When Life Gives Ya Lemons...

... simply make lemonade and sell it for $1.50 a glass, quickly becoming a Lemonade Millionaire. ;)

Feeling a little crazy this evening... I'm ill with a horrid-feeling throat. It's not 'sore' exactly but it feels tight and  swollen and I've been coughing like mad all day long, causing my left ear to feel as if someone is turning a screw winding tighter and tighter into my head. :P Also, my lower back hurts from all the heavy lifting and cleaning I've been doing and for some inexplicable reason, my left hand feels as if the fingers have been bent backwards, all strained and painful. In short, I'm not doing so well! 

However, despite feeling the worst I have in months, I got nearly half of our house photographed for the website! Progress! Our realtor is coming on Friday to meet with us for the first time and see the house, so we've been putting the finishing touches on it. :D 

While taking a break in between dragging myself around with camera in hand, and watching episodes of Scarecrow and Mrs. King, I spent a couple minutes on Pinterest.

That was my day, in a nutshell. Despite feeling rotten, I am so, so blessed, and things are most definitely looking up. I've been house-hunting online and made a secret pinboard of options... I'm excited about touring some of these places in person! There is a lot to choose from but we are searching for just the right one that I am certain God has set aside just for us, that fits all our needs and is the right price for our budget.

Daddy started his first day at work today and said it was great. We are so thankful.

How's 2013 treating you so far?

Good Morning, January!

Well, what a wonderful year this looks to be. :) 2013 is filled with promise!

2012 was over too fast, it seems to me. I blinked and it switched from 2011 to 2013. How exactly does that happen? ;)

Of course, when I stop and think about it, a lot happened this year. I wasn't a very good blogger for most of it... but I lived it to the fullest. I had a blast. It was exhilarating, and wonderful, and heartbreaking, and joyous, and sobering, and just plain awesome.

A few highlights. (Not in perfect chronological order.)

~ I finished my novel Lissie a few minutes before midnight on December 31, 2011.
~ I wrote ASHBURN, the first story in my agents series
~ I started book 2 of my agents series.
~ I gave my cousin Katie a crocheted afghan for her wedding present
~ I passed my driver's license test with flying colors.
~ I went to see Courageous with my dad and brothers, which was amazing.
~ I discovered the old TV show Scarecrow and Mrs. King (Wow, has it only been a year?)
~ I traveled to South Carolina to go to the Teach Them Diligently Convention and sold jewelry and ebooks while my brothers sold swords and ebooks.
~ I went to the GHEA convention in Atlanta, GA and also the NCHE convention in North Carolina, selling jewelry and ebooks again!
~ We began hosting Ultimate Frisbee at the field near our house
~ We went to Florida for a week with another family and stayed at my grandmother's house near the beach, and had an absolutely wonderful time!
~ We watched the 2012 Olympics and saw the USA creaming everybody else (Lol!)
~ I got a Kindle Touch and and iPhone (which us kids will share).
~ I learned how to play the Bass guitar and played it in the church we visited for several months
~ I started selling jewelry in the Rescue Me Market store in town on the square
~ We started going to the English country dances up in McDonough every month (SO FUN)
~ I tried Wordpress and decided to stick with Blogger.
~ I discovered Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, and was completely captivated... and I totally cannot wait until they film and release season three
~ I took a month off the computer - and I did not expect this to be a good thing - but it really was. I was amazed.
~ I started reading my Bible and praying every single morning. WOW. I am so glad I've done this.
~ I stopped eating sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils, and began exercising regularly in various ways, and, as a result...
~ I lost fourteen pounds.
~ We thought we might be moving to Virginia... but then Daddy got a job an hour north of here, so now we're moving a little farther north but still in Georgia. (I'm so excited!!)
~ I voted for the first time, ever, in my first presidential election, ever... even though my candidate did not win.
~ We celebrated Thanksgiving all alone, and it was the most peaceful, joyful day I've ever spent with my family.
~ We went to Florida again to go to my cousin Denise's wedding and to see my grandma, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the beach... warm, salty breezes and abundant sunshine in the middle of December. :D

It was an amazing year. I hope 2013 is even better, and by God's grace, I believe it will be.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

A Time to Save & a Time to Chuck It

Well, the big news is out! We're moving! YAAAAY!

