Some Black and White Photography

Last month I finally got around to filling up a cute photo collage frame I found at Ross. The frame was black with a white mat and there was room for four photographs in it, and there was a scripture verse traced on the glass in black script - it said

The Lord Rejoices... In All He Has Made.

My bright idea was to take four photographs, one of my parents, one of me, and two of my two brothers, in black and white, to fill the frame. My camera, an Olympus PEN E-PL1, has a pretty awesome 'grainy black-&-white' art mode and the pictures came out nicely. I thought you might like to see the photos (... ok, I admit, I wanted to show them to you regardless of whether you want to see them or not) So here they are:

Me, Julia, a self-portrait in the mirror

My Parents.

 I love them so much... I'll always have a special memory of shooting this photo on the porch of our log home - they were both so happy and in such a good mood when I took this shot after a rainstorm that had left the air smelling clean and fresh. Daddy and Mama have dedicated their lives to raising me and my two brothers to be godly and righteous believers, and I will be forever grateful to them. :)

Mark

 Mark is such a kidder. This is the 14th or 15th shot I took of this guy... (the others were either funny faces or blurry) ... and it's so him. He has the nicest smile when he chooses to use it - and of course the cut-off jeans are a part of his usual outfit. One of my favorite things about Mark is his sense of humor, which is absolutely hilarious, but he's also super-smart. And if you ask him any question concerning an ancient civilization, he'll have the answer.

Steven

Another very special photo - this is a glimpse of the gentle sweetness that makes up my youngest brother's character. He's like a big teddy bear at 6'2" (Almost as tall as Mark's 6'3")and built like a linebacker... and only 15 years old! He's got a deep voice to match, and he's so talented at thinking up new designs for the duct tape weapons business (Warfare by Duct Tape). He's great at working with his hands and can juggle and play the harmonica at the same time. ;)


Those are all the pictures in the frame hanging in my bedroom right now.

And now, a preview of my stunning bedroom makeover...

That's all you get for now, until I ... um ... get the (color) pictures downloaded. :D

Also - I gave my blog a makeover! I went with a black & white theme accented with bright aqua. What do you think? I love it except for the slightest suspicion that it's a bit 'stark'. Oh well. ;)

Blessings,

An Ordeal at the DMV (Department of Much Vexation)

So my second learner's permit expired. (No, that's not a typo. Second.) I am about to get my license once and for all, but before I do so I want to polish up my skills so I can impress the driving instructor when I take the test. :D (Any tips?) But I want to make sure I'm legal while practicing, so I decided I'd better renew my permit, just in case.

We finally got around to getting over to the DMV's office today while we were out running errands. I walked in and was assigned a number and assured that they'd call me in a minute and was given a form to fill out. So I walked over to the table and began to methodically fill out the form. It was quiet and peaceful, with only a few other people in the office besides the workers. The table gave me a little trouble - it was one of those bumpy-surfaced 'faux granite' plastic ones and when I wrote on the piece of paper the pen wobbled and made my letters crooked. *arrgh*

I was going down the list of blanks and checkboxes when suddenly my stomach did a flip-flop. "Social Security Number." The blank demanded. Uh-oh. I looked up at Mom and mouthed "Social Security Number?" 
See, I'd never gotten around to memorizing it. Ooops.
Neither had Mom. Ooops. 
No one was at home to call, and look it up in the file. Ooops.

Just then my number was called. "Now serving A015 at counter number 02." I walked timidly up to the lady and told her my predicament and asked if they had my Social Security number in my file.
No, they didn't. Ooops.
"Are you employed?" The helpful lady asked.
"No." (That was the short answer. I have my own jewelry business and do graphic design work for my dad and brothers... but none of us were at the office - our house - to find my number!)
"Oh." She answered, dismayed.
"Yeah..." I said, gazing down at the unfinished form.
"Well look hon," She replied, "Let's finish the rest of these questions so it'll all be done when you come back. We're open till 6:00."

