!

45. Magic Slays (Kate Daniels, Book 5) - And yet again, another great ending. One of the best things about this series is that the endings are complete enough to leave you satisfied, but also interesting enough to make you continue on to the next book.

46. Divergent (Book 1) by Veronica Roth - 5 stars, and I'm very excited to continue the story in "Insurgent.” However, book 3 is not out til Fall 2013!

47. Insurgent(Book 2) by Veronica Roth was just as excellent - another 5 stars, and I eagerly await the next part of the story.

48. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake - WOW! A great (and scary as all get-out) story, this is right along the same line as “Supernatural” on TV, so I really enjoyed it.

49. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick - I’ve tried to finish this over and over and just can’t. I’m listing it because I made it most of the way this time. This is one of several popular YA superstar books that I just don’t “get;” to me, there is zero appeal. Maybe it’s the gorgeous cover art.... 1 star

50. The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore - Another spooky story, this one set in rural Alabama and described so well that even if I wasn’t from Birmingham, I’d be able to understand how much the setting impacts the story. 4 stars

51. Hourglass by Myra Mcentire - a time-travel story I absolutely loved (but still made me want to sit down and draw a timeline, lol.) I can’t wait to read the next book, Timepiece. 4.5 stars

52. Shadow Blade by Seressia Glass - set in Atlanta, this novel was unique because of the use of Egyptian and and ancient African "good vs evil" basis. I really enjoyed this one and I look forward to spending more time with the characters.  4 stars

53. Hating Heidi Foster by Jeffrey Blount - I received this book through the Early Reviewers group, and this was a good story.  It had a deeper meaning than I expected, and the twist at the end is particularly unexpected. 3.5 stars

54. Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days) by Susan Ee - Great!!  Very original and I can't wait for book 2!!  A great book to end the year with :) 4.5 stars

New Year, New Word

More info about the One Little Word meme can be found on Ali Edwards' blog through this link.  It's 2013, and there have been lots of changes in my personal life recently.  To celebrate, reflect and strengthen my life, this year my word is

BETTER [bet-er]

Adjective:

1. of superior quality or excellence:  a better coat; a better speech.

2. morally superior; more virtuous:  They are no better than thieves.

3. of superior suitability, desirability, acceptableness, etc

4. preferable:  a better time for action.

5. larger; greater:  the better part of a lifetime.

6. improved in health; healthier than before.

7. completely recovered in health.

Adverb:

8. in a more appropriate or acceptable way or manner:  

to behave better.

9. to a greater degree; more completely or thoroughly:  He knows

the way better than we do. I probably know him better than anyone else.
10. more:  I walked better than a mile to town.

Oh. My. Gosh!

So, the awesome giveaway I wrote about in the previous post...I WON!!!!  In fact, I won the top prize, a $100 shopping spree!!  You have no idea how thankful I am, and how happy I was to write to my brother that his gift has once again changed my outlook on life.

My son and I have enjoyed looking at every item in Michelle Allen's Close to my Art store today, but I am still in such shock that I didn't commit to anything.  I do love this Sweet Cupcake clock:

We also love this clock, a cat with a mouse pendulum, because our cat Mina is an accomplished mouser!  (We live in a rural area, with a huge field for a backyard, so mice are a constant problem.)

My favorite thing is how fun her art is.  As an untrained Art Journaler, there are many areas of art I am still too scared to try.  A cube?  No way!  A face?  Nope, unless it is in the cute, smiley-face style of my mom's when I was in elementary school.  I shouldn't take it so seriously....  That's my insight of the day :)

Actually, this is my deeper thought for today:
You never know how something can change another person's life.  My brother was just buying his sad sister a gift, hoping to make her smile.  There's also another story behind my pink girl bank too, about God and my son James and prayers being answered, but it's rather "round-about," so I'm not going into details.  But that girl has really made her presence known around here!  So she deserves two more pictures in the limelight:

Sitting next to my unfinished jewelry box

Sitting next to my treasure box, also by Michelle Allen

Sale at Close to My Art Sale!

I'm not normally a collector of knick-knacks and "shelf-sitters," but I do collect pieces by Michelle Allen, the artist at Close to my Art.  Her designs are whimsical and make me smile.  My first piece, the pink girl bank, was from my brother when I was having a tough time, and I smile whenever I see her.  I also really love her cat banks. 

Her shop is having a sale and a giveaway, and I'm beginning to make a Christmas wishlist, so this is perfect timing!

The pink girl on top and the 2 cats on the middle are by Michelle Allen.

NPR's Poll Results: Your Favorites: 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels

I love YA novels, and apparently I'm not alone!  This summer, NPR's annual summer reader's survey had 75,220 listeners vote for their favorite young adult novels.

This is the Printable version of the list; for the original article and more details, go here.

I'm marking the ones I've read or have on my to-be-read list, just out of curiosity.  Only 25 read, with another 5 in my home but not read yet.  I thought there would be more.  I'm off to research the rest!
UPDATE 9/23/2012: read Divergent, and realized I'd read 2 other entries, so I've read 28.