My dad got a job working for a guy he's been doing freelance landscape designs for in the past, only now he'll be working full-time. He starts in January and will ease into working a regular 40 hours a week by March.

All of us are very excited, as this is an answer to our prayers!

Daddy's new job is an hour north of here, and we've decided we need to relocate - to be closer to his job, and to find a house that fits our changing needs a little better. We'd like to find something all on one floor, without stairs, so that Mama can easily access the whole house... and a yard with some flat, rich land for gardening, chicken coops, and a greenhouse. :)

And I wouldn't particularly hate it if we found one with a pool! *gigantic wink*

But anyways. This means a lot of work is ahead of us... so much to do! To show our gorgeous log home off to its full potential, we're going to be de-personalizing it and packing up most of our 'stuff'... and tossing the things we don't feel like hauling an hour north. :)

So today I've tackled my bedroom. More specifically, the beading table... it's going to be put away for now and my furniture rearranged so the room looks even bigger than it already is. That table is never organized, ever, so it's a huge job.

And then there's my walk-in closet. O_O (*shocked face*) - but that's a story for another blog post. :)

I'm just so thankful and overjoyed. For so long we've been hearing "Wait. Wait. Wait for now." And at last we've gotten a green-lighted "GO!" I feel like someone's fired the starting gun for a running-race.

So here I go!

A Beautiful Beach Wedding

Our trip to Florida was wonderful, and we had such a fabulous time... but of course, the highlight of the trip was my cousin's wedding.

Denise is probably the cousin I spent the most time with. She is only one year younger than I am and we played together at every family gathering and Thanksgiving dinner when we still lived in Florida.

I remember when my cousins lost their house in hurricane Charlie, and Denise came up to Naples to stay with us for ten days while they were without power. It was almost like having a sister for a week-and-a-half. :)

I couldn't have been happier for her on her wedding day. I hadn't seen her for years and years, and my first sight of her was when she came down the aisle on her father's arm, her strawberry-blonde hair glowing copper in the bright sunlight... but her smile was even brighter! :D

Denise and Lewis are a very special couple with a unique story. When we heard it, we were all for their union, but it wasn't until I saw them together, standing underneath the bamboo trellis draped with a delicate chiffon cloth and a flower garland, looking so very much in love, that I knew how truly wonderful this match was.
God was smiling that day.

I felt tears brimming in my eyes when Lewis and Denise bowed their heads and Lewis began to pray, quietly, so that only Denise could hear him. 

The reception afterwards at my Aunt and Uncle's house was a sweet time of fellowship and celebration. Giant tissue-paper pom-poms hung from the branches of the palms outside and from the ceiling inside, and the table on the porch groaned under the trays of delightfully delicious snacks... plus there was a chocolate fountain with fruit-and-marshmallow-kebobs for dipping. Yum!

The beautiful cake was not only tasty, it was also symbolic. Chocolate and Vanilla, half-and-half... but one cake. :D

I hope you enjoyed that little peek at the special day! I have more pictures to share soon, so stay tuned. ;)

Home from the Teach Them Diligently Convention ~ Jewelry Pics!

I'm ho-ome! *sings cheerfully*

Ahh, I can't tell you how good it is to be home again. I'm very tired from our long weekend, but it was a great success!

Where was I, you ask? I didn't tell you? Oh my! I was at the Teach Them Diligently Homeschool Convention in Spartanburg, South Carolina!

(I was so busy preparing for it that I didn't have time to blog for a few weeks!! Do forgive me!)

I wish I had the energy to write more in this post, but a picture is worth a thousand words, so I hope these will suffice...

