a turtle and a frog go for a walk

Ok, So, while I was in FL this past week, I went to Cracker Barrel for some french toast because that's just what you do when you want some french toast! And you know Cracker Barrel, so many tempting things to look at in their store. Well, this time, I found this little treasure. And I just HAD to add it to my turtle collection.

I call this one my Mother's Day turtle. Kaitlyn's favorite animal has been a frog ever since she got over that bat phase. And, I've had a thing for turtles for at least that long. I thought this was a fun little addition in light of what it stands for in my family. 

I really don't know why they had to make the turtle look all scaly though. Turtles usually have smooth skin, thus the need for the shell. Oh well, it doesn't have to be perfect to be adorable. 

and a very happy birthday to me!!

I always splurge a little on myself around my birthday. This year I was planning to get this amazing embroidery book, but THEN I saw the amazon deal of the day and completely changed my mind!

Instead, I got this little beauty.




A Singer sewing machine with 17 (SEVENTEEN) attachments and 299 (that's almost 300 people!) stitch options. I was actually in Florida at the time it went on sale and I've been super busy since I got back. It is out of the box, sitting on my sewing table, just patiently waiting for me to make the time to sit and joyfully sew. Yes, sewing is quite joyful. And I'm excited to finish a couple of projects. Come on universe!! Make it happen!

a birthday is just an excuse

Sometimes a birthday is just the perfect excuse to go to lunch with dear friends, brighten your home with beautiful flowers,

and make a fresh batch of peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies....with extra chips of course.

ready, set, goal! - UPDATE

March was a hard month. I didn't feel like I made much progress on my goals. I actually felt like everything just stayed neutral. I didn't go forward but I didn't go backwards either. I did make some progress in a couple of areas, but for the most part it was neutral. So far in April, I'm back to making progress but feel like I'm rowing upstream. It's a challenge. I'm having a hard time juggling everything. I keep getting discouraged and distracted and tired and then I just shut down. I am determined to get back on track!! Here's to an amazing second half of April and May!!


Spiritual:

• Gain an intimate relationship with my Savior. Still ongoing. I feel so inspired as I teach my lesson every week. I get so much insight to ways to improve myself. I love it. 
• Spend time in the temple every month, not just go - spend time there. So far, so good. Planning April for this week/weekend to meet this goal. 

Family: 

• Work on family history, specifically the Wells side. Went to a class but have not worked on them at all. I am dropping my indexing goals so I can focus on these sheets. Setting goal to verify all information on two every month. 
• Write meaningful emails to my missionaries. Still progressing. 
• Bring my missionaries home and get them settled in the next chapter of their lives. T-minus 5 weeks!! 
• Finish 2014 yearbook, Ireland vacation book, Paris/Germany vacation book, and Italy vacation book. Started Ireland but haven't worked on it for several weeks. Goal is to finish by end of June. 
• Write in my journal and blog weekly. Was better in Feb but crashed in Mar. Back at it in April 

Health: 

• Keep track of my net calories every day. Completely quit doing it for about two weeks now. 
• Move every day. Besides doing Ruthless workouts, I'm doing 7-minute workouts and starting to plan walks/bike rides now that the weather is amazing. 
• Lose 30 pounds. Minus 9 pounds. Making progress in April.  

Financial: 

• Pass the PMP exam
• Pay off all credit cards and other loans. AMEX is paid off!! Going to tackle my student loan next (less than $3,000) and then K's student loan). 
• Kickstart my retirement. Nothing yet. 
• Become Elite with doTERRA. Still don't have a solid plan. I did an event in Jacksonville, FL and met some amazing people who are interested in the business and the oils. Will be going back next week to see if I can get them going strong. 