1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2. The Hunger Games (series), by Suzanne Collins
3. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
4. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
5. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
6. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
7. The Lord of the Rings (series), by J.R.R. Tolkien
8. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
9. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
10. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
11. The Giver (series), by Lois Lowry
12. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (series), by Douglas Adams
13. The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton
14. Anne of Green Gables (series), by Lucy Maud Montgomery
15. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
16. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
17. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
18. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
19. Divergent (series), by Veronica Roth
20. Paper Towns, by John Green
21. The Mortal Instruments (series), by Cassandra Clare
22. An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green
23. Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
24. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
25. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
26. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
27. Twilight (series), by Stephenie Meyer
28. Uglies (series), by Scott Westerfeld
29. The Infernal Devices (series), by Cassandra Clare
30. Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt
31. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
32. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (series), by Anne Brashares
33. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
34. Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green, David Levithan
35. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
36. Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
37. Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli
38. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
39. Vampire Academy (series), by Richelle Mead
40. Abhorsen Trilogy / Old Kingdom Trilogy (series), by Garth Nix
41. Dune, by Frank Herbert
42. Discworld / Tiffany Aching (series, by Terry Pratchett
43. My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
44. The Dark is Rising (series), by Susan Cooper
45. Graceling (series), Kristin Cashore
46. Forever..., by Judy Blume
47. Earthsea (series), by Ursula K. Le Guin
48. Inheritance Cycle (series), by Christopher Paolini
49. The Princess Diaries (series), by Meg Cabot
50. The Song of the Lioness (series), by Tamora Pierce
51. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
52. Delirium (series), by Lauren Oliver
53. Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
54. Hush, Hush Saga (series), by Stephanie Perkins
55. 13 Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson
56. It's Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini
57. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy (series), by Libba Bray
58. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
59. The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
60. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
61. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
62. Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen
63. A Ring of Endless Light, by Madeleine L'Engle
64. The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen
65. The Bartimaeus Trilogy (series), by Jonathan Stroud
66. Bloodlines (series), by Richelle Mead
67. Fallen (series), by Lauren Kate
68. House of Night (series), by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
69. I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
70. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlsit, by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
71. Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver
72. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman
73. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
74. The Maze Runner Trilogy (series), by James Dashner
75. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman
76. The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley
77. Crank (series), by Ellen Hopkins
78. Matched (series), by Allie Condie
79. Gallagher Girls (series), by Ally Carter
80. The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale
81. Daughter of the Lioness / Tricksters (series), by Tamora Pierce
82. I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak
83. The Immortals (series), by Tamora Pierce
84. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (series), by Patricia C. Wrede
85. Chaos Walking (series), by Patrick Ness
86. Circle of Magic (series), by Tamora Pierce
87. Daughter of Smoke & Bone, by Laini Taylor
88. Feed, by M.T. Anderson
89. Weetzie Bat (series), by Francesca Lia Block
90. Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen
91. Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (series), by Louise Rennison
92. Leviathan (series), by Scott Westerfeld
93. The House of the Scorpion, by Scott Westerfeld
94. The Chronicles of Chrestomanci (series), by Diana Wynne Jones
95. The Lullaby, by Sarah Dessen
96. Gone (series), by Michael Grant
97. The Shiver Trilogy (series), by Maggie Stiefvater
98. The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley
99. Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson
100. Betsy-Tacy Books (series), by Maud Hart Lovelace

Best Teacher Gift!

 Here's my Rock Star craft of the school year:

I made 8x10 "tabletop" frames into desktop write on/wipe off message boards for James's teachers.  Now if they're grading papers or otherwise need a moment, they can write "Stop" on the frame and prevent interruptions.  Or use it for a million other things.  I gave his two teachers their gifts in an end-of-year conference, and all of the other teachers were excited about them.  (I didn't know there were going to be other teachers there!  Serious faux pas....)

There are very easy to make, I simply framed fabric and made matching flowers for little accents.  The easiest gifts can be the most successful!  James picked out his favorite fabrics for his two awesome teachers, and we're going to sorely miss them both next year. 

We have been re-zoned, and while it's to another very good school, we've been at the same school for Pre-K and Kindergarten.  Bittersweet!

Thank you Mrs. Garrett and Miss Taylor!  James <3s you both!!

I Don't Cook....

I don't cook.  I'm not a person who seeks new recipes and proudly garnishes plates of delicious meals for my family and friends.  I think I used to be, but I don't think so.  I know for certain that I've never been a "baker;" baking requires precise measurement and I'm more of a "pinch of this or that" spontaneous cook.  I've ruined no less than 4 attempts of homemade fudge, so I know for sure that I cannot bake.

But I found this recipe through Pinterest for "Easy No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars," and it sounded truly easy and something my family would love.  So last night while my husband cooked dinner, I made these delicious bars for dessert.  Yum!  No, seriously, they rock!

And here's a few action shots of my son, demonstrating how awesome these taste:

Out of focus, but what a great shot it could have been!

I've found several other recipes on the Six Sisters' Stuff blog that I want to try.  Their recipe list is enormous!  They have crafts too.  I'm so glad I found them through Pinterest!

Recipe: Easy No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars (They adapted this from Baker Lady)

Ingredients
1 cup butter melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (use the boxed kind, or grind them in a food processor. Tiny granules.) I used normal graham crackers and just crushed them while they were still wrapped in the bags; the uneven sizes made these yummier, in my opinion.
2 cups confectioners’ sugar (aka powdered sugar)
1 cup + 4 tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions
In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners’ sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 inch pan. (I did mine in a 9X9 square pan because I wanted them thicker) (And I used a 7x10 pan, maybe?  No idea, but it wasn't either of these 2 sizes.  As long as the mixture fits with room for the chocolate on top, I don't think it matters.)  

In the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring every 30 seconds until melted until smooth. Spread over the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.