My booth! Signature pink curtains, cozy carpet for feet that had to stand all day (mine) and new banner identifying the whole shebang.

 But I suppose I should start at the beginning. ^ The nice bed in our hotel room... Mama and Daddy slept well! :D I slept in the fold-out couch and the boys parked themselves in cots here and there.

 Our cozy little kitchen and table that became the makeshift office/laptop platform. :D MOHL girls, I emailed and chatted with you from there! :D

 A STOWAWAY? Yes indeedy - Survivorman snuck along for the ride and quickly made himself at home. (He's an inside joke in our family. We take turns moving him when nobody's looking... you never know where he'll pop up next!)

 Okay. Back to the booth. My brothers' booth was right next door. We had something for everybody! It was fun seeing people's reactions when they found out we were related. "You're one family?" "Yep." "Cool!" :D

 Closeup of the left side!

Closeup of the right side!

My view, all day, from my chair, looking out...

The chandelier earring rack, hanging necklaces, one of my mademoiselle stands, and the samples of the eBooks.

 Closer view of the very-dangly chandelier earrings...

Up-close shot of the spinning copper necklace stand...

The mademoiselles and the back half of the left side..

The wall of necklaces, bracelet stand, and otherwise right half of the booth....

 The earring trees! My Daddy made these for me. I am so thrilled with them... this year we changed to all-white stands instead of the dark brown ones and I absolutely LOVE the look.

 Another view... Hmm, you can see the cute 'cherry-drop' set on the white bust in this shot...

 The bracelet rack!

The eBooks on CD that I was selling! (Go HERE for more information about those!)

The princess-length serpentine chains with sparkly pendants... and a few spring-like necklace-earring sets! Those all sold! ('cept for the champagne-colored square crystal pendant)

 More jewelry! And cute jewelry bags that a friend of mine makes... I was selling those for her.

A closer look at the banner I designed for my booth....

*sigh* Was going to keep this one if it didn't sell... but it did. :D Oh well. Must not be meant for me.

 Wall of necklaces... part one,

Two,

Three,

And four! Many of these are now gone... sold! :D

I am so thankful that I did as well as I did. There were some very good speakers, which was great, but distracted people from shopping, I think... :D Still! I was very impressed with how the coordinators set up the convention, it was very well done and I will be coming back (If they'll have me) ;) ... if they have the convention again next year! :)

Oh! And........

 The Warfare by Duct Tape booth!

The eBooks my brothers wrote on creating their historically-based duct tape weapons! If you know any boys, chances are, they'd love this. More info at: WarfareByDuctTape.com

Off to rest and read...

I bought MYSELF a big red heart...

... just because I like chocolate. :D

No, I don't have a valentine. Never had a boyfriend, actually. I'm waiting for the one special man that God has already chosen for me. One day I'll meet him, and I'll get to tell him that I never held hands with, kissed, or gave my heart away to anybody else but him. How precious will that be?
So - yes. Valentine's day brings thoughts of love and marriage into my head. But it also reminds me to stay strong in my convictions and remain pure and unspoiled for my future husband.

February is a month of birthdays in our family! My sweet Mama had her birthday on the 9th, and my handsome brother Mark celebrates his today, on the 14th. He's 18 years old now! He's never been that thrilled about having a birthday on Valentine's Day, but the rest of us think it's pretty neat. :)

We made Mama a tasty, healthy, sugar-free chocolate cake for her birthday. ;) We did lots of little things to make her day special... waffles for breakfast, a fresh bouquet of dandelions, and going out to Ryan's for dinner.

