Stop. Pause. Rewind.

Do you ever feel like you wish you could just PAUSE life and rewind it a little bit? Not just when you do something silly or embarrassing and you wish you could fix it, but when things are beautiful and time is going too fast - and you want to let it just be a little longer?

Maybe I'm the only one. ;)

For instance, I'm thrilled that my childhood best friend is visiting me this week on her way home from a vacation in North Carolina. Then I tried to figure out the last time I actually saw her in person, and my mind went all wibbly-wobbly. It's been at least NINE YEARS. *jaw drops* Wow. It doesn't feel like that long - but at the same time it's been ages. Time is weird.

Anyway, aside from hosting one night this week, I also want to get some more written on Smoky Mountain Serenade. And then plan a tea party. I don't know, something wild and crazy like that. *giggle* While Summer's still here, anyway...

Although the idea of autumn is sounding rather nice. The heat does get a little old after awhile. And I have some beautiful sweaters, boots, and scarves waiting longingly in my closet. Can you believe they're already putting holiday stuff in the stores?! It's barely August, people, not October... :) Maybe it's strange because I'm located in the south. Perhaps seasons change more swiftly up north. Do you think that's the reason, or are shops just hungry for the commerce the holiday season brings?

Okay, blog-readers, I want your input here. What kind of posts are you interested in seeing the rest of this month? Aside from the companion series I'm doing with Victoria, (Book review, DIY, and Fashion coming up)
would you rather read...

• A post filled with pictures of vintage teacups I recently found at an estate sale
• A post about the characters in my upcoming novel
• A post about my experience of being on the Trim Healthy Mama Plan since January, OR
• A post topic that you shall suggest in the comments section

Please tell me, if you're reading this. I see all sorts of interesting visitors on my live traffic feed from places all over the world, so I know SOMEBODY's out there! ;) Don't be shy, say hi! :D I don't bite. much. ;)

Love & Blessings,

At last, my novel has a face!

Hey readers!

I know I'm going about this all backwards and that I should have a bunch of fellow bloggers release this at the same time with lots of pomp and fanfare and confetti, but since the rules are more like 'guidelines' - I have something VERY SPECIAL to show you.

Drum roll please....

INTRODUCING- 

The cover for my novel, ASHBURN. 

I designed it myself. 

(comments, thoughts... do you like it?!? I DO!)

Release date coming soon! I'll be in the final editing process for the next few weeks, but I am self-publishing this book to Kindle and CreateSpace on Amazon in paperback form. After a lot of procrastination, the time has come to share it with the world!

If you are a fellow blogger and are interested in an interview or a review copy of my book, (Or want to splash my pretty book cover on your blog or website!)... please let me know. I would greatly appreciate any support and help to spread the word about this exciting story. :)

Also, I'm pretty sure I want to hang out a shingle as a graphic designer and start doing book covers and other projects for real, live customers. More info on that coming soon as well. :)

Delightedly yours,

It's not about me... but thanks.

What do you do when people say you're awesome?
When people compliment you, tell you you're talented, smart, beautiful, creative, and amazing... how does one react?

The wrong way to respond is to let your pride inflate like a hot-air balloon and soar up through the heavens until you think you're the greatest thing since sliced bread. Which I *cough* have done before.
(incidentally, what IS so great about sliced bread anyway?)
Another wrong way to respond is to blush, duck around the corner, hide in the ladies' room, and insist you don't deserve a single compliment.

One of the right ways to respond (not THE right way, just A right way) is to smile and quietly say
"Thank you."
I have my bad days. I have my good days. On my bad days, I do not deserve to be called beautiful or amazing... 'cause I'm not. On my good days, I work hard, I accomplish a lot, okay, I deserve a little pat on the back. Not fawning admiration, but a small "thanks". Which I get x100 from my loving family. :) They're so good about saying "thank you".
So. About blog awards.

I received some lately from a very dear (boy, those words seem so insipid. What an understatement) wonderful, sweet friend ... Rachelle.
I also got one from Lizzie, a past winner of a jewelry giveaway I did! :)
And Charity also awarded me! I enjoy reading her book reviews.