SCA: 

• Learn trapunto and make largess items
• Drawn thread towels won Baroness choice at Defender's Tourney!!! 
• Promised Baroness Adina some calligraphy thank you cards. Need to get them done before the next business meeting. 
• Make a lefkara veil for my Laurel. Still working on this one. Will be for the next 8 weeks or so. Learned how to do the edging so it is really up to me to finish at this point. I have so much work to do but will get it done...not sure how but it WILL happen. :) 
• Enter Kingdom Atlantia Persona Pentathlon in 2016. 
• Went to Kingdom Arts & Science Festival and loved it! Put up a display and got lots of compliments. I will talk to Bronwyn during Uprising and make a plan on what to do for the Pentathlon. No work to be expected to start until Aug. Just sayin'

just put up the out of order sign

This is my after a crazy month, two trips to FL working two full-time jobs, and still trying to have some fun. I'm exhausted. I need to find a better balance. I need help. :)

Here's what has been going on. In March, Pam talking me into going to Jacksonville, FL to help with a doTERRA booth at their Natural Life Festival. It was a beautiful day and we made a lot of great contacts. Two ladies came to our follow up class and are interested in doing the business. They got their kits but I have had a hard time connecting with them to make any further progress. I am going back down next week to spend time with them and host some classes and hopefully get more people interested. I'm excited about growing my doTERRA business and extremely nervous at the same time! It is a lot of work and doing it on top of all the work I have at Xerox is hard to manage sometimes.

Xerox work is picking up and keeps me busy most of the day every day. I even went to FL for a work trip! Yup, going to FL three times in about 6 weeks is just crazy. I might as well move there. There are still moments when I'm not running crazy and I try to squeeze in some personal activities and doTERRA activities in those moments. It is all hard to juggle. I haven't done nearly as much on the veil as I need. Doing projects like wedding invites has sucked up any extra time I had, cuz they just took so much longer to do that expected.

I am in the process of re-evaluating my goals - not my annual goals cuz they still stand - but how I accomplish my weekly goals and how to cut out the extra little things that creep in and steal my time.

Yup, my new goal is to truly simplify my life. Get back to basics. Do only those tasks that are important. Live intentionally. Guess that is not a new goal after all. :)

the art of writing eggs

I am just learning to love so much about the Slavic region of the world and their rich heritage. The more I study about it, the more I just love their traditions and embroidery and everything else! Sometime last year, I discovered pysanky eggs - the traditional Ukranian Easter Egg. These eggs are beautiful!!! I have wanted to learn how to do them for as long as I discovered they existed! I was planning a trip to NYC to the Ukranian museum and their pysanky workshop but wasn't feeling great about it. Then I found out that a local church was having their own workshop and I signed up! Yesterday was a crazy day with church in the morning and pysanky in the afternoon but it was worth it.

Here are some pics to what pysanky (piss-un-kee) is supposed to look like!





There are some pretty complex designs and some simpler ones (as shown in the pics above) but all of them are just stunning. Here's my attempt at this ancient art.

First you start with a clean white egg. One that has been cleaned with water and vinegar. Then, you decide what pattern you want to create and apply wax where you want white lines to appear.

Then, you dip it in your first, next lightest color. In my case, I wanted it to be yellow. 

Next, you put wax everywhere you want the yellow to stay. See the pattern here? Like watercolor, you work from light to dark. Next you dip it in your next darkest color. In this case red. I didn't let it sit as long as I should have and it turned out more pinkish than I wanted but it still a good color. 

Then, you apply wax to all the spots that you want to stay red. If you are doing this correctly, most of the egg should be covered in wax by now. Finally, I dipped it in black as my final color. In the picture below you can see the egg all dyed but still covered in wax. It looks messy. And it is! 

Next, you melt the wax off the egg and then drain it (something I still need to do) and enjoy! I didn't do a great job on this egg...hey it's my first!!  

I didn't get the division correct or the lines around the middle straight or any number of things, but I had a blast doing it and I now know how to do it correctly. I also got all the tools and dyes I need to do this at home! I am hoping to do a bunch of eggs prior to Uprising so I can show them off as part of my display and give them away. That gives me until mid June to have some fun! 

I did buy an 18-count carton of eggs today in hopes that I can find some time this week to do another, simpler egg. Here's to optimism!! :) 

living my persona

I don't know if I have ever announced it on this blog, but I LOVE Medieval Reenactment. I walked into this game with an exit strategy and have ended up staying for the past three years. I plan to stay for a bit longer. It is so much fun! I love the pagentry, the quirky people, and the fellow geeks, especially the fellow geeks. I love that I can walk into a room and find someone with similar interests that actually know what I'm talking about and can appreciate "how long it takes" to do something. I have found life-long friends that I would have never met in any other circumstance. I am blessed to be part of this game.

