What I'm up to...

Sitting around my mom's place has got me a little bored and restless, so I've been looking for things to keep myself busy. Right now, I have two projects on the table. This one to the right is an old latch-hook rug kit that my mom-in-law got from her sister. It was sitting around collecting dust, so I said I'd take it off her hands. I don't really care for the design, but you never know, it could look nice when it's all done. I'd honestly forgotten how carpel-tunnel inducing that latch-hooking can be, since the last time I did one of these things I was about ten years old. I'm still thankful for having something to do, because after all, "Idle hands are the Devil's playground," as the saying goes.

The other thing I've been working on is a canvas that I'm hoping to turn into a mixed-media collage of some sort that I can use as wall art. I started out with some apple-green tissue paper that I saved from the trash can after my little girl's two-year birthday party. I love bright colors, and lately I've been leaning toward apple-green and turquoise, so when I saw this paper, I couldn't let it be thrown out. What I did was rip the paper into varying sizes, and glue it down to the canvas decoupage style. Unfortunately, this is as far as I got. I'm not really sure where to go from here. All I know at this point is I want it to have a couple of layers and be kind of textured. I thought about painting something simple like a flower or a heart on it and including an inspiring quote, but I don't know. It'll come to me, I'm sure.

Walk on the Wild Side

So on Monday, my mom, my husband, and I are sitting around spending a typical day doing pretty typical things, when Mom looks up out the kitchen window and lets out a surprised chuckle. When I asked what was going on, my husband (who was also looking out the window) responds, "Your mom's got company." I finally glance out the window myself to see these six wild turkeys strutting across the back yard. I don't know a lot about turkeys, but it appears to be four hens and a couple of jakes. The two birds to the right have featherless heads, small beards on their chests, and spurs (hard to see on this smaller photo), whereas the rest do not. I'll gladly accept correction from any wildlife aficionados out there. Anyway, is that cool or what? I guess these guys felt like stretching their legs a bit and going for a stroll. I don't get to see a lot of wildlife up close, so it was kind of neat to watch them make their way across the yard so nonchalantly.

White Collar Revelation

I don't watch much TV, especially now that my husband and I are staying with my parents. The TV is usually tuned to Disney for my little one's viewing pleasure, or it's on the channel of my parents' choosing. Mom and Dad watch a variety of shows, most of which I don't care for. However, they do tune in to USA a lot, and that's cool because I don't mind watching reruns of House and NCIS. Recently, USA began airing the new season of White Collar. I've seen the show a couple of times because my husband briefly watched it through the "prime time on demand" feature our cable company offered while we lived in NY. I thought it was a decent show, but I'm rarely inclined to follow a TV series for more than a couple episodes (I have commitment issues when it comes to television). At any rate, I found myself watching the season premier, and I've come to a serious realization: I just might be in love with Neal Caffrey. The character is smart, witty, not to mention oh-so devilishly handsome with his striking baby blues, chiseled jaw, and perfectly imperfect tousled hair. He's so very dapper in his custom suits and hats; it wouldn't take a con for him to sweep me off my feet. Mr. Caffrey, you can eat crackers in my bed anytime!

And back again!

Whew! Just got back from a week and a half trip to San Diego to see the hubby's grandmother, dad, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Everyone finally got to see our little one, and a we had a pretty good time while there. I'll fill you in on the details some other time though. Right now, I need to get a little shut-eye after 11 hours on the road. Night!

Going Country!

Well, my husband and I made a monumental decision recently - we're going country! When we get where ever we're going, we're going to scope out a little piece of land and carve out our own slice of country heaven. We're researching gardening, canning, and livestock raising, and when we're done, it's the simple life for us.

That being said, I'm not sure when or how we're going to do this. I'm also not sure when I'm going to get my Etsy business up and rolling again. I need to get the appropriate licenses and such to sell my wares, and I can't do that until I know where we're moving to. I won't know that until my man finds a job. Nobody told us before my husband decided to separate from the Navy in late October that hiring comes to a screeching halt this time of year. Oopsy! Anyway, we have a little bit of savings to pay our bills, and we're taking advantage of the hiring lull to go and visit as much family as possible. We're doing this now because when Niel does find a job, we probably won't be visiting again for a while. We have work to do if we're going to make our Little House on the Prairie (or mountains, or where ever) happen.

*Crosses fingers for a cabin in the mountains near a lake*