I wrote her a letter that I'd like to reproduce here to show you, because it give you some idea of how blessed I am to have Mama for my mother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Mama,
I did not know what to get you for your birthday this year, so I decided to give you my words in this letter. I am so blessed to have you as my mother. All my life, you have nurtured and cherished me, daily making sacrifices for my benefit.
You say that you're so imperfect, and that you wish you had been a better mom, but Mama... you are the best, bravest, most devoted mother I have ever seen. I would not trade you for any other mom on earth.
You constantly battle against tremendous pain, and over and over again, I see you win. You are an amazing picture of perseverance and dedication.
Daddy has a faithful wife in you, for you support and encourage him in a sterling example of a godly helpmeet. I pray that one day I will have a chance to love and honor a man as you do him.
Mark and Steven don't know I'm writing this, but I know they would agree with me in saying that we have the most wonderful mommy in the world.
I love you so much! Have a very happy birthday!
Proud to be your daughter,

~Julia

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This morning we surprised Mark with the board game Settlers of Catan, a fancy duct tape sword and knife that Steven custom-made for him, and a big heart-shaped box full of chocolates. I think he was happy. We're also planning a trip to the LEGO store up in Atlanta sometime soon.

Later this evening we'll have one of Mark's favorite meals, Amish Chicken, and then enjoy a delicious "Turtle Cake" for his birthday cake. One of our very favorite desserts to make, it's a Mennonite recipe that involves German chocolate cake mix, a gooey caramel filling, and chocolate chips on top. It's best eaten with a dollop of whipped cream. Yummmm.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Independence and Maturity

The other day, I drove myself somewhere.
All.
Alone.

It was the first time I'd gone anywhere, just me and the car, without a single person with me.

It was ... exhilarating!

It was ... sobering.

I went to Curves and worked out. By myself. And it turned out that I was the only person in the gym at that hour besides the owner who was running it. She and I chatted while I jumped, bounced, hopped, skipped, and did all sorts of things on the machines like pulling levers and pushing bars and moving things back and forth. (I love Curves....)

We had quite a conversation! She asked me where we went to church, where my family was from, and what my daddy did for a living. I basically got the sweet, Southern, interrogation. :D If you live in the South, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. :D It was well-meant, of course, and the lady is the sweetest woman, but she was finding out everything she needed to file me away in her social records. Did I belong in the aristocrat section or the downtrodden dumpster-diver section? :D

She told me that she thought I was very well-spoken and my speech was precise and easily comprehended. Also that I didn't have a southern accent. ;) I was touched by the honest compliment that I was "well-spoken". She wasn't "sloppin' sugar", like I've seen before. (the sugar-sloppers will remain nameless to protect the guilty) ;)

I really am seriously thinking of writing a novel set in a small town in the South. There's so much material right at my fingertips! ;)

But anyway. What was I talking about? Ah - independence.

On the way there, my usually quiet drive got crowded when I was stopped at an intersection while a long string of schoolbuses rolled out onto the road, halted by flashing lights and a signaling policeman. While stopped, a whole bunch of cars got clogged up, which made changing lanes up ahead a little difficult, but I kept my cool and did a great job. I parked smoothly and danced up the steps into the gym.

~*~

This sounds silly, but going there all by myself made me feel like a grown woman.

Which, I guess, technically, I AM. I'm almost 21, after all. Some days I feel so young and inexperienced... more like 15 than 20. And then other days, I feel like I can handle myself like an adult. When we're running a booth at the homeschool conventions I can handle crowds of people with endless questions without even breaking a sweat. My feet might get sore from standing all day, but my composure never falters.

It's on the days I'm tired and stressed and I get annoyed with the housework, food prep, or my brothers that my immaturity shows. Why is it so easy to present a perfect facade to the outside world, but so difficult to be meek and quiet and kind at home when the pressure's on to get dinner on the table, the clothes in the washing machine, or help a family member out?

It's on the home front where the true test of maturity shows the real results. Who I am in private, under the sheen of capability and social graces on the surface, is who I really am. The way I interact with the people I am closest to defines my character.

~*~

The trip home was uneventful. I cranked up the radio and sang along as loudly as I wanted to, with no fellow passengers around to complain or ask me to hush up. (All the while watching the speedometer like a hawk, lest it creep past the requisite 5 miles over the speed limit, because if you're over 10 miles over, a cop will pull you over, you know...) ;)

Daddy and Steven welcomed me home, standing in the driveway on their way back from checking on the chickens. I tapped the horn in a victorious "beep" and waved as I pulled into the carport.