Thank you, girls. I appreciate the awards.
From Lizzie:

(According to Lizzie, "Liebster" means 'Dearest' in German)

RULES:

• Choose five up and coming blogs with less than 200 followers to award. Make sure and notify them by comment or e-mail that you did so.
• Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them. If you’re not already a follower of their blog, that might be a great way to show appreciation for the award. :)
• Post the award on your blog, and be sure to link back to the 5 blogs you awarded, so that others can visit them.

Fun part! Awarding others! Surely, it is more blessed to give than to receive...

1. Rachelle! Who inspires me to dare and dream and discover. 

2. Rachel! Who is such a sweet and sisterly influence in my life.

(less than 200 followers? oh well....)

3. Sarah! Who heads the MOHL group that has blessed me in countless ways. A good friend.

4. Katelyn! A faithful commenter! (a highly desirable quality in a blog reader)

5. Miss Dashwood! A frequent poster of all things Period Drama. I love her blog. :)

I hereby award you all the "Liebster" blog award.

 From Rachelle:

Oh, my, goodness. This is the cutest blog award I have ever seen. I got it a few years ago, but I'll happily accept it again!

I award:

Melody

Emily N.

and Rose H.

For being "Kreativ" and "Kute"! :)

Strawberries! *snicker* Inside joke. Among the MOHL gals.

 Whom I hereby award! MOHL gals, the strawberry award is yours. :D You know who you are.

I really like this one... It's neat!

I award:

1. Bailey

2. Shannon

3. Lauren Brittany

For being versatile! :) 

From Charity:

I'm an inspiration! Wow. No pressure, right? Right....

I award:

1. Arianna

2. Jessica

3. Delaney

For their inspiration. :)

Charity also awarded me the Irrisistibly Sweet blog award, and a few others I'd already received. :)

And I think with some of these awards you are supposed to post 7 random things about yourself.

*Randomocity*

1. I am not afraid of bugs. I squish them myself. Unless a handy brother happens to be nearby, in which case I calmly and nicely ask them to dispose of it.
2. Today I designed the remaining bits and pieces of the new CD cases for our ebooks on how to make jewelry and how to make duct tape weapons. It was a huge job, but everything came out splendidly! Yay! :)
3. I rarely pay more than $2 for a piece of clothing. I'm a dedicated thrift-shopper.
4. I love talking to people, but in general I hate using the telephone. Go figure!
5. I am going to buy myself a big heart-shaped box full of chocolates this year, because I do not have a 'valentine'.
6. I'm a really good cook. But I plan to get better. :)
7. I am on page 235 out of 378, editing my novel, Lissie.

I hope you enjoyed this post! :) Have a wonderful Sunday!

Random Odds & Ends

Hi Blog readers!

I felt like writing you a note tonight, and this is it! :D

First item of interest in my list of things to impart/confess/relate: TOMORROW is the day when we will be going to the End of Ultimate Frisbee Season Party! First, we meet at the T family's home for a dinner of delicious chicken from (where else?) Chick-Fil-A. Then we'll head over to the field and play frisbee like wild things (I've been exercising and getting in shape all week, so Bring It ON!) :D I'll let you know how the game goes. :)

Second item of interest:
My facebook account is no more. My family and I decided that FB wasn't something we wanted to be involved in, but we gave it our best shot and I'm glad we at least looked into the possibility. I enjoyed a brief glimpse into the lives of some friends I hadn't heard from since I was a little kid. I will definitely miss the closer contact I had with the lovely girls of like mind from the Meditations of His Love blog, but I still have several other ways to keep in touch with them. Some of the stuff I saw on Facebook was, to be candid, disturbing. It's like an alternate world, facebook... and people feel emboldened to post all sorts of foolish, ill-judged things that ordinarily they would not say in real life. Not to mention how much TIME I was wasting on there! :D So, for several reasons, I will not miss you, Facebook.

Third item of interest:
I have some super blog posts planned for you! One is about burned bread, (trust me, you'll love it) one will be stuffed with pictures I snapped of the pretty fall leaves changing their hues outside my home, and one will showcase photos of an intricate crochet project that has been occupying me for some time. :)

I've also got plans for some way awesome blog backgrounds for you, and will be releasing some in the very near future!

So, till then, I am, yours truly,

The Atlanta Homeschool Expo 2011

Today my whole family and I drove alllll the way up to the Cobb Galleria centre to "spy" on the Homeschool Expo. ;) We've been vendors at the GHEA convention for the past 3 years and wondered if it might be worth our while to try out the homeschool expo too. (we decided we'll probably try somewhere else... possibly the big FPEA convention in Florida).

