Coffee On Me

I completed my first Random Act of Kindness in 2014!

It was nothing big, but perfect for getting the ball rolling.

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." ~ Aesop Fabulist

2014 Goals

Well, I failed at the daily gratitude for November, let's see if I do better with my 2014 goals!

I am not big on New Year's resolutions because, for me, they don't get much thought beyond January 2nd. So this year I decided to just make some 2014 "goals." I know, I know... It's just semantics, right? Isn't resolution just a fancy way of saying goal? Yes, yes it is... however, it's January 14th and I am still thinking about these goals so I am already way ahead of all my past resolutions!

In order to try and keep myself accountable, I thought I would share my goals on here. My intent is to blog my progress on them as I go along to help keep me motivated and interested! 

Here's what we're looking at:

This is something I have been wanting to do since my Pinterest infatuation. First, I must acquire a sewing machine. If you have one that's collecting dust in the back of you closet, I'd be happy to take it off your hands! :o)

I want to read 52 books in 2014. That's a book a week... I am already behind on this one, but I get on reading kicks where I read a book every few days so I am pretty sure I can make up lost time for this one. I will blog my progress and provide reviews. You can also check out what I'm up to in the book world on Goodreads.

I already volunteer a couple times a week walking rescue dogs at the shelter we got our cat from, but I want to do more. I really want to work with the elderly somehow. And maybe get back into Relay for Life. I just want to do more. I cant do much financially, but there's no reason I can't give my time. 

If you know me, you know I have a passion for Random Acts of Kindness. My goal this year is to do at least one a month. Obviously more is welcome, but one a month is my goal. Can be anything - send a card to a friend to brighten their day, pay for a stranger's coffee, leave change on a vending machine, feed a parking meter, take baked goods to a local fire house... You get the gist, big or small, just do something unexpected for someone. 

Multiply that by about 10 and that's my goal! I am tired of being unhealthy and feeling like a busted can of biscuits when I get dressed every day. If I can shed 50 lbs this year - even 30 - I'd feel sooo much better. And if I can actually make this happen by October, that'd be even better since I have to get into a dress for one of my best friend's weddings. :o)

Yoga isn't easy for a big chested girl. Especially one that has some extra rolls around the middle! LOL But I took yoga for one of my college PE credits and I remember my body just feeling better when I did it. I ached less, I moved more easily. Plus, with my career change, I could use a little stress relieving breathing and meditation. Whether it be yoga through the local college, at a studio, or at home in front of my TV, I want to give yoga another try. 

Idk if it just became over all trendy or if it's normal that when you hit your 30's you start running 5k's, but it seems like I hit my 30's and all of a sudden, running a 5k was the thing to do. All my friends were doing it. I kid, but at the same time, they all inspire me. Now, I despise running. I am not graceful when I do it and this is another one of those big chested girl issues. It's uncomfortable (and a little painful) to run with those things bouncing to and fro, but I want to give it a shot. If I don't make it to a 5k, I will be ok with being able to run just a mile. 

I think it would be fun for K & I to take a class together. Perhaps an art class would be fun. Although, I'm not going to lie - K is really talented in that department and I would be afraid I would get discouraged by her skills and my lack there of. I also think it would be fun to take a language class together. Spanish would be most beneficial considering where we live, but I have taken a semester of sign language and really enjoyed it. Such a beautiful way to communicate. Plus, if K likes it I think being an interpreter would be a perfect career change for her!

And last, but certainly not least... I want us to have special, meaningful dates at least once a month. It says date night, but with our funky schedules it's subject to change. Couples tend to get complacent in relationships and sometimes I think that we are getting there. We get so caught up in the daily grind and surviving, we forget to have fun. So my hope is that we get creative and think outside of the box so we can connect in love and laughter and not get stuck in the daily grind rut! 

So there you have it folks. Stay tuned for progress updates throughout the year!

Did you set any goals for 2014? If so, feel free to share them and share your progress too! 

DVRocks

Being thankful for DVR is lame, I know. But I seriously love it and cant imagine life without it. I even wonder what we did before it!

Actually, I know what I did. I set my VCR timer to record shows. But it was such a pain. And if you forgot to make sure you had room on the tape, you were SOL. It actually makes me chuckle because K is so old school she asks me if I "taped" shows. Well, no, no I didn't, but I did record it. Haha

The DVR allows me to have a life and still watch all the bad TV I want. It's allows for quality time with the wife. And it helps me with my procrastination issues. How, you may ask? I will often be sucked into something on live TV knowing I have something else I need to do or somewhere I need to be. With DVR, I can press record and walk away from the TV and not feel like I am going to miss something. Most of the time when I do this, I rarely even go back and finish watching it, but it makes it easier for me to walk away knowing I have the option. LOL

The downfall of DVR is it makes me think all aspects of life should have it. Driving down the road, I will miss something they say on the radio or want to listen to a lyric in a song again and I want to rewind it like I can on TV. I even do this in real life. Someone will say something, or maybe someone will do something funny that I missed and I want to be able to rewind it. But I cant.

