A Few Things I Have ROCKED!

I have a new project at work. It is something I have never done before but is super exciting.

I have been asked to provide a key note presentation to a large conference on foster care.

I created a time table in my head and have been driving myself crazy trying to meet it. I keep trying to muster up some creativity but just keep falling flat. Even my writing is suffering. Maybe because I have to write my presentation. I am just finding I have no words. I feel my creativity has been sucked away by the stress of this project.

Last week someone reminded me that the conference, which I had convinced myself was in June is not until August. The results were like a heavy weight was lifted off my shoulders. Immediately. The pressure and the stress melted away!

So when I tell you that I have managed to rock a few things, it is major for me! It is me getting my groove back!

So, please indulge me. Let me show you a few things I have rocked lately.

1. Braids!

I have been teaching myself how to braid so I can be that awesome Mom! I have figured out how to do a fishtail braid. It is not perfect yet. But you know, a work in progress.

I have also been practicing the two strand twist. It looks a bit like a french braid but there is no braid.

The last braid I have been working on is the dutch ring braid. I think I might like it better than the two-strand twist but it is always good to have options. In the past month I have perfected the Chinese Staircase Braid. The Short Chic is asking for her braids by continent these days! You can check out the Chinese Staircase Braid at The Shine Project.

2. Vinyl!

One of my coworkers had a birthday. I made them this cute water bottle Well, you know I did not make the water bottle but I did decorate it. I used my Pick Your Plum vinyl and my Cricut to make this cute embellishment for an otherwise boring water bottle.

3. Buns!

Well, a girl cannot wear a braid every day. She has to mix it up and throw a bun in every now and then. The Short Chic loves the TV station The Hub. She loves their commercials and begs us for every product advertised on The Hub. Currently the product is Hot Buns.

I purchased the product and I have been playing with it. I think I am getting pretty decent at a bun.

4. French with a Twist!

The weather here in the Midwest is horrible. Snow on the First of May. Sunny and warm the next week. Cold and rainy after that. My toes are screaming for some daylight. Just in case it ever gets warm enough to break out the open-toed shoes I gave myself a pedicure.

I do not have nail painting skills. I am lucky to get a single polish on without getting it everywhere.

With that in mind, I am so excited to say I painted these toes! I gave myself a french with a twist look. I just used some Zoya Light Lavender nail polish and touched the tips with some Maybelline Color Show Lavender Sparks.

Now if the sun will shine and it will stay warm!

Of course I am also super proud of a few things I posted about. I whipped out a pretty cute top hat headband for The Short Chic's Crazy Hat Day at Preschool. If you missed it you can check it out here: The Lorax Inspired Top Hat.

Here is the super awesome thing. The harder I was trying to force myself to be creative and write this presentation, the less creative I felt. I even missed blogging. Did you notice?

But as I learn something new, create something, anything my mind clears and the words flow. I have done more work on that presentation in the past week than I have in the past month!

My Weekend Project: A PVC Camping Lamp Post and Flag Holder

I have seen a few of these around campsites and I knew I would like to have one. The only problem that I had is The Husband. He already thinks we drag too much stuff with us when we go camping and if I had told him my desire to have a PVC Camping Light Pole he would have shut it down quickly! So, that leaves a girl with only one choice: Figure out how to do it by herself. I did some internet searching and found a few road maps on RV forums. They seemed easy enough! I visited the local hardware store for the supplies: An exterior post lantern light 2 inch PVC pipe (I used 5 feet but had to purchase a 10 foot piece) A 3 inch toilet flange A 3 inch to 2 inch Reducer PVC Glue A 12 foot electric cord kit 2 - 3/4 inch PVC Caps I also used a few supplies we already had on hand: White Spray Paint 3 1/2 foot - 3/4 inch PVC Pipe Drill Bits (1 inch and 1/2 inch) Tent Stakes The first step was preparing the lantern light. I could only find black i

Liver Cheese: A Family Tradition

Today is an anniversary date. One of those dates you wish you did not have to remember but there is no way you can forget. Fifteen years ago today,two days after his birthday, my father died of lung cancer. He was a lifelong smoker and his cancer was aggressive. His battle was short. He fought for six short months after his diagnosis. He knew the chemo was not working and that his time was limited. When he came to this realization he became the best dad in the world. In the days before my father's passing, my family shared some memorable moments. One of those moments centers around the deli meat: Liver Cheese.I would not be surprised if you have never heard of it, or even never tasted it. But I was raised on it as it was one of my Dad's favorite things. What is it? Well, it is a German food that is actually called Leberkase. It is bacon, corned beef, pork, and onion that is ground together and baked. It comes with a

Tonsillectomy (Warning Photos!)

The Short Chic came down with a pretty nasty case of strep throat back in April. So, when The Boy started complaining about his throat hurting about 12 days later, I was pretty confident that he had inherited his sister's strep. Instead, The Boy was diagnosed with a peritonsillar abscess growing on his right tonsil. We had to immediately see an ENT Physician who took a needle and drained the abscess. He removed about 5.5 cc of puss from The Boys throat.and then told us that once you have a peritonsillar abscess you were high risk to keep getting them. The Boy's tonsils were now compromised and needed to be removed. We were told to plan for a two week recovery so we worked a surgery into our summer plans. Between family vacations, summer sports, and the beginning of school The Boy had his second surgery. A tonsillectomy. Pre-surgery prepping went well. It must be nice to be young and have healthy veins for an IV! The Boy had lots of pre-surgery visitors. My

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