My persona is Romani (gypsy). I've said since I was much, much younger that I think I had gypsy blood in my somewhere as I love to travel and experience new things. When I finally made my decision (about two months in) that I wanted to ditch my exit strategy and truly play this game, it was easy to pick my persona...well, at least the persona I wanted to be. I've had a harder time getting a correct name, finding my "region" and getting my garb figured out. It will all come. I don't need to be perfect from day one!

This past weekend, I traveled a whopping 7-hours each way to attend the Kingdom Arts & Sciences Festival in Wallace, NC. It was only supposed to be a 5-hr trip, but living in VA has its not so amazing perks. I had taken a basketful of stuffs to display just in case. I hadn't decided if I wanted to or not but got there and decided I really did want to show off! So, I set up a little display of some of my embroidery pieces and had a blast meeting new people.

So, here I am. Meet Vadoma, Romani who travels Eastern Europe. Lover of all things embroidery but especially open or cut work. Who also dabbles in calligraphy and illumination.

ready, set, goal! - an update

Since we are almost two entire months...TWO MONTHS...into the new year, I thought I would give you an update on my goals. Remember this gigantic list? Here is an update.

Spiritual:

• Gain an intimate relationship with my Savior. 
• Need to study more. Getting better but still have a ways to go. 
• Spend time in the temple every month, not just go - spend time there. 
• Went in Jan/Feb. Need to plan a trip by myself in March so I am on my schedule. 

Family: 

• Work on family history, specifically the Wells side. 
• Have family group sheets to verify. Going to Family History Library next week. 
• Write meaningful emails to my missionaries. 
• Going well and response has been good. 
• Bring my missionaries home and get them settled in the next chapter of their lives. 
• 12 weeks til Mister Missionary comes home!! 
• Finish 2014 yearbook, Ireland vacation book, Paris/Germany vacation book, and Italy vacation book. 
• One down, three to go. 
• Write in my journal and blog weekly. 
• Getting better, much better. 

Health: 

• Keep track of my net calories every day. 
• done about 98% of the time. 
• Move every day. 
• Ditto
• Lose 30 pounds. 
• Minus 8 pounds so far. Lots more toning and feeling better than weight loss. 

Financial: 

• Pass the PMP exam
• Pay off all credit cards and other loans
• Making HUGE progress. Feeling better about my debt. 
• Kickstart my retirement
• Not started. :( Working on taxes this month and then retirement. 
• Become Elite with doTERRA
• Have a plan in place with Pam to make this happen. Going to make this happen!! 

SCA: 

• Learn trapunto and make largess items
• No trapunto yet. But I am making 2 drawn thread towels for largess. Also finished four scrolls. 
• Make a lefkara veil for my Laurel
• Great progress on this item! Will finish in June. 
• Enter Kingdom Atlantia Persona Pentathlon in 2016. 
• Starting to make plans but haven't actually completed anything. Will report on my five items after I get a better understanding of what is expected. Going to KASF next week!! 

Anyway, I think two completed goals is amazing!! I'll give you another update in a couple of months. 

frozen in virginia

For about a week, Virginia has experienced close to record breaking cold temperatures. We are talking -24 with wind chills. When the wind disappears, we hover around freezing, which isn't too bad actually. But then 50mph gusts come up and everything just freezes. Because of the trees and the fact that some roads simply wind through tunnels of trees, road conditions are dangerous with black ice and actual ice bumps on the roads where water from the trees dripped down and accumulated before freezing again. Schools have been closed for a couple of days and most people are working from home. The next two days are going to be frigid again but then we should hover around freezing for the foreseen future.

On Sunday the 15th, we had freezing temps and freezing wind chill and freezing roads and freezing everything. I went to bed all snuggled down deep and with thoughts of going to the temple early the next day. I did get up and worked out and then went to take a shower....and, no water. Nothing. Nada. Here I was dripping sweat and I was supposed to be leaving to meet my ride to the temple in about an hour and I didn't have water!!