Originally we were going to visit on Friday and then hit Friday Frisbee on our way back home, but we decided (fortunately, in my opinion) to do Frisbee and the convention on separate days. So we went today, Saturday.

We had great difficulty finding a parking space when we arrived just after noon, but we made it and then traversed a partially underground tunnel (cool!) to get to the convention center itself and the exhibit halls.

While Mama asked about using a wheelchair (her ankle has been bothering her with flare-ups recently with her RA - please keep her in your prayers) my brothers and I gawked shamelessly like country bumpkins at the shiny marble floors and huge, high, circular ceiling in the entryway of the convention center. It was most impressive and living in a small town like we do, we don't see much of the like very often. ;)

I have almost no pictures of our day except for the striking bouquet of artificial flowers in the foyer (see above)

And the stairs & escalators going up to the second floor (see below)

Because once we signed up at the registration booth I heard about this 'scavenger hunt' the convention was doing. My ears perked up when I heard about the prize.

An iPad.

Uh-huh. That's why I decided it might be worth a shot doing the little scavenger hunt thingy. I actually won my first iPod Shuffle (that, sadly, found a watery grave when I left it in the pocket of the hoodie I wore at the gym and it went through the washing machine) - in a contest a few years ago at my orthodontist's to see who could get the most words out of the letters in "I LOVE MY BRACES". My total was over 780 words. (Including things like "Cobra" and "Olive") :D Yeah, it took me 3 days.

So... I sort of had some luck winning Apple products in the past so I have a wild hope that I might win one this time.
But get this - I only had until 3:00 to turn in the scavenger hunt list! So I buzzed around the exhibit hall and, booth-by-booth, asked people if they were on the list. There were clues about each vendor you had to write down, but it was faster to just go down the rows and ask people. Some people were very helpful and just signed their initials and vendor name right away and some made me discover which clue went with their booth.
It would sound like this... I would walk up to a booth and ask "Are you on the scavenger hunt list?" And they would either say yes, or no. If yes, I continued "Great! Do you know which one you are?" Handing them my list of clues. Some people said yes and proceeded to add themselves to the list, and some people replied "Do YOU know which one we are?" And made me figure it out on my own.

What is it about people giving pretty girls a hard time? Especially the young guys running the college booths and various bored old men with odd senses of humor??? :P *sigh*

And then after I'd found about 43 of the people on the list (out of a possible 60 or so, I think?) one vendor helpfully told me that you only needed 30 to submit your list! And lo and behold, I checked the top of my sheet of paper where some stuff was listed in fine print... and it was so. *facepalm*

The end of the story is that I got the scavenger hunt submitted by 2:45 PM, nicely before 3:00! Yay. Now I just have to pray that my sheet gets randomly drawn as the winner. If I win, the iPad will become our family iPad and all will share it equally.

But guess what - I heard from the man running the registration booth that they only had about 15 people turn in scavenger hunt sheets. So the odds are pretty good!

~*~

I'm pretty exhausted from my busy weekend, and glad that we are planning on staying home tomorrow and doing some Bible study on our own (Daddy is teaching to us out of Hebrews, chapter by chapter). Frisbee really tuckered me out this week and although some of the stiffness got worked out in walking around the exhibit hall this morning ... I'm still achey and sore and just. plain. tired.

So this is what I hope the rest of my evening will be - Quiet. Relaxed. Peaceful. Perhaps finishing my Jane Austen novel by the light of a cozy lamp. That's what I'll be doing. :)

How was your weekend? What have you been up to? I'd love to hear about it in the comment section. :)

Have a blessed Sunday!

Pirate Loot {and other goodies}

Yesterday my Mom and I went shopping in 'civilization'... we went, we saw, and we conquered! :) And we came back with a whole load full of treasures in the hold... eh, make that the back of the van. :D

First we went to a friends' house to recover my sneakers. I'd left them behind when we played Ultimate Frisbee last week. (oops!)

