Random Acts of Craftiness

Many people that know me know that one of my favorite things to do is to "be crafty". I enjoy creating things. Being creative is almost like a spiritual thing for me. God has a pretty creative spirit if you count the world and stuff. There are times that it's as if I'm bursting to make something. Sometimes for other people. Sometimes to get the idea out of my head and into my hands. Being creative is joy and madness all rolled into one...or maybe that's just the way it is for me. I love the excitement of making something new and the surprise of how it turns out in the end. Will it be amazing or will it be a total flop? I have had a little of both over the years.

This is a picture of a project that I worked on recently (and will soon be working on again).

The way that this project came about is really the tale of two bands and one special friend, all of which have inspired me along the way. During the month of December the hubby and I embarked on a new journey with Ten Talents Ministry. We promoted and went on our first tour. It was a local tour with a few dates that was called the Winter Chill Tour. It was exciting because we got to be on the other end of concert promoting, but that's a subject for another blog. The headlining band for the tour was an awesome band called Ilia.

Check out their song, We Were Shipwrecks.

The ladies in Ilia had some really great handmade wooden Christmas ornaments. I fell in love instantly and knew we would be "ilia-fying" our tree for Christmas. I've been making Christmas ornaments for a few years now, and I enjoyed the organic look of the wooden ornaments. This got my creative juices flowing, and I had to find out how to transfer images to wood. Turns out, it's a fairly easy process if you are patient...not exactly my best quality. There are multiple methods, but I finally found one that suited me (unfortunately, the link is no longer working or I would happily share).

As Christmas was quickly approaching, I wanted to give a gift to a dear friend of ours who has been an encouragement to both me and Chas. She is a fabulous person. The kind of person that you instantly like. Perhaps it's our common love of Christian rock music or the show Castle. I don't know. All I know is that I wanted to give her something out of the norm. Then it totally hit me! Don't Wake Aislin, an amazing local DFW band who had performed at one of the Winter Chill shows and favorite of my friend, released an epic self-titled EP earlier in the year with the most beautiful artwork in the cover. I took all six pictures from inside the jacket, did a little of this and a little of that, and created six 6"x6" wooden tiles. Thankfully, I have a dad who has a workshop and always has wood scraps lying around. It was such a fun project, that I've been transferring all sorts of pictures to wood, including transferring family pictures to small pieces of wood to use as creative gift tags.

Check out the video for Don't Wake Aislin's single, Through the Oppression of the Wicked.

Blessings!

New Year, Slightly Better You?

Happy 2012, friends! I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday.

Can I jump on my soapbox for just one minute? What is with the phrase "New Year. New You."? I just don't get it. I'm all about making positive change, but it's not like I've morphed into something new.  "New you" makes me feel like I regret something, and even though I've made some pretty bonehead decisions in my life, I like to think those experiences have brought me to the place where I am and helped me become the person that I am. I don't want to be new. I want to be slightly better. Because being just a slightly better version of myself means that I'm moving forward and even a small change can make a big difference in the long run. Ok. Off my soap box.

There's been a lot of talk about New Years resolutions around the blog world. Do you or don't you set them? What makes a good resolution? How do you keep going with your resolutions past January? Do you set resolutions or do you set goals? The questions go on and on.

I tend to be one who skips the New Years resolutions. Yes, the start of a new year is a natural time to take stock of ones life and to begin new habits, but I found it all a bit cliched. I mean, I was pretty sure I would be part of that 98% of people that quit their New Years resolutions before they even really got them started.  So instead of making a list of New Years resolutions, I decided to put together an accountability group. Basically, a group of friends and family who are also on the journey to better health or who would just like to have some friends to work out with. In addition to the group meeting regularly for work outs and weigh ins, there is also an 8-week weight loss challenge with a cash prize at the end for the person who loses the most weight by percentage. There's nothing like a little healthy competition, a little cash, and someone waiting for you to come work out to get you off the couch. And what better day than January 1st for the first weigh in?