I texted Ann and they had water so I ran over to the big house for a quick shower and got promises that they would thaw the pipe that day (Dan had the day off work) and I would be back in running water business soon. Sadly, the pipe was not frozen in the garage but under the ground. We need 3-4 days of above freezing temps to dig the trench and find/fix the problem.

Since above freezing temps are not expected for at least another week, this is what my running water currently looks like and will probably look like for the next few weeks. Good news is that I get to live here rent free until I have water again! Gotta find the silver lining in everything. :)

fitness roadblocks

I started working out again in earnest at the first of the year and trying to watch my calories. I am starting to feel stronger...I CAN DO BURPEES!...and am losing some weight. More importantly, I am seeing a definite change in the shape of my body.

However, the last few weeks I have been getting nauseous every time I eat. EVERY. TIME. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat. No matter what, I just get sick. Since that started, I have been having a hard time actually eating, which means I don't have enough energy to exercise as vigorously as I have in the past; actually, I don't have enough energy to do much of anything.

So, I contacted my nutrition-crazy friend and asked her what I should be doing. After a lot of discussion, she told me that my lactose intolerance that I thought had disappeared years ago either didn't really go away or is maybe coming back. And then she told me everything I already knew but needed to hear again (apparently). So, I'm decreasing my consumption of milk products, upping my fruits and veggies, and cutting out as much sugar as I can. I'm hoping that fixing my diet will help with my nausea and help me feel better. It is going to be a challenge. But I know I can do it! And my friend is going to work to keep my on track. She's determined to turn me in to a stronger me!

it is all about "immersion"

This past Sunday, the Sunday School lesson was all about being born again. I have heard that statement so many times but didn't really understand it. I understood that it was to be "baptized by fire" but what does that really mean?

In studying to teach this lesson, I found a quote by Elder Bednar that says "We begin the process of being born again through exercising faith in Christ, repenting of our sins, and being baptized by immersion for the remission of our sins by one having priesthood authority...Total immersion in and saturation with the Savior's gospel are essential steps in the process of being born again."

The word immersion is mentioned twice. I realized that immersion is the key. I can understand that word - becoming completely engulfed in something! Ah, now I get it. Be baptized by immersion for the remission or our sins. Live immersed in the Gospel to be born again. Suddenly it all makes sense!

I had the missionaries over for dinner yesterday. We got talking about this lesson and the meaning of the word immersion and how it applies to both baptism by water AND baptism by fire. Sister Williams mentioned that she had been studying this topic in Preach My Gospel and was wondering how to explain the concept of being born again to people not of our faith. We had a great discussion on this immersion idea and how we can all apply it and talk about it.

Did I mention that I love having the missionaries in my home every week? Seriously, they come every week and it is the best decision I could have made to invite them in. Sister Fakatou is leaving me next week after serving in this ward for six months and I will miss her a ton. She is going to be a great missionary wherever she lands and will touch many more lives, but I will still miss her. I'm happy to have Sister Williams for at least six more weeks.

They asked to take a selfie yesterday. So, here we are! PS. I texted this pic to their moms. Every missionary mom loves mid week surprises. :)

living intentionally - redux

I started a plan to live intentionally last fall. It worked for a bit. This year, as I was contemplating my goals and how in the world I was ever going to achieve them all, I knew that I needed a little bit more inspiration. That is when my mind went back to last fall when I first started researching the idea of living intentionally, and I just knew that I needed to make this idea my theme for the year (don't you just love inspiration?). 

Living intentionally is deciding every day to live how I want to live and not just because I've always done things a certain way. It is living less out of habit and more out of intent, daily working to break bad habits and create new ones. It is deciding every day to move (not just thing) toward something better. It is living at its best. It is life on purpose.

    

How can you not love something that puts you in touch with your mind, body, heart and soul every day? Living intentionally is an art and with every great art, it takes practice.  

staying motivated

If you read yesterday's list of my goals for the year, you know I have an ambitious plan. How do I keep it all straight? Well, thanks for asking!