Then we went to Smith & Davis ... where, I am thrilled to say, some of my jewelry is for sale now. We checked on the display to see how they'd laid everything out and looked to see what had sold. It looked pretty nice in there. :)



 I ended up selling them two of my stands to display the earrings on. But Daddy can make me another wooden one and I can order another copper rack from Fire Mountain to replace the one I sold. :) The section of the glass case to the right of the stands there is full of exclusively my jewelry...

pretty cool! :)

So, after we'd seen that, we got down to business and shopped 'till we near 'bout dropped. Whew!

Here's the glitteriest of my loot:

I took advantage of the 50% off sale at Hobby Lobby on their beads and stocked up a little bit... and I also found some beads at Jo-Ann fabrics that I'd been looking for, teal acrylic faceted clear ones. Very cute. :)

 At Ross, I found the prettiest skirt I've seen in a loooong time. It's absolutely adorable and twirly at the hem - and it makes me look so slim! (always a good thing) ;) I actually got two of them, one in black & ivory and one in brown & white. (The brown one is pictured below)

Photo credit goes to my sweet Mom for this shot. :) Modeled by Yours Truly. 

 And I was in Hobby Lobby walking down the aisle when I did a double-take. Does this chandelier on the canvas look familiar, by any chance?

It should. It's the same one that's on my blog header! :O! And it was 50% off. :) So... I got it! Now to find the perfect place to hang it... ;)

Mom and I decided in favor of assembling a delicious fresh lunch from the selection at the Publix deli... and guess what we had for dessert?

Sugar cookies with sprinkles. Boy, does the taste of those bring back memories or what? I grew up getting my 'free cookie' at Publix every time we went to the grocery store when I was little - and I usually got a sprinkle cookie.  *nostalgic sigh*

Mama has wanted to get some nice photo albums for a long time so we can actually do something with the thousands of printed photos of when us kids were younger, and she found some at Ross that are perfect!

Lastly, a photograph of an interesting perspective... my laptop sitting on my jewelry worktable with the glittering beads reflected in the glassy black screen of sleep mode. I just thought it was neat. :D

Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, pop over to Meditations of His Love (a devotional blog I write for with some other young ladies) And check out it's brand-new makeover!

Blessings,

What I'm doing this Summer

Summer can sometimes tend to be a lazy, laid-back time of the year. And there's certainly nothing wrong with taking a rest now and then. But it's definitely a good thing to keep aiming for something and have some idea of things you want to accomplish in the near future.

So what am I doing this summer?

#1 is pretty much in full swing. I can't tell you how good it feels to be able to blog again! I am so thankful for my new laptop with really fast internet. *sigh of utter bliss* God is so good.

#2 - I have until March to get this afghan done so I'm taking my time and enjoying the process. I think I have about 6 blocks done out of 35... but it'll be so beautiful. It's going to be a wedding present for my cousin and her fiance.

#3 - Yep. I'm writing a book. It's inspired by the works of Jane Austen. I've mentioned it before. I'm surprised how vulnerable my feelings are towards this endeavor... I want people to like it, but am aware that not everybody will. I do, and my family does, so that's good enough for me. :) I have about 280 pages written out of 300+. The end is in sight, so I'm hoping I can finish it before this autumn.

#4 - My poor camera needs to be sent in for repairs, so I'm going to clear off my old camera card and try to use my dinky little Kodak something-or-other for 'emergencies'. :D But one of my goals is to take a lot of pictures this summer, particularly of my family. My brothers are growing and changing and maturing so rapidly that I don't want us to forget what they used to be like at 15 and 17... and I always love looking back at pictures I've taken of past events and reliving the precious memories. You can't have too many pictures! :)

5 & 6 - Pretty simple, after all. I can choose to enjoy my life and everything going on around me, or I can be dissatisfied and discontent, overlooking the many blessings God has given me and my family. I choose to be happy, and enjoy life. :) And I also choose to be a blessing to the people around me.


Sorry today's post was such a shortie. But guess what? I wrote an article over at Meditations of His Love that I think you might like to read. Click here to read it.

And here's a hint of what it's about:

Curious yet? You should read the post. Really. :)

Oh, and I got the cute notebook image from ShabbyBlogs.com under their 'post freebies' section and added my own text.

Annnnd, if you have not gotten my brand-new blog button yet...

