My 2012 Reading List...the Last 25

76. Bonded

77. Bloodrose

78. Rift

79. The Iron King

80. The Iron Daughter

81. The Iron Queen

82. Summer's Crossing

83. The Iron Knight

84. Stray

85. Rogue

86. Pride

87. Prey

88. Shift

89. Alpha

90. Spider's Bite

91.Web of Lies

92. Venom

93. Tangled Threads

94. Spider's Revenge

95. Thread of Death

96. By a Thread

97. Widow's Web

98. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

99. The Broken Kingdoms

100. The Kingdom of Gods

There you have it, my list for reading this year.

It is a lot of reading, but hopefully it will go quickly since they all seem to be

the type of novels I enjoy - supernatural and mystery and crime dramas.

I am on my 4th book so far.

Guess I need to get a move on it if I am going to accomplish this colossal feat!

Monday Musings

This is totally me!!!

Silent Sunday

New Items for Warm Bouquet on Etsy

These beauties are going to be in the *Kitchen section of the shop.

Hopefully I will be able to get them posted in the next week or so.

Aren't they just so pretty?

If you had to ask me, handmade hotpads are way more durable than store bought.

Every time I have bought a hotpad from a store, it doesn't seem to be quite as quality as I would like it to be.

These pretty hotpads stand up well in the kitchen and in the washer and dryer.

  

I LOVE these towels.

They are so pretty too!

I need to make more of these for EVERY season and holiday, just for my own kitchen!

The set is just perfect and I love the matchy-match of the hot pad and towel.

The wine corks are a trivet that I made.

Unfortunately, the trivet is not going to be an item for sale in the shop.

Well, at least not at this time anyway. Sorry!!!



Favorites

Post contributed by Fletcher Vargas

All of my favorite programs on our direct tv new haven come on Thursday night when I am at work. I am a nurse on the night shift every Thursday night at a local children’s hospital. I enjoy working at night because it is usually really quiet at the hospital and there are not any doctors around to hassle you and make you feel intimidated. I don’t usually feel intimidated though because I know that I have saved their butts plenty of times when they have prescribed too much medication for a patient or have a crazy parent after them that I can run buffer for. I just don’t like the feeling I get when the doctor thinks he or she is making you afraid of them. Not all of them are like that. Some are really nice and helpful and even like to teach you new things. But then you have the ones that think they are right up there with God on a level that no one can reach. I usually just try to stay clear of them. But when I finally get to go home in the morning, I can watch all my shows that I missed the night before because I always record them.

It Is Official...

Warm Bouquet

I have finally re-opened Warm Bouquet on Etsy.

I couldn't be more thrilled!

Everything is new, there is nothing there that I had attempted selling before.

What is the best part?

I am going to donate 10% of every sale to St. Jude Research Hospital.

Since I am a nurse, I wanted to give something to a cause that is near and dear to my heart.

I have two children and I would be forever grateful, if my children were ill, to those that donate and work to find a cure for cancer.

Since I want to get this show on the road, I will have a special offer through the end of February.

Yes, you heard read that correctly!

When you make a purchase, enter SPECIAL10 at check out and you will recieve 10% off of your purchase.

Right now, I only have items listed in the Lullaby section, but I will be working very dilligently to post additional items in some of the other sections I have planned.

*Kitchen

*Jewelry

*Gifts     

I hope you will check out my little shop and recommend it to your friends and family.

Thank you so much!

XOXOXO

Beth

Thursday Pinterests

Never in a "million years" would I say my style is

ALL THAT!

I do however love clothing, shoes, and accessories.

Recently, I came across a gal that must totally love fashion, because she will come up with outfits on a website called Polyvore.

Almost all of the outfits she puts together are "fashioned" after Disney characters.

When I say Disney characters, I mean ANY disney character!

She has one that she made for the Door Knob in Alice In Wonderland.

You should really check out her stuff! She has so many, it is hard to choose just a couple favorites!

Disneybound

These are just a few of the outfits I have pinned...



A Couple Sneak Peeks...

...At what's coming to the Warm Bouquet Shop on Etsy.

I just can't wait to get everything done and the shop going again!

I am so excited with the new items. 