Now I have to admit, I knew I had gained some weight this year. Between some health issues, and lets face it, majorly slacking on any form of healthy eating or working out, I knew the scale had budged a bit on the not-so-great-side. I was under no delusions of what state my weight is in. Honestly, I don't really care what the scale says. I just want to feel better. I want to be able to keep up with the Dude, and not have to tell him, "Mommy can't play. Her back hurts." I don't want him to be limited in what he does because he sees me being limited in what I'm able to do. Weight has always been somewhat of a struggle for me, and I don't want that to be an issue for him. When I got on the scale today, it told me the brutal truth. I had been neglecting my health.

I'm thankful for this group of friends, some in the same boat as me, some just wanting to have a little accountability in their routine. I'm thankful that they are choosing to take this challenge and go on this journey. Facing a difficult task with friends makes the task more bearable. Plus, it's nice to know someone will be pushing me along when I feel like skipping a workout to go have a milkshake.

Good luck, to all those committed to getting healthy in 2012!

Get Healthy in 2012 Day 1 Stats:
Weight: 261 pounds
Hips: 54 inches
Waist: 47 inches
Bust: 53 inches
Arms: 14.5 inches
Calves: 19 inches
Thighs: 28 inches

For we are all God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the
good things he planned for us long ago.  Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

Randomly Me

"The odd thing about this form of communication is that you're more likely to talk about nothing than something,but i just wanted to say that all of these nothings have meant more to me than so many somethings."

-You've Got Mail

I've blogged about this before, and I've spent a lot of time giving it thought. Most "experts" in the blogging world will tell you that you should pick one general topic for your blog and be an "expert" in that field. For instance, be a healthy living blog, a fashion blog, a mommy blog, a cooking blog, etc. Basically, pick a topic and stick with it.

I love writing, and I enjoy having a spot here at Living Life Without a Net to share my experiences...even if my posts have been few and far between. The truth is, I tried to figure out what kind of blog LLWAN was going to be. I started out this blogging journey inspired by my friend Monika's fitness blog, In Training. I remain inspired by healthy living blogs such as Healthy Tipping Point and It All Changes. These blogs encourage and inspire me to want to have a blog. But what would I blog about? When I tried to sit down and think of one subject to blog about, I just couldn't find that one thing that made me want to devote my entire corner of the blog world to it. So I stopped posting. I thought maybe if I just stopped posting, I would have that Oh Yeah moment when it would all fall into place or I wouldn't care about blogging anymore. This course of action did not work. The more blogs I followed, the more I wished that I was posting, and the more I thought about what to blog about the more I thought about how random my life is.

Some people are able to compartmentalize all of their roles and parts. Me...I'm more like a whirlwind of craziness. I'm usually doing 20 things at once. The lines of who I am and what I do are constantly blurring, and I've finally come to terms with the fact that this blog is the place where they all converge. I'm ok with that. Besides, I'm writing this blog to have fun, not be an expert. And I hope that we will all have fun with it along the way!

My blog resolution for 2012 is to just be myself and to post more (2 days a week to start and we'll see where it goes from there). I hope you'll follow along on my sometimes wacky, rarely boring journey.

I pray that 2012 is a year full of love and blessings for each of you (and by each of you, I mean the 1 person that is subscribed to this blog).

Blessings!




Is It Really September???

I can't believe that September is here. How did I miss the whole month of August without even posting one entry on here? Oh yeah that's right...the hubby and I produced a concert with 10 Christian rock bands, took a week off for a stay-cation in there somewhere, coordinated a blood drive, hosted a concert for 10 churches, attended an endless list of fall planning meetings, planned the fall semester of 1st grade for the Dude, and even went fishing in there somewhere...the list goes on and on.

Labor Day is here, and it's the official end of summer. It seems that even the oppressive 105+ degree temperatures may have gotten the hint that summer is done. 80 degree temps after 60+ days of temperatures over 100 seems like an Arctic blast.

Fall is one of my favorite times of year. I get nostalgic for school supplies (more like office supplies these days), walks to the park, and dates with my hubby (we started dating in the fall). It's a beautiful time of year. After what seems like the endless heat of summer, the weather breaks and it's like nature takes a deep breath. I'm excited about the cooler temps because I can spend more than 5 minutes at a time in the Community Garden, and I can actually start planting.

I guess it really is September.

Fail to Plan. Plan to Fail.

We've all heard this before and rolled our eyes at it. Maybe that's just me. I'm a chronic eye roller. It's almost become a game of its own like *insert Michelle's eye roll here*. I actually did receive that in a "professional" email once, but I digress.