 ...it's right over there on the sidebar! :)

Exquisite Bracelets

Today I was playing with the new things I received in my jewelry order, which came the other day. I'd happened to order some stunning spacer bars that evoked a victorian feel with antiqued silver and swarovski crystals adding a little sparkle. I had an inspiration, dived right in, and ended up designing 8 bracelets! I've never made so many 2-strand bracelets before in one day, so it was a new record for me... and I decided it was blog-worthy! :D So, whipping out my little camera, I snapped a few pictures for you.

Aren't they beautiful?

The bracelets are not complete yet, just strung on the Accu-Flex wire, but you get the idea. :)

Looking at these just makes me all happy inside! :) I was also quite pleased to get so much done today. Creativity comes in wild bursts for me... so I've learned to go with the flow and 'make hay while the sun shines'! :D

I actually do this pretty often. Snap a random self-portrait, that is. I rarely share them in blog-world, however. :D Here I am thinking, "hmm, will this angle work, or cut off half my face?"

And here I was thinking "Oh wow, it works!" :) I also love the close-up of the beads... all that shimmer and glitter is nearly overpowering my "sparkle radar". Oooh! SO gorgeous! :D

So what do you think? Did you spy a favorite color amongst my jewelry pieces? (hopefully! I usually just have to guess what people like when I'm ordering beads... sometimes my instincts flop, but most of the time they're pretty accurate) Let me know if you're interested in purchasing one of the completed pieces. These will all eventually be for sale. ;)

Love & Hugs,

Color Combination Happiness

So I was cleaning my room and noticed four shirts lying on my easy chair. They each had an equal amount of space on the chair where they were displaying their various colors. I had to stop and stare - the colors looked so beautiful together! I gathered them all up in my arms and marveled.

Then, I plopped down at my desk and tried to re-create the shades on my computer so I wouldn't forget about this color combination. It was too pretty not to share.

So I had to share it with you! What do you think?

Do you like these colors together too, or is it just me?

Also... While I was playing around, I decided to show ya'll my color scheme for my future kitchen. I've wanted my kitchen to be a soft purple and sunny yellow ever since I first found a picture of a purple kitchen in a magazine.

Isn't that cute?? :D I've already collected some kitchen supplies in the right shades of purple and yellow. (Seriously, it is not easy to find kitchen accessories in these colors) So far, among other things, I have a purple skillet and a yellow colander (strainer). :D

Also, someday, I would Love, Love, LOVE a master bedroom in these soothing colors:

And I would love to crochet a king-size afghan in these colors too. Wouldn't that look nice?

What is your favorite color combination? Do you like pink and gray, or orange and baby blue? Tell me what colors work for you. :)

Flower Photos

Rain is pouring outside my window as I sit here typing at my desk. Thunder rolls, lightning crashes. It's a gloomy day! But I have sunshine in my heart, and I know the storm shall soon pass away.

And so, just for fun, I uploaded a TON of flower and butterfly and garden pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them! :)

These pictures were taken at Callaway Gardens on the first Sunday of April.

Beautiful sun-kissed pansies

Peach blossoms. Oh yes.

Blooming peach trees.

This is either Eidelweiss, or snowdrops. I'm not sure.

A frilly Hibiscus flower

The fiery heart of a tulip

A slightly ragged, yet still gorgeous butterfly.

A blue butterfly resting in peace.

A small orange and brown butterfly, brilliantly illuminated by the sun

An owl butterfly reposing in a shady spot of the garden.

Crisp, oh-so-Dutch red and white tulips.

A bright profusion of double daffodils and pink tulips

Soft pink cherry blossoms

One of my most favorite spots in Callaway- petunia baskets float above a bubbling fountain 

Bright pink hyacinths pop against the dark green leafy background in this picture.

Cascading hollyhocks with open, spotted throats.

Pure, lovely, white easter lilies.

Delicate tendrils emerge from the heart of this white orchid.

Creamy yellow orchids glow with a pearlescent sheen

Tangy orange tulips, peach and yellow jonquils, ah! This is life. ;)

Light pink tulips dance in this bright sunshine.

Back at my house, I took a few pictures of these gorgeous irises with butter yellow tops and drooping violet petals.

Think that was pretty? Wait until you see...

The inside.

These peppermint azaleas also look good enough to eat! They're one of my favorite plants in our yard.

I hope you liked the pictures! Leave me a comment letting me know which was your favorite.