Nearly EVERYTHING in the Lullaby section will be custom items!

A few things will be premade, but I am leaning more toward custom stuff.

I may even throw in crib sheets and skirts at some point (wish I had a crib to put them on for photos).

Any-hoo...

My 2012 Reading List - 51 through 75

51. Chalice

52. Sunshine

53. The Blue Sword

54. The Hero and the Crown 

55. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story Beauty and the Beast

56. Deep Dark Secret

57. The Secret Guide to Dating Monsters

58. Toys

59. Kiss Me Deadly

60. The Abbey

61. Riptide

62. Serial

63. Hush

64. Until Proven Guilty

65. Stealing Faces

66. The Mating

67. The Keeping

68. The Finding

69. Bubba and the Dead Woman

70. The Good Earth

71. The Great Flu Epidemic of 1918

72. Destined

73. Legend

74. Nightshade

75. Wolfsbane



Monday Musings


I love these!
Gonna have to be careful though, or I may end up with one of them on my phone!

Silent Sunday



Thursday Pinterests

Now that I am getting to the end of the "off my right foot" issue...

I have been really looking through health and fitness inspiration.

I have recently purchased 3 videos that I think will be fun to do, but I have also been looking through weight-bearing/lifting stuff on Pinterest.

Here is what inspires me this week

I just bought my first ever pair of skinny jeans, so I guess this is definitely something I'll have to try out!

(BTW, you can click on the photos to go to the website)

Definitely need to use this!

Especially when your son asks why your muscles are upside-down and "wiggly".

MORTIFIED!!!

I found that some of my pants are not very happy with me due to my inner thighs.

Guess that means I might want to start doing these...

...and this again.

Yep, went through almost the entire program and then gave up.

I hate not having the motivation to keep going with something.

This year MUST change that!

I need a work out partner that has a membership to my gym and makes me get my booty up in the morning to go, but not at 5:00 am.

I have the "middle of the road" bulge that I would like to whittle down a bit.

Maybe this would help me out with that!

(Sorry, no link for this one)

An finally for today, a little bit of INSPIRATION...

Taking for Granted...

I have never really thought about how much I take for granted the fact that my mother taught me something that, in my eyes, seems to be a dying legacy.

Sunday afternoon, I got home from work and went down to my craft room.

My family had gone out to go fishing while I was at work, so I had some free time to myself...

...at least for a little while.

I was sitting in front of the computer trying desperately to figure out how to make some tags for my etsy.com items when my family got home.

My husband hollered down the stairs to me that our neighbor wanted to ask me something.

I was annoyed because I was tight in the middle of something that was very important to me, but figured I can get back to it after I talk to her.

I got upstairs and stepped out on the front step to talk to her.

She stated that her daughter was going to the "Heritage School" in a couple of weeks and she needed a pioneer costume. I thought oh, that's easy.

I started suggesting that she just make a long skirt and have her daughter wear a t-shirt, but she broke in and said I already bought a pattern and all of the fabric for a dress, but I don't know how to sew.

Oh boy!

I really didn't want to make it for her, but she asked me if I would teach her how to do it.

At first I wasn't so sure I wanted to do it, but I figured she's such a good neighbor that I couldn't say no.

Thank goodness, she chose a VERY simple pattern!

At least the dress was anyway. We got the pattern and fabric cut out and the dress sewn together all in a matter of 2 hours. I showed her what she would need to cut and how to piece the fabric together.

First I would sew a seam or make the casing for the elastic and then I would have her sew the other seam or casing.

Now all we have left to make are the apron and the bonnet.

The bonnet will be a bit more difficult (for her), because there is interfacing, but I will coach her on it and her daughter will be a perfect pioneer school girl on the 23rd.

Wow, that is Monday! I may need to make the other stuff for her myself!

So, that is my story.

I taught someone how to sew with a sewing machine and using a pattern.

Quite different from the way I learned.

Sewing machine - Yes. Dress pattern - No.

I learned the very basics before I actually "graduated" to sewing clothing and complicated stuff.

Sadly, I think that sewing is a dying art, thank goodness for ecommerce sites like

etsy! Without them, most people would be buying everything from a retail store.