She proceeded to ask me the rest of the questions in rapid-fire order (filling in the answers for me) and kept a remarkably straight face when inquiring if I'd ever had any type of mental disorder or disease. (Do I really look like that's possible? Good grief.) ;)

So we went home and got the Social Security number from our file and then drove back into town and parked outside the DMV.
When we got back inside we had to wait about five minutes for the lady to come assign me a new number to wait in line - and then it took about fifteen minutes for her to find my pre-filled form. She looked and looked through a file, couldn't find it anywhere, and then went and looked over on her desk - and voila! There it was. So I was given a piece of paper with my new number on it... and then we went into the waiting area.
There were about 20 people there. All ahead of me.
My mom and I waited about 45 minutes. I had ample time to examine the charts on the wall and discovered that the fee to renew a learner's permit was still $10.  
And then at last my number was called!

I walked up to the desk and handed the finally complete form to a different lady than the woman who had helped me before.
"Sign here please." The lady said, pointing me to an electronic pad with a 'pen' attached to it with a cord.
I quickly discovered they don't give you much room below the line on that screen, and my cursive capital "J" was missing part of its lower loop. Sigh.
And then I had to sign the paper form, and to my great inward disgust I forgot one of the letters in my last name and had to insert it between two of them, making an ugly scrawl in the middle of the name.

Then I got to have my picture taken. ;) Yeah. This is the best part!
I won't torture you with the blow-by-blow account - but I had to get my picture taken twice because I moved my head as she took the first one because the flash went off twice when I was expecting only once.
Meanwhile, a young, bored, male onlooker watched with amusement.

After I got the temporary license on a piece of paper, I discovered that my cheeks looked slightly pink (no doubt from blushing in embarrassment that I had botched the first photo) but at least my expression was pleasant and I had a happy look in my eyes.
This was the result of my secret plan. I decided before I went in there that I would think about something I really liked while I was getting my picture taken. So I thought about playing Ultimate Frisbee - and it worked! :D

So here are my two important tips for all who go to have their learner's permit or driver's license renewed...

• BE PREPARED (i.e. bring your Social Security Number, because they'll need it even though they don't keep it in their records)
• THINK PLEASANT THOUGHTS (you will end up with a tolerable photo instead of your worst nightmare and something you would drop dead before showing to a police officer or bank teller)

I hope you enjoyed this post - I have been soundly chastised from several friends for making myself so scarce the past few months, and so, I decided that I would write a blog post and get back into the swing of things with a funny account of a tiring day. More will follow with pictures of stuff I've been up to lately.

Oh, and I'm in the market for a new blog background. I'm out of the loop these days. Where did you get your blog background? Do you have any favorite places to get cute free backgrounds? Do let me know via the comments section!

Home from GHEA 2011

We had a wonderful time at GHEA 2011 - although the week afterwards I was the most exhausted I think I've ever been in my life. :D My mom has written a post here with more pictures of the event, if you'd care to read that too. :) (Check out her new blog look while you're at it! I designed the header for her to go with her cute new background)

On Thursday morning we left the house driving my dad's truck and pulling the trailer full of stuff... we had to cart along a truckload of duct tape weapons, jewelry paraphernalia, and our luggage, since we'd be away from home for 3 days.
Being in the truck meant me and my two strapping brothers had to squeeze into the back seat, 3 in a row, all the way to Atlanta. :P It worked, despite legs going numb and stiff from the long trip with no wiggle room. Lol!

We were able to stay with some friends during the weekend and eliminate the cost of a hotel room, which was a huge blessing and one we very much appreciated! Their apartment above their garage was absolutely gorgeous, a light and airy space with two huge round windows at either end that poured in sunshine on the gleaming hardwood floor, and with walls painted in sunny lemon yellow and a cool periwinkle blue. So pretty! I can't believe I didn't take any pictures.

