Bringing crafty back

Did you miss me? I've been spending so much time at work, school, and Facebook that I sort of dropped off the map. I didn't realize it's been almost a year since I updated my blog. Oopsies.

I picked out this fabric and this fabric (shown together above) to make this adorable Amy Butler bag:

 

I'm more than a little nervous about making this thing. First, it's so super cute that I don't want to mess it up. Next, lots and lots of other people out here have had less than pleasant experiences making it. They all promise, however, that it is worth it in the end. We'll see...I'll try to keep you posted with my progress. I want to have it done by the time we go to Puerto Vallarta in February. It would make a lovely carry on, don't you think?

I used the Amy Butler Liverpool pattern to make a tunic, but it ended up as the outer shell for what will be the coolest spring coat. Ever. Really.

I've promised myself that I will become more patient and crafty and active. I think I've started out the new year rather well!

Home from Paradise Valley

Thanks to a great deal from Hotwire.com, we were able to stay at a gorgeous resort in Paradise Valley, AZ for less than most of the local hotels cost. Here are some of our photos. No, the boys were not with us.

More prayers, please, of varying types

Don't they just look like trouble? Holy mackerel! I must have been a real stinker. Yikes! I'm imagining them in six or seven years. Oh,my! Nick is fearless on the four wheeler. Nathan, well, he just looks tough. REAL tough.


Okay, and I'm making a leap of faith, too. I'm going back to school. Don't fret, pals and friends. I'm not moving. I'm working on my Ed D from home :) I'm enrolled in a distance program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I'll need to go out there once in a while to actually meet people and make presentations, and then to defend my dissertation, but the bulk of my work will be done right here at the kitchen table. Woo hoo. Guess I'm a Spartan and a Husker now.

On a serious note...
It was just over six months ago that I thanked you all for your prayers for Coleen's health when her brain surgery for BC Mets was successful. Well, if you would please add her to your prayers again, we would be grateful. I'll keep you posted, but we need her doctors to act swiftly and have intelligent foresight, and Coleen needs strength, for both mind and body, and comfort. It looks like her BC Mets is back again. Further testing is being done in the coming weeks. 'Nuff said for now.

Blast from the past

I was surfing through some photos and found one of Jim and I nine years ago. I'm pairing it with one from last weekend. Awe..