My 2012 Reading List - 26 thru 50



26. Vampire Academy

27. Frostbite

28. Shadow Kiss

29. Blood Promise

30. Spirit Bound

31. Last Sacrifice

32. Step on a Crack

33. Run for Your Life

34. Worst Case

35. Tick Tock

36. The Magician's Nephew

37. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

38. The Horse and His Boy

39. Prince Caspian

40. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

41. The Silver Chair

42. The Last Battle

43. A Bloody Good Secret

44. Secret Santa

45. The Lightening Theif

46. The Sea of Monsters

47. The Titans Curse

48. The Battle of the Labyrinth

49. The Last Olympian

50. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Monday Musings

Yep, this sounds like me once a month!

Silent Sunday



Thursday Pinterests

There are so many pretty things that a person can make.

These are on the top of my list for this year.

Salt Dough Necklaces and Earrings

These would make awesome gifts for friends and family...

...oh, and my Etsy shop!!!

This is so pretty! I need to find just the right color and yarn.

I L-O-V-E scarves!



What a fancy pillowcase dress/top!

I would make one of these in my size, cuz it is super cute.


I need these, because my family doesn't seem to know how to put the towel back on the oven door!


Wanna make some of these for my girlfriend Lindsay and her hubby's dream (almost reality) job/business. Read about it here.


My biggest and most important goal for this year is to make us Christmas stockings.
We have been using cheap-o felt ones since our son was a baby (11 years).
So, I will be completing 6 - yes 6, we have 2 dogs you know - stockings this year as well as two new tree skirts. Why two skirts? We have two trees.
My husband has a tree for his "man cave" that is all about hunting and fishing.
He's even going to attempt making shotgun shell tree lights with all of his red, spent shells from bird hunting.

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Healthy Eating

I've started off the year with a BANG!

I broke down and did some grocery shopping specifically for me.

Since I work nights outside of the home, I was thinking I needed to eat good and healthful foods.

The only way to accomplish that was to start cooking my meals and taking them to work.

This one is my most favorite...

Crunch chicken salad

3 oz. canned or cooked chicken breast diced

1/4 apple (any will do - I used a granny smith)

1 Cup coleslaw cabbage mix (not premade coleslaw)

1 TBS light mayo or miracle whip

1TBS plain Greek yogurt

Mix everything together and you have a very light, very yummy meal.

This is another good one...

Chicken Breast w/ Sweet Potato "Pie"

4 oz. chicken breast (baked or grilled)

4 oz. sweet potato

1 TBS Greek yogurt

1 packets of sugar substitute

cinnamon (to taste)

Boil or steam your potato until it is easily mashed. Stir in yogurt, sugar sub, and cinnamon.

Mash to the consistency of preference. Serve warm with your chicken breast!

So far, I am happy with the meals I have been able to make for myself.

They are easy and cooking for one isn't as hard as it may seem.

It can be time consuming, but I will make two days of meals at a time, so that means no cooking at least twice during the work week.

Maybe I will even try to get my family to eat one of my recipes for dinner on a weekend sometime.

I think the kids would really like the sweet potato "pie".

What kid wouldn't want to have a "dessert" instead of plain old mashed potatos?

My 2012 Reading List...the First 25

One of my goals for this year is to read 100 books/novels in 365 days.

This is my list...

...well, some of it anyway.

I'm still looking for more books to make up my entire list.

1. The Girl Who Played With Fire
2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
3. The Hunger Games
4. Catching Fire
5. Mockingjay
6. London Bridges
7. Mary, Mary
8. Cross
9. Double Cross
10. Cross Country
11. Alex Cross's Trial
12. I, Alex Cross
13. Cross Fire
14. The Gift
15. The Help
16. Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven
17. Demon Dark
18. Shakespeare's Landlord
19. Shakespeare's Champion
20. Shakespeare's Christmas
21. Shakespeare's Trollop
22. Shakespeare's Counselor
23. Angels and Demons
24. The Lost Symbol
25. The Enchantress

Monday Musings



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2012 Resolutions

Every year, I make my New Year's Resolutions.

Every year, I completely bomb out on actually accomplishing any of them.

