Owl you need!

Want to see what I made?





It was inspired by my friend Jo who I sometimes think may actually be an owl (the wise part, not the eating mice part). She loves owls more than anyone else I know- and at one point (perhaps this point hasn't actually passed yet?) wanted to decorate her room like a forest (sorry Jo, it makes the story so much better!).



It'll be up in my Etsy shop soon (I've been having some computer problems lately... I'm SO excited to get my new one. This lovely Dell has had issues since the day I brought it into my dorm room five years ago. Ugh.), as well as some other cute accessories I've been working on!

(Here's the link http://www.etsy.com/listing/74095914/green-owl-you-need-apron)





This is much closer to the actual colour, my bathroom has slightly different lighting. (oops! Maybe I shouldn't have revealed that I take some of my photos in my bathroom!)



And a sweet bow in the back to keep everything together!

I love it so much I'd keep it for myself, aside from the fact that I already have more aprons than I can wear myself! Maybe I'll just have to make another one??

Day Six of Life Without Dave

Everytime I meet with someone I know, they ask about Dave and I. It's weird, I tell them. The first night I woke three times and had a hard time figuring out where I was. Apparently there's a big difference between the side of the bed and the middle. What else am I supposed to tell them? I've been watching mostly Disney movies because I don't want to see happy romantic couples because it makes me miss my husband? Or that the dishes have dwindled to less than half their size? For his program he MUST go on placement during his breaks between semsters. Kind of like being in a co-op program. Unfortunately, it just so happens he's good enough to win out over his classmates and get a great placement in another town. And maybe that's another reason I'm pursuing a flexible career- one that could take me anywhere.

On a better note, the King of Rock and Roll has taken up space in my home since Dave left. The dark-haired crooner seems to have filled some of the empty space, but nothing can compare to having my real-live husband around. But it makes me realize a few things about myself.
1. I do not hate rock and roll. James Durbin was starting to make me question. It's just the off-key screaming and swagger I don't like.
2. I really really love the 50's. The music, the drunk-uncle dancing, the skirts, the way everything seemed just a little easier, the way going out for ice cream or shakes was still cool, and the way young people were going to take over the world.
3. I adore my husband. And it's listening to his breathing (snoring, no) that I miss at night, that's made me unable to sleep for the past week.

Messy eaters prosper

I love my nieces. I really do. And for some odd reason, I think feeding them is fun (I checked with my mom, she can't remember any obsession I had with feeding dolls or stuffies...). But I always manage to get food all over them and myself. Unless I go at a p-a-i-n-f-u-l-l-y slow pace. I've even managed to get baby cereal in my own mouth once. (Thanks, baby girl.) So when I saw this, I fell in love with it. (It also could have something to do with the fact that I always have an apron on hand and should probably wear one even when I do the dishes...)

http://theadventuresofroryandjess.blogspot.com/2011/05/bapron-tutorial.html

I love that the tutorial shows how to make your own bias tape... totally customizable. I'll post my own version when I finally complete one (or two, in my case)!

It's official!

It's official!! I've been accepted to the Summer Company program! Basically, they'll give me a grant to help me start up my own business (ie. Etsy), and if I complete the program by the end of the summer, they'll give me an extra grant to go directly towards my tuition. So for an entire summer (and longer if I want to do it on my own), I get to be my own boss, do my own thing, and try to make some money. And the best part? No one can let me down by not doing their share of the work (sometimes teachers give waaaaay too many group projects).

From the email:

Hi Steph!

I just wanted to let you know that you have been approved to participate in Summer Company 2011!!! You should receive your check in a couple weeks.

Yay!!

Sneakin' a little bit o' Jesus in...

I was just in the Christian bookstore with a friend searching for a Bible for another friend who is interested in getting to know Jesus. While we were there we found a 'High Valley' CD. This group of brothers are on tour with Emerson Drive, opening for them during their concerts.

(Note:*Two years ago two of my girlfriends and I went to an Emerson Drive concert, and were so impressed we decided to go again this month when they came to my town.*)

It suprised me so much to see them in the Christian bookstore that I HAD to check them out some more. Sure enough, they've got at least two songs that play to their Christian influences (I forget which branch they practice, but did mention some religious affiliation (as much as I despise using that term) when they performed). So here they are. The lyrics to 'Somebody Like Me' and 'Plastic Jesus.'