So, thanks to the genius that discovered DVR! It rocks!

Scarf with Pockets

Forgot your mittens?? No problem! 

A name buddy of mine had one of these when we worked together in Sacramento about 4 years ago and I thought it was the coolest thing! So ... fast forward 4 years and I finally made one!

The ironic thing about this scarf is I now live in So Cal... Where winter doesn't really exist. Sure, it gets cold... but not scarf cold. Unless you head to the beach and it's windy, then maybe it could be considered scarf cold.

I did the photo shoot for this blog by myself. I tried to get K to help me, but we just never found the time - or rather - never made the time together. I tried to make it happen on a day we were headed to the beach for a lunch date. It was probably 80 degrees out and I was in a tank top, shorts, and flip flops. I thought that outfit would carry quite a bit of irony considering where we live. Ha! No?

Perhaps I will send it to my cousin back in Indiana. I still owe her a hand made gift from 2012!! 

It's super easy and generic. I used "Loops & Threads" brand yarn. It took just under two skeins, so be sure to grab two from the store. (I had to go back.) I used an I/9 -5.50 mm hook.

Scarf
Chain 18
Row 1: Double crochet in third chain from hook, double crochet in each chain across: 15 double crochets
Row 2 - ??: Chain 3 (counts as first double crochet from here on out), double crochet in back loop only of the next 14 double crochets across.
Repeat until you get to your desired length. Remember you need about 8-10 inches longer than your desired length so you can fold over the ends and create the pockets.

I folded the bottom up about 10 rows. Lined up the two sides and sewed the sides together to the best of my ability. Repeat three more times on each side of the pocket, leaving the top open for access.

I would tell you how to sew it, but I don't have a clue what I am doing when I am sewing. I just run the needle and yarn through holes on the side and hope it doesn't come undone anytime soon. Ha! I am pretty sure you could do a better job than I can instruct.

Whether you use the pockets to keep your hands warm, perhaps to tuck your phone into, or a place to store your mittens and beanie when it's hung up... I think once you have pockets on your scarf, the regular scarf will never be the same again!

As usual, if you have any questions, I am here for you.

Treat Jar

How freaking cute is this little gem?!

Sooooo cute!

This was probably one of the first pins I pinned on Pinterest. I remember thinking we had a bunch of those fish bowls left over from our wedding center pieces and this was the perfect project for them!  

When I first pinned this, I was working in an office environment in a cubicle that was known to have candy for those in need. I thought this would be perfect for my desk. Since then, I have changed jobs and while it's still an office setting, I don't have an assigned desk so it makes it kind of hard to host a candy dish.

Anyway, the pin leads to a couple different blogs which then leads to a couple different tutorials. The tutorial posts are this one and this one. I used a combination of the two.

Here's what you'll need: 

Fish bowl

Terra Cotta pot & saucer

Wood nob for lid handle

Paint

Ribbon

Glue Gun

E6000 Adhesive

1. First I painted to terra cotta parts and the wood nob and let them dry. I only did one coat, but it probably wouldn't hurt to do more than one.
2. Then I let it sit for days because I never went back to the store to get the E6000 adhesive. 
3. I suppose you could spray the painted parts with a gloss/sealant. I didn't because I wasn't sure if I was going to further embellish or not, but since I went with not I kind of wish I would have sprayed.
4. Once I got the adhesive, I adhered. I adhered the bowl to the pot and the nob to the saucer/lid. Read the directions on the adhesive package before adhering. I got a little nervous after reading my package because it gave all kinds of scary warnings like don't breathe the fumes or you'll get cancer kind of warnings. There was another brand of adhesive at the store that was made for glass... that might have been less scary to use. By all means, if you know of a better, safer, cancer-free way to adhere - I recommend doing so. Cancerous fumes are no joke. 
5. Figure out the ribbon. For me, it was at this point I figured out who I was making it for.
6. Anyway, most of the ones I've seen just have the ribbon/bow around the bottom of the fish bowl. My fish bowl was one of those with the wavy edging (for lack of a better description - see picture below) leaving a weird gap between the lid and the glass that I didn't care for.
   I thought it would be too much to put another bow up top so I just gave it a collar. I adhered all the ribbon with the glue gun.

I wanted to embellish it a little more by writing "Treats" or "Sweets" in silver glitter, but I was going to have to free hand it and that scared me. I knew if I kept messing with it, I would press my luck, screw it up, and hate it. Why go there when I loved it in it's current state?!

I often start my projects not really knowing who I am making them for. I always have people cross my mind as I am creating, but there is usually an ah-ha moment when I discover who its intended recipient will be. For this project, it was the ribbon. I knew immediately I was giving it to my friend, Ms. Rink from Bows and Leopard. (I am sure you can figure out why.)

Initially, I thought, "She has a cubicle like I used to, maybe she'll use it for candy." And then I remembered, she doesn't really like people that much. Well, at least not as much as she likes animals... So then I thought maybe she could keep it at home and put her precious Buffy's treats in it! We shall see what she decides to do with it!