I tell you, everything about my goal planning this year has been so inspired. As I was contemplating what I wanted to do, I was told directly to study more, spend time in the temple, and work on family history - specifically the Wells line. My other goals are just gravy. The hardest part I have is trying to balance them all.

Again, I was inspired. I knew that if I made my goals visible, I would work on them more. I also knew that having these huge nebulous goals would not keep me very motivated. So, I took my goals and broke them down into specific tasks. I divided the main goals and tasks into quarterly, monthly, and weekly goals/tasks so I could track each week if I was on track to complete what I needed for the month to meet my quarterly goals.

THEN, I needed a way to track all these tasks. And, here is where the inspiration came in! I made little sticky notes for every goal and task and put them on my wall grouped by quarter, then month, then week. I move my sticky notes around to the weeks where I need to work on them and remove them when the task is complete. This little diagram (not so little really) is up on the wall right by my bed so I look at it every day!! It has been amazingly motivated. And, I find that I am able to put down the things I WANT to do (embroidery) to work on the things I NEED to do (study/family history) because I need to be able to move that little sticky note!!

Here is what my wall currently looks like one month in. You will notice that January is pretty empty as I have moved past that month.

The quote above all the little sticky notes is from Elder Richard G. Scott and says, "To reach a goal you have never before attained, you must do things you have never done before." I love it and think it is the perfect quote to look at every day along with my goals.

a great start to a new year

Every year, I make new year resolutions. I actually call them goals for the year. I also pick a theme that I want to concentrate on for the year. And, usually, by the middle of January I have forgotten my good intentions and am right back to doing what I have always done, which isn't bad but isn't great either.

This year has been much, much different. First, I have felt prompted to set some very specific goals. Second, I am making my goals very visible. And third, I feel more energized about them than I have ever done in my life.

First, my goals. I actually have A LOT of them this year. It is a little daunting and I am not making as much progress toward all of them that I would like, but I am still making progress. Here is my list:

Spiritual:

• Gain an intimate relationship with my Savior. 
• Spend time in the temple every month, not just go - spend time there. 

Family: 

• Work on family history, specifically the Wells side. 
• Write meaningful emails to my missionaries. 
• Bring my missionaries home and get them settled in the next chapter of their lives. 
• Finish 2014 yearbook, Ireland vacation book, Paris/Germany vacation book, and Italy vacation book. 
• Write in my journal and blog weekly. 

Health: 

• Keep track of my net calories every day. 
• Move every day. 
• Lose 30 pounds. 

Financial: 

• Pass the PMP exam
• Pay off all credit cards and other loans
• Kickstart my retirement
• Become Elite with doTERRA

SCA: 

• Learn trapunto and make largess items
• Make a lefkara veil for my Laurel
• Enter Kingdom Atlantia Persona Pentathlon in 2016. 

Yup, it is a big list. I will give you a quick update as this is actually month two of my goals. 

I was called to be the Gospel Doctrine teaching in my ward and we are studying the New Testament. Yup, I'm actually studying regularly. Heavenly Father knew I needed help staying motivated. I went to the temple in January but didn't spend as much time there as I needed to. I have a trip planned for February already and will spend more time in the Celestial Room. 

For family, my emails are getting better. I'm talking about my studying and lessons. I don't know how this new information is received but I feel better about it. I am almost finished with my 2014 yearbook and should get it ordered this month. I finally got some family group sheets from Mom and Dad and will get started on verifying information this weekend. In the meantime, I started indexing almost every day. I'm not writing in my journal or blogging every week, but I'm better than I have been for a while! I'll get there as I continue to work on my schedule. 

Health wise I'm tracking my food 95% of the time and have already lost 5 pounds! I have to be vigilant every day but it is paying off. Woot! 

Financially, I passed my exam!! I have not done anything about retirement yet but I have paid off half of my other debts. I will be going to FL in March to work a doTERRA event, have a class, and make some contacts. I will take what I learn there and start making contacts here in VA. 

For the SCA, I have been focusing on the lefkara veil that I want to get done by June. It will take me that long to do it as it is a monster piece with a lot of work. I am also doing four scrolls and 2-3 household towels (items that were not on my list but I'm doing them anyway). So, I'm super busy. 

And that is my list.