Hello Goodbye

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Really, believe it or not.

Yes, I know it's been awhile. Over a month, almost two since I've last posted.

I have been very busy in my absence. I've not been catching up on summer reading.

Earlier this month, we said goodbye to the house we'd lived in for nine years. The house I brought all my babies home to. The house that my hubby and I have spent the majority of our married life in.

Lots of boxes, purging, yard sales, sweat and a little bit of crying was involved. We pared our belongings down to a 10x10 storage unit and said adios to the rest. Good thing we lived in a small home to begin with.

Once we found out we had to leave, we moved out in two weeks. During that time we had lots of heat, a round of the stomach flu, several dump runs and lots of take out.

The above picture was taken the morning we left. I went out in the early morning and shot several "house" pictures for our memory book. I took just a few minutes and recalled all the memories we'd made there. With three small kids who had lived there since birth, there was a lot to remember.

I only cried once, after we'd handed over the keys and stopped at McD's (not my choice) for lunch. Hubby was following behind me in his truck. When he got out, I lost it and gave him a big hug. "Everyone that made those memories so special to me are here with me right now," to which he replied, "Your right, it's only a shell." And with that, I cried my last real tear and resolved to start the new journey God has for us.

So, the kids and I are now living with my parents two hours south of where we were. Hubby stayed behind because of work, and lives with his parents during the week and then comes down on the weekends. It's not ideal, but it will work. Skype and phone calls will make it all much easier. It won't last forever, but until we make our next big move it'll be the space in between.

Yesterday my Mom and I went on a ride with the kids. We've gotten another round of sickness, this time a nasty cold. The kids were majorly cagey so we packed 'em up and headed out to the coast. We drove around and took pictures of several sites that I've enjoyed for many years.

One cool thing about moving home is that it gives my kids a chance to really experience things that I did as a child. We visited my parents quite a bit before, but it's nothing like living in the same town and seeing the same things. The bank, the store, the post office, the park I played in as a kid. Instead of it just being a noveltly they would experience while visiting Noni and Popi they get to actually "live" it. Even if they won't remember, I will.

It's also been nice to have the break from running a house. I've been helping out, but with living with my parents comes the respite from being solely responsible for running a household. My day to day chores have changed quite a bit and it's been so nice. And I've been able to do more things with my Mom, like batch cooking. It's always more enjoyable to do work with those you love. All the things that we've talked about doing together now we can actually do together.

So, my apologies for the absence. While I'm figuring out our "new normal", postings still will be sporatic but will definitely not be so far apart. I'm really excited to start this new chapter, and sharing my new experiences with you all.

Don't Let Them Rain on Your Parade!

So I know you all have heard this before, don't let others rain on your parade. One place that you especially need to remember that is here in blogland. The buffer of a computer screen can be both a blessing and a curse. It can allow us to share our most inner thoughts and feelings with a feeling of safety-no face to face interactions necessary.

However it can also bring out those who use the buffer of the computer screen to write mean spirited and unkind words to others. In the forms of "constructive" criticism, unkind comments or unsolicited advice. We as bloggers need to keep in mind that when they try to rain on our parade, let those words roll right off you. Easier said than done, but it's still necessary. There will always be those, (I am inclined to think the Devil is in the details here) who's words do more harm than good or come across as less than helpful. I am by no means calling anyone out in particular, just making a general observation from my dealings in the world of, "social media".

In fact, I had a subscriber the other day ask me how they could, "delete me" because they didn't know how to do it. They started following my blog because of my crafting and decorating ideas, but once they realized, "that wasn't all you were about" they didn't want to follow me anymore.

Really? Is life so compartmentalized that we have to keep our blogs on topic at all times, only writting about certain things? Nope. So don't feel pigeon-holed into writting about the popular topics of the day, write what is on your heart, what is real in your life, be the real you and those that are interested will read with interest. Those that aren't, don't let 'em rain on your parade-it's your life, live and write about it how you want to!

Barn Charm Birdhouse

I picked up a plain wooden birdhouse from the dollar bin at Joann's and transformed it to the above birdhouse. I think it's so cute, I am in love with barns and this reminds me of a birdie sized barn!

I took moss from the backyard, dried it out and glued it to the underside of the roof and in little clusters on top. The roof underneath is painted a russet brown and then has been given a light coat of metallic bronze glaze. The rims around the openings as well as the little perch have been painted olive green.

I also took some bronze colored flat glitter (not shiny) and sprinkled a bit on top here and there admist the moss. The wood is actually tanbark from the front yard planting beds! I just made sure to pick out pieces of wood that were strips to have them more closely resemble "planks".

The body of the barn is painted with a base coat of tapioca, then a coat of crackle glaze was applied. Once dried, I did a topcoat of oxide red and it dried to the lovely aged finished look. The base of the house as well as the roofline were painted complimentary shades of brown. I then used the same tanbark as I did on the roof to glue around the base of the house.

If my Momma likes it, it's hers. If not, I'll be keeping it for myself!

What do you think, does it look like a barn? I hope so! Please click on, "Linky Parties I Love" to see where I'll be sharing my latest project.