My family told me they were proud of me. I can handle myself in the real world just fine.

My desire is that my conduct at home, in the comfort of familiar surroundings, around my family, is as sparkling and sterling as my behavior out there where everybody can see it.

They won!

I can't help myself, a blog post was practically mandatory.......
I am a huge NY Giants fan. It's my dad's fault, really. Ever since the time I was a wee little thing knee-high to a grasshopper, I've loved watching football with my daddy. I asked him questions about everything that happened until I finally understood the game. And I'm a 3rd generation Giants fan.
We don't have TV anymore since the bunny ears antenna signal died, but last night Daddy found out that NBC was streaming the game live on their website, sans (without) commercials and halftime show (which none of us prefer to watch anyway!) Thank you NBC! That was very nice of you!

And this game was awesome. It was a nail-biter and adrenaline-pumping down to the last few seconds.

In the last (fourth) quarter of the game in the last Super Bowl the Giants played in, there was an amazing play where Eli Manning threw a pass to David Tyree, who caught the ball between his hand and his helmet!!

And in this game, a similar play happened late in the fourth quarter. The Giants got the ball way down the field and had a lot of ground to cover if they were going to make a touchdown. They needed to score some points, because they were trailing the Patriots by 2.

Then, Eli threw a bomb 38 yards down the field to a receiver who caught it over his shoulder and just barely got his feet inside the field (vaildating the catch) before he was tackled by two Patriots. It was amazing! (I put a picture of it up there ^ so you could see what I'm talking about)

The Giants scored a touchdown with under a minute left on the clock. And the Patriots didn't respond with any points of their own - Tom Brady's wild toss into the end zone resulting in an incomplete throw.

Eli Manning was awarded Super Bowl M.V.P. (Most Valuable Player) for the second time. He's holding the Vince Lombardi trophy in the above picture. He also won a really awesome, brand new, black Chevrolet Corvette. I was slightly envious.

I really admire the Manning family, Eli in particular. He's such a great guy. Here he is just after the game with his wife Abby (the pretty blond lady on the left) and 10-month old daughter Ava Frances. I'm so glad he won, and finally everybody admits he's as good of a quarterback as Tom Brady.

Speaking of Tom Brady.... He looked pretty bummed out at the end of the game. I felt sorry for him... a little ... but I was thrilled that the Giants won. So my sympathy was short-lived.


In case you haven't noticed, I tried to write this post in a way that would be understandable to even my non-football-loving friends. *Ahem, Cough, MOHL girls* I had some people ask me "Who's in the super bowl this year?" I mean, puh-leeze.... ;) The people around where I live seem to be more into college football. I can't get very excited about that, but I did root for the FL Gators when they had Tim Tebow. Another really great guy.
I hope you enjoyed this post! :)

GO GIANTS!

I Went to a Wedding

.... and this is What I Wore... ;)

I don't get a chance to 'dress up' very often these days, so I made sure to get pictures while I was looking all fancy-shmancy. :D

 And the hair! Oh my! I wanted to wear it up, but was bored with all the buns I'd been doing recently, so I tried modifying a hairstyle that I first saw on Elizabeth Botkin. :D Anna Sophia actually told me how she did it. (You know, I may not agree with them on some of their doctrine and beliefs... but you have to admit, those girls always look so classy!) :D

I call it... "The Asymmetric Wad (which is half-falling-apart)".

When I had at last finished pinning the loose, silky mass to the back of my head, I surveyed the effect in the mirror, gave an "oh well" shrug of my shoulders, and proceeded to have my mother spray about a quart of hairspray on it to hopefully stick it together. :D

I was shocked, stunned, and blown away by how many compliments I got! :D I think I ended up explaining to fourteen separate people how I did my hair. Lol!