On the first day we signed in and found our booth location and worked hard setting up our displays. I'd gotten some new stands for this year's booth, and was thrilled with how professional they made my booth look. :)

I know how bloggers love pictures, so here's one of my booth...

Mom sold a few aprons displayed on the back wall, and I had a few afghans for sale too... and on the last day of the weekend I sold both of them! I was ecstatic. I'd never sold 2 afghans in one place before, especially not on the same day! :D 

I was especially grateful that we did well because for some reason they stuck us on 'college row' along the back wall of the exhibit hall, right in the middle of a bunch of booths from colleges and employment stuff. (I was hugely disappointed, actually, with the location) But the Lord prevailed and despite being in the back corner we sold enough to make the trip worthwhile!

Another boost to our sales was my brothers' duct tape swords, which attracted a lot of attention once a few sold and began to wander around the hall. Little boys would see one and immediately desire to own one themselves.

A friend told us later that Mr. Voddie Baucham actually 'gave us a plug' during one of his speaking sessions, while talking about the problem of effeminate young men. "You need to get over to the exhibit hall and buy some of those swords!" He was reported to have said. "Boys need to be boys!"

We also were listed directly behind Voddie Baucham ministries and Vision Forum in the exhibit hall list, as Warfare by Duct Tape was next in the alphabetical order! (I thought that was really cool.) :D

I was able to purchase a copy of Jasmine Baucham's (awesome!!) book, Joyfully at Home, (which I will be writing a review for as soon as I finish it) from the Vision Forum booth while browsing the exhibit hall. While I was waiting for the young man running the booth to ring up my purchase, I turned the book over and pointed to the picture of Jasmine on the back. "Would you like to see something neat?" I asked him. He looked up, and I said "I made that earring." indicating the gold hoop with Swarovski crystal dangles that was visible on one side of Jasmine's face. "You made that earring?!?" He repeated, incredulous. "Yes." I answered, "I gave a pair to her at the Father-Daughter retreat one year." "Wow!" He said, "That's the picture we send out with all the advertisements and everything!" He gave me my change and receipt with awe on his face, and I left shortly afterwards. :D I thought that was a funny experience! :D

I greatly enjoyed seeing old friends I hadn't been able to see in a long time, and making new ones! I had several girls simply return to spend time at my booth because they just loved being there! :D

We arrived home at 10:00 on Saturday night, blasted, tired, and happy to be home. It was a delightful weekend, but now that the routine has settled back to normal again and we don't have the convention looming in the future anymore, it's like a big weight has been lifted off my mind! :)

I hope to be a much more consistent blogger in the future on my personal blog, and of course I will continue to write for the young ladies' devotional blog, Meditations of His Love ... I actually just posted my part of the study we're doing at the moment in the book of Ruth. Head over there if you'd like to read that. :D

For the convention, I finished 3 e-books on how to make jewelry, as follows...

 How To Create Noticebly Noteworthy Necklaces, with seven different beautiful styles of necklaces,

 How To Create Easy, yet Exquisite Earrings, with seven different gorgeous styles of earrings,

And How To Create Beautiful, Beaded Bracelets with five lovely different styles of bracelets.

All of these are available through instant download at my website,

JewelsbyJuliaShop.com!

Please check out my website and tell me what you think, I would love to hear your feedback about the look of the shop. 

Blessings!

Julia

Thank You for the Birthday Wishes!

Awwww. I am blown away by all the sweet comments I got on the Birthday post my mom put on here! Thank you all so much! It really made my day to read them. I wish I could reply to each one individually but I unfortunately am so short on free time right now that I can't. So I'm issuing a corporate "THANKS!!" to everyone, and it comes from the bottom of my heart! :)

Well, I was hoping to hide for the rest of my days, filled with guilt for not posting since before Thanksgiving... but Mom blew my cover and hijacked my blog, so now I have to say something. (Ha-ha!) :)

Well, next month (The first weekend in May) will find me up in Atlanta at the Georgia Home Educators Association (GHEA) Convention, running a booth selling my handcrafted jewelry. As you may well imagine, I've been as busy as a bee... no, busier than that... :D ... making jewelry for my booth. What came as a surprise to me was the sudden and unforeseen projects that jumped into first place in the middle of my work schedule.
I thought about keeping it a surprise until they were all done... but I just have to tell you! So here goes... I'm writing jewelry instruction e-Books! One on how to create earrings, one for bracelets, and one about necklaces! I'll even give you a sneak peek at the cover for the first one...