Somebody Like Me

(Neil Thrasher / Michael Boggs)
That congregation parted like the red sea
When that old drunk stumbled in down the aisle and took seat
Right in the middle of amazing grace
He could feel the judgment that they were passing
Thought to himself, ain't that just like a bunch of Baptists
He'd rather be on the street than in this place, with tears on his face

You'd think somebody would put their arm around him
You'd think somebody would hit a knee
Pull him in say a prayer
You think somebody would practice what they're preaching
I wonder who that somebody might be
Probably somebody like me

Well he's got problems nobody wants a part of
When he got up and slipped out nobody stood up
They don't want to make a scene so they let him walk out of there
Without a prayer You'd think somebody would do something different
You'd think somebody would go against the grain
Be the one to run him down, bring him back and turn him around
You think somebody would want to make a difference
I wonder who that somebody might be
Probably somebody like me

Plastic Jesus

(Here's the link...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG8DN96ajVM

Catt Gravitt/James LeBlanc)
Bouncin' on the dashboard
Boppin' to the beat
To every bump in the road
Every hole in the street
Bought him at the Walmart
Got 'em on sale
The last one sittin' there dusty on the shelf
It's just a tiny figurine....
But are we missin' what it means....

We got crosses on our necks
Bibles in hand
When the sun comes out
We make our own plans
We pull him out when we need him
Put him back when we're done
Ain't no way to treat god's only son....
If we only wanna hear him
When his words will please us
Then we might as well be prayin' to a
Plastic Jesus

Ol' Miss Jackson
At the end of the block
She built her life
Upon that rock
Everyday of the week
She walks that walk
And when she goes to speak
The spirit talks
It do us some good to heed that warning
It ain't just about Sunday morning

Lord, knows we'd be better off
If we could just surrender all....

Canada Votes 2011

After last night's election and all the hubub that went along with it, I was really curious to see what God had to say about people in power. I've spent much of this election talking to people about who they support and why, and I've found that it really depends on the person. I've found lots of "If for no other reason, I'm voting for this person/party because..." and lots of "If for no other reason, I'm NOT voting for this person/party because..." I've talked to Liberal supporters, Conservative supporters, a Green Party supporter, and even sat with NDP supporters while we waited for the election results. What I really don't understand is how, even after the results, people can still say that Harper was wrong to say that no one wanted this election, or that I'm wrong when I tell them the word on the street was that Iggy was loosing support. I followed the polls, but I talked to people. I listened to their reasons and watched the debate. But the worst was the arrogance of the people who told me their vote wouldn't make a difference anyways, so they're not even going to try. In my riding, the Liberals and Conservatives were separated by only 14 votes. If 14 of those apathetic people had gone out and voted, we could be looking at a very different representation. But here's what God has to say on the subject;

" Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."-Romans 13:1-2

I guess that just about sums it up, doesn't it?!

*On one final note, here's the article I wrote about the NDP post-election party!! My first published freelance job!
http://www.baytoday.ca/content/news/details.asp?c=41927

Play-doh and nephew love

I couldn't resist. My sister and mother-in-law needed to go to the grocery store, so they asked me to watch my 3-year-old nephew. He wanted to play with playdoh, so we each chose a colour (actually, he chose a colour for me, but I really didn't mind) and began to construct things. The top of the playdoh containers have little shapes that you can press into the doh. However, when you're in your twenties, they get pretty boring pretty fast. So, being a good auntie I decided to make my nephew something a little more 3-D. Which was awesome until he became like Stitch and had to destroy (ie. squish or rip the head off) everything I made.

I tried telling a story with some of the cut-out shapes (which is when he decided ripping the heads off things was fun). Apparently Goldilocks and the three bears isn't as interesting as I thought it was.



My teddy bear looks more like the wolf when it ate Grandma. Yes, that's the shape of a person on it's flattened belly.


After my failed storytelling attempt, I saw a photo of a car on the box. Thinking I could make something like that with my limited skills, I made a cute little red car. Now, if there's one thing my nephew loves, it's cars. His bed is full of them because he can never seem to just take one to bed. When he realized I had a car and he didn't, he insisted I make one for him as well. (Of course, I should have guessed that playdoh cars would start a new trend...) It didn't take long before we were racing our cars across the table and crashing them into things. The problem started when my
nephew would begin to squeeze the life out of his car, thereby not only elongating it, but also causing it to lose one (or more) of it's wheels. Eventually we just had to make trucks with back-up wheels. The point of this story? Little boys are hilarious. And Aunties should always know how to play with cars. (And even how to build them if necessary!

Our conversations went something like this:

Him: Vroom! CRASH! Hahahahaha....
Me: Did you just smash my car?
Him: Hahahaha...


Our cars were amazing... mine was the red convertible...

Also, for those of you wishing to make your own classy playdoh cars, here's how it goes:

Step one: Create a rectangular prism. Your discresion as to how long, wide, tall or squarish.

Step two: Flatten one end slightly to create a windshield.

Step three: Flatten the other side to create the back. This is where you can make it a truck, or a convertible, or a bug.... just by how far down you flatten it.

Step four: Create four (or five if you want a spare) little ball and get your kid to press their thumb right in the middle.

Step five: Squish the tires onto the car and you're ready to Vroom!!