This week I have been working on the fall plans for the community garden that I coordinate. Thinking about fall has been a nice mental break from the oppressive 100+ degree heat. When it comes to gardening, that old saying becomes true. Failing to plan in the garden sets you up to fail. Yes, many things about gardening are trial and error, but having a plan will help you make the most of your space and hopefully increase your harvest. Of course, life is not so unlike this. Having a plan to reach a goal reinforces the goal and makes it so much more likely that the goal will be achieved.

Gardening has taught me many life lessons and has really been an exciting experience - and it's only my first season. Gardening has allowed me to meet many people who desire to make a difference in their community and help their families live more healthy lives. To me, gardening is as much of a spiritual activity as it is a physical one. With all of that in mind, I have been encouraged to launch a new gardening page on my blog to follow along with my fall gardening notebook. Look for this in the coming weeks. Even if you aren't a gardener, be sure to stop by and see this city girl get her hands dirty. It will make for a good laugh.

Blessings!

Time to Face the Change...

Ch-ch-changes. Everyone, sing it with me now! Ok. No one? Anyone? (Crickets chirping?) Not my favorite Bowie song, but definitely the one that comes to mind whenever I feel change is in the air.

Do you have that moment when you feel change is coming - whether it's necessary or even dreaded? You can just feel a season of change is coming. Facing changes is not always my favorite thing to do, but most of the time I find change to be a relief, especially if it's something I've been thinking about or dealing with for a long time. Besides 98% of anxiety about a situation or change is in the time spent over-analyzing it rather than in the actual change. At least that's the way it has been for me. Most of the time, I have found that I usually make something out worse in my head than it actually ends of being.

I'm in a season of making changes. These changes are mostly in areas of my life that I've been trying to make positive changes in for quite some time now. Positive change for me seems to be more of a process and less of an all-at-once destination. That is where prayer comes in for me. It helps me to lessen my anxiety and worry and focus live in the moment instead of the woulda-coulda-shouldas. It keeps my footing firm on the path I am on, instead of wandering. I've mentioned this verse before, but it is a verse that I constantly come back to - Matthew 6:27 - "Who of you can add one single hour to your life by worrying?"

So how do you deal with change? Do you dread change or try to positive and focused when change comes?

Blessings!

Just Start Somewhere

If you're going to get anywhere, you've to to start somewhere. It's a simple thought, but sometimes I think it's half the battle. Taking the first step toward starting in the direction of positive change or just starting something new in general is always the most difficult because it's the first step outside of our comfort zone. It's the first step away from what we think we're certain of and toward what we see as unknown. Emotions and the concept of the comfort zone are powerful things. They can overcome what our logical mind knows. They can skew the way that we truly see ourselves. They can turn positives into negatives. When you look at it in that light, you have to wonder, what's so comfortable about a comfort zone?

I got thinking about all of this last night as I tackled cleaning a room in our house that has become the catch-all room of the house. The room was a disaster. It's a room that often gets neglected because no one really ever sees it, and lets face it, it's the perfect room to pack things into. Out of sight - out of mind. I stood in the doorway of the room, looking at things strewn about, and I felt panic and uncertainty start to creep in. I almost backed right out of the room, turned off the light, and slammed the door. Then I realized that wasn't going to solve my problem. If I walked back in the room tomorrow, it would still be a mess. I didn't know where to begin, so I just started somewhere. I started picking things up and sorting them into categories (toys, furniture, clothing, etc). It took about an hour, but pretty soon I could actually see the floor. I could finally see some sort of order in the room. The room is by no means finished, but there is order to it, which makes it a project that I'm much more willing to come back and finish. I even have some ideas about turning the room into something that will be used and is a positive change.

What does all of this have to do with comfort zones and life? A very wise woman, a.k.a. my mom, used to tell me that our rooms/homes are an outward expression of what is going on inside of us. A cluttered room means a cluttered mind. I believe it. I know that I keep myself so busy that I don't get around to cleaning house on a regular basis. I keep piling stuff up and then ignoring it. When I step back, I realize that I've let myself get too busy and let my priorities get out of whack. A home should be a place of peace and sanctuary, not a place to dump stuff between activities. To get anywhere, you have to start somewhere. I'm a work in progress.