What do you think? Isn't it adorable? I took the photo myself and designed the whole thing. (and the inside is even better!!) :)

So that's all for now. I probably will not be able to post again until after the convention, and to let you know when my new website is up and running to sell the e-Books from. Until then, ta-ta-for-now!

It's a Big Day and We Need Your Help!!

This is Julia's mom, Mrs. Gloria, and I need your help!

This Sunday, April 10th is Julia's birthday!!

She is turning 20!

Please leave a comment or email her (if you have her address) and wish her a very happy birthday. 

She is feeling rather down about turning 20 so I need your help to cheer her up.  She said she feels old but she is really just beginning a wonderful life.  Any encouraging, uplifting words would be greatly appreciated. 

We want to make this a special event and hearing from her friends will mean so much to Julia.

You can leave comments or email starting now through Sunday, April 10th.

Yes, I hacked her blog but good parents have the passwords!!  :)

Blessings and thank you!!

Mrs. Gloria for Julia's family

Not from,

:)

Off To The Beach...

Hi blog readers! :)

My family and I are leaving this morning for Florida to spend thanksgiving week with my grandmother. I hope to come back with a tan and a few seashells. :) While I'm gone, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! (Tip: Go light on the mashed potatoes and gravy - fill up on turkey and veg instead!) :D


On our trip, I will be taking my new iPod shuffle. In pink. :D

 The reason I had to get a new one was that my old iPod shuffle tragically got left in the pocket of the hoodie I wore to the gym, and drowned in the washing machine. *sniff!* :( Strangely, the earbuds still worked just fine, it was only the iPod that died. (?) Anyway, I loaded up my NEW iPod with all my favorite music and it's ready for the trip! I even got a little adapter so that you can plug the iPod's usb plug right into an electrical outlet to charge it! No need for a computer! (which is a good thing, because my grandmother does not have one) :D


And, I thought I'd share pictures of a little project I'd done recently...

I found this GORGEOUS old-fashioned frame with a collage mat inside it for 8.00 at Ross. (I love that place, it's like a huge yard-sale) I took it home, and waited for months trying to decide which 'perfect' photographs to print and put inside.

Then I saw a tutorial where a lady had filled a similar collage with neutral backgrounds in each picture hole with a single feather in each square. It looked pretty cool, and inspired me to work with what I had on hand... which was a lot of old greeting cards left over from birthdays and my graduation party in '09.

 I especially like the peach one in this corner - it says "God is crazy about you. He doesn't just like you a little, he doesn't just think you're sort of special - the God of the universe is head-over-heels, deeply, truly, forever-and-ever in love with you."

I even fixed some of them up. The "Love, Hugs, Laughter" card in the corner there used to say "Happy Birthday" across the top, which was nice but I didn't want it in my collage... so I covered the text with two pieces of paper and stuck a flower sticker in the corner for a little extra embellishment. :) Also, the black damask-patterned one in the center used to have a fancy "B" in the middle... but I don't have a B in my name... so I simply stuck a pretty sunflower sticker over it, and Voila! It was perfect collage material. :)

Hoping you have a very happy Thanksgiving,

Crochet Book Giveaway

Calling all Crocheters! I just found out about a cool giveaway at AllFreeCrochet.Com and thought I'd share it with you.

They're giving away this book ^ on crocheting, and it looks really cute! The giveaway ends on November 17, 2010.

So....

Go HERE to enter. :)

Happy Crocheting!