I am however very proud to admit that I kicked the habit of drinking soda...

...specifically Mt. Dew.

I even gave up caffeine almost completely, I don't count the little caffeine in green tea.

The week before Christmas, I decided it was important to accomplish something and kicked the habit "cold turkey."

YAY ME!

This year I am again going to make New Year's Resolutions.

Guess we shall see how well it goes...

1. Get healthy...

I try to do this all the time, but working nights, I don't always do the best at eating healthful foods.

I am begining a new program called "Live the Life."

It is a great program that combines foods that will help to boost metabolism.

It also has a fitness program that goes along with it, but I will have to hold off on that until I get the "go ahead" from the orthopaedic surgeon for my foot and wearing a regular shoe on my right foot again.

I've used the program before, but fixing the food can be a bit of a pain in the rear. I am bound and determined to get through it this time though. The foods are really very good and I don't feel that I am missing out on anything.

2. Read 100 books in 365 days...

Last year, I read 69 books in 365 days, so why not "go for the gold" this year.

I love to read and luckily, I have plenty of time to do it during the down times at work

3. Get gifts made for holidays, birthdays, etc. made throughout the year...

...starting in January.

I have begun to map out my plan for what to make whom and will hopefully have things made and wrapped and ready to go when the time comes.

This is VERY ambitious for me, but at least with a plan, I will have an idea of what each gift is going to potentially cost. JoAnn Fabrics is going to get a lot of business from me this year!

4. Get better at keeping house...

This has always been a very sore subject in our household.

I admit it, I HATE cleaning. If we could afford to have a maid come in twice a month to clean the 4 bathrooms in our house, I would totally do it.

Unfortunately, that is NOT going to be happening!

This year, I am determined to make myself a monthly schedule for cleaning and inlist the entire family in helping. I have found some great ideas for weekly cleaning and I will be utilizing one of them,

So there you have it!

I am not super ambitious, I have to keep the resolutions pretty simple.

If I had this huge long list, there is no way I would even accomplish one of them.

This is a pretty extensive list for me, but definitely NOT un-attainable.

How many of you have made resolutions for 2012?

What are your resolutions?

Silent Sunday



New Items for the Shop Re-opening

The following items will be in the Warm Bouquet Lullaby section of the shop when I re-open.

They will be available for baby boy, baby girl, and neutral colors.

I think they are so cute!

Burp Cloths

Soft and Toasty Blanket

Little Hand Warmers

I am still working on a few more things to add to Warm Bouquet Lullaby.

As I finish things up, I will post them for your viewing pleasure.

These make great gifts. Trust me, I know! I've given them to friends.

Trying to do Better

The past few months have been very boring on this little blog of mine. For that, I appologize! Really, I am so, so sorry. I just sort of lost all motivation and couldn't think of anything good to blog about. Hopefully I will be able to make that all up to you!

I am completely re-vamping my etsy.com shop, so it has been and will be closed until further notice. It just wasn't what I had hoped it would be. As things get going for me, I will start posting sneak peaks at the new and improved products going into the shop. I am not going to focus on just one or two things, but a multitude of great gift items. So as not to shock everyone, I will attempt to introduce new products slowly and only 1 or 2 at a time.

During that whole process, I will also make blog post corresponding to the new products. I will still do "everything bagel" posts, but I am hoping to get more people interested in reading my blog and checking out my shop.

It is a new year, and I have a new outlook on my blogging, crafting life.

Please stick with me, I will make 2012 a better blogging experience for my readers and myself!

Love y'all!

XOXO

Beth

Thursday Pinterests

These are a few things I need to get or do in our house!

Our daughter's bedding set did not come with a bed skirt. I think I'm gonna take one of her pillow shams to the fabric store and get some fabric to match and wrap around her box spring.

If I can find some baskets that are skinny enough, I would definately do this.

Our stairs are kind of narrow.

This is seriously excellent! Only, I think I would do it with our "house rules," that way visiting children would know what the rules of our house are...As well as a few parents.

NO, I am not saying anything about any of our friends or family!

Love these, we should have bought one at the Farmer's Market this summer.

Guess we will have to get one next year...er, i mean this year.