This post is interrupted to tell you how much I love, love, LOVE this outfit. :D

The blazer, which I adore and have worn to the past five or so formal occasions I've attended, I found at Ross. I think it was $20 and part of a set with a really short skirt, but the blazer was perfect.

The lacy top I'm wearing underneath it I found at Walmart a couple of years ago.

The dark gray wool skirt I found at Goodwill for $5 with the tags still on it, it's an Anne Taylor Loft and the original price tag said $85.00!!! Now that's the way I like to buy my clothes! I wish that kind of a deal smacked me in the face more often. ;)

The black not-that-high heels are from Walmart from a few years ago. They have cute little bows made from strips of leather at the corners.

And here's me with my handsome brothers! They looked seriously spiffy, and I just love how we all match... ;) See how I never feel that tall? They make me feel short. And I'm not. :D

Daddy and the boys... (This ^ photo has a funny story "behind" it. Mark leaped into place as I was photographing Steven and Daddy, and, liking the composition, I snapped the picture.) ;)

Such fine-looking menfolks I'm related to! I absolutely love those argyle vests we picked up from a Yard Sale, nearly brand new. :D I wish I could have gotten a picture of Mama, but I didn't have a chance before it was time to leave.

I also wish I had taken a few pictures at the wedding, which was lovely, but the bride had emailed me saying they were asking everyone to not take pictures so that their professional photographers wouldn't be bothered. Rest assured, it was beautiful. The colors were Apple Red, Black, and Silver-Gray... and the reception food was the best I'd ever had, and I've been to over 20 weddings at least. :D There was a chocolate fountain with things to dip in it like... strawberries, rice-krispy treats on a stick, bananas, oreos, marshmallows, and a host of other things that taste good dunked in chocolate. The rice-krispy treat was my absolute fave. :D

Anyhow, I'm hoping you enjoyed this little peek into my life as of late. :D

I'm thankful for ...Memories

 Today I'm thankful for memories.

We set up a table in the living room and pulled out two huge bins of unsorted old family photos, printed years ago and left in the dark. They'd been in their bins, undisturbed, for a really long time. My mom decided a little while ago that it was time to finally do something with them, so we found some photo albums and bought them inexpensively... and now are getting out the old pictures to finally sort and put them into books for easy viewing. :)

And wow... the memories that are surfacing! Even ones I'd forgotten about. And some of the photos I had never seen. How precious they are. Maybe I'll post some photographs of the photos on here sometime... I refrained from taking a picture of all the pictures spread out on that worktable in the living room, for I confess - we've made a royal mess! :D

It's incredible seeing what I looked like at five months old. And five years old. So cute! (What happened? Ha-ha-ha...) My brothers were such chubby little grinning munchkins! I wish I had those years back so I could give them another hug while they were still so small and adorable. Not that they're not adorable now, but they're just BIG and adorable... which isn't the same, somehow! :D It makes me wish I had been a better big sister.

It's also amazing seeing the clothing styles back then, even for kids' clothes. Especially if you're looking at pictures over 15 years old. It's so strange to see how much it's changed since then. I imagine one day that my children will look back at the pictures of me when I was a little girl and think it looks funny too... after all, it will have been a generation ago.

Also - I have promised myself to buy three or so video cameras and keep them in various places around my house one day, so that I can capture ALL of the cute moments with my children in the future. :D And take lots of pictures!!! I plan to invest in tons of CDs and/or flash drives to store my millions of digital photos. :D The moments and memories are just so special. :D

That's what I'm thankful for today. The memories. And the future looks even brighter. :D

 Speaking of future... my favorite season is almost gone! Here's a little fall wordart I found somewhere, as a farewell to Autumn... ;)

Can you believe there's a chance we might see SNOW in my yard tomorrow? That's what they say! And it feels like it outside too... there's a certain raw coldness in the air that feels like snow could happen. Shocking, really! ;) We'll see what happens. :D

Have a lovely week!