Indian Summer

I don't know about you, but where I live we've been enjoying an Indian summer! The summer has continued on, and on... and on.... sigh. :D It is supposed to get colder shortly, so I'm soaking up every bit of warm sunshine that I can before winter arrives.

Also, we'll be visiting my grandma in south Florida this Thanksgiving, so the computer desktop I designed for myself this month looks like this...

I like it. The cool tones remind me of autumn, and the tropical picture reminds me of our upcoming trip. :)

Newest Family Photo

Hey Friends!
Life has been full and rich for me the past few months. It's been wonderful! Unfortunately, I haven't been blogging very often. :( I've been doing more real-life activities instead of being at the computer. Which is good in some ways but not so great in others. So, a few news snippets before I share the newest family picture (The impatient reader will have already scrolled down to see it by now...) Yes, I've got you pegged. :D

News Snippet 01:
I'm writing a book. Not like I haven't always written little stories here and there, kept a journal since I was 11, and blogged for 2+ years, but this time it's.... different. I have the whole framework already written out in notes, and all that remains is to fill in the nooks and crannies and flesh out my creation.

The book is about a young woman named Felicity living in the 1800's in Derbyshire, England. My story was hugely inspired by none other than Jane Austen. I've loved her work for a long time, and then one day I thought, "Hey, what if I tried writing my own Jane Austen story?" and... Lissie was born.

I wrote one third of the book just thinking I was doing it for my own pleasure and would never actually share it with the outside world. But then I mentioned it to a few friends, and the response was so enthusiastic that I decided that I just 'might' publish it in e-book format once the whole thing is complete.

So that's where that news snippet ends. I'll let you know when I'm done with the book. (I currently have about a hundred pages written and it's going to be a full 350+ page novel, so I'm about one-third of the way there). :)

News Snippet 02:
We have baby chicks! Well... actually, they'll be a month old this saturday, but they're still small and adorable compared to our huge adult hens. We ordered a whole batch of Buff Orphingtons after getting one in a mix of chickens and loving it the best. They have a sweet disposition and are excellent for either meat or egg chickens. (Ours will be kept for the eggs!!) :D And, they should be laying by this spring.

News Snippet 03:
My mom and I have joined the local Fitness Center (our ladies' gym closed about a year and a half ago... sniff!) and we are both getting back into a regular workout routine. I am already seeing a big difference in muscle strength, and mama has been more flexible recently after swimming in the pool. Yaaaay! :)

News Snippet 04 - The Picture!
I took this family picture yesterday with the timer on my new camera on Sunday afternoon (Before we'd changed out of our church clothes) and we are going to send it along with a letter to our little orphan boy in Thailand that we've supported for ten years. It's a pretty great picture, so I thought I'd share it with you! :)

Awww... I love my family. :)

DISCLAIMER: The height is actually not accurate in this picture, because the kids are standing downhill. I am taller than Mom, and the boys are a couple inches taller than Daddy. :D

I wuv it, regardless! :)

10:10,10/10/10

Happy 10:10 PM, 10/10/10, everybody!

And Happy Birthday to my younger brother Steven, who today turns 15 years old! :D

Craft Show Tomorrow!

I know! I've been so bad with posting. I hope to improve drastically as soon as tomorrow (and the next day) pass on by. What's happening tomorrow, you say?

Tomorrow my mom and I will be running a booth at the Shakerag Festival in Peachtree City, Georgia, selling my handcrafted jewelry and my mom's vintage-style aprons. We have a lot of other items as well, including 2 afghans I crocheted, comfy cuddles, (which are heating packs, great for aches and pains) crocheted slippers, and crocheted pincushions. :D It's a fun booth! We did a mock set-up today in our carport and it looked great. I can't wait for tomorrow! (even though I will be getting up at 5:45 AM, as we have an hour's drive there...) :P



Please be praying that our merchandise sells well. It would be a huge blessing for our family. :) And if you're in the area, I'd love to see you! Feel free to stop on by! :D


Hugs,