head over to my new blog!

Be sure to head over to my new blog. I have several new posts up along with some others coming soon, including Project Life etsy shop updates. After you click over you can follow my blog over on the left hand sidebar (you don't have to be a typepad user to follow). I'm not sure how many people are making it over there yet but if you 'follow me' then I'll know!! So be sure to c'mon over :)

a new year, a new blog!

I've been contemplating this move for a few months. I haven't been all that thrilled with blogger lately, especially when uploading photos. So I've decided to head over to a new blog.

You can now find me here:

http://michellewhitlow.typepad.com

I hope to see you over there!!

stuff to share...

So, I have some stuff to share. 

But I can't for 2 reasons: 1) I'm working on a new blog & would rather share on the new one, & 2) I can't upload any pics because I need to pay for my google storage (which I don't want to because of #1!)

I have my cover page & first week done of Project Life

More pics of my December Daily

Etsy shop update

Good stuff! 

I'm hoping to have the new blog up & running here very shortly. Right now it's very plain & very basic. Trying to learn a new way of blogging is a little confusing...but I'll get there! 

So I hope to be back shortly!!

slowly coming out of the fog

Yesterday was horrible. You name the symptom, I had it...fever, aches, chills, throwing up, congestion, etc. 

Thankfully I'm feeling a little better. A little. I had a low grade fever earlier today but as long as I take my Tylenol it's better. Can I say that I really hate taking meds while I'm pregnant?? I know they say it's ok but I still don't like it. But when your temp is almost 102 there's not much you can do but take the meds & hope for the best.

I'm hoping I'm better by tomorrow because my son has baseball pics & 2 scrimmages. I won't be my usual loud, screaming, cheering my son on from the sidelines self. But as long as he can look over at me when he runs the bases & I can give him the thumbs up & see his smile it'll be good :)

Anyway, I wanted to pop in real quick to share that Jill over at Envirocraftiness is doing a '25 Days of Awesome Bloggers' and she shared my blog the yesterday. So head over to Jill's blog & say hi :) And thanks for adding me to your list Jill!

 

Favorite non-layouts of 2010

Based on my last post I thought it'd be fun to do a post about some of my favorite crafty projects from last year.

So here ya go...

Favorite layouts of 2010

I thought it'd be fun to do a post of some of my favorite layouts from 2010. I saw a bunch of posts on this last year and didn't get a chance to do it myself. Originally my blog title was 'top ten favorites' but then I couldn't narrow it down to 10 :) So here goes in no particular order...

I noticed that a lot of the layouts I love the most are based on the photos. Do you ever notice that you tend to scrap 'happier' when the photos are fun or bright?? I do. And happy photos seem to reflect a happy layout :) You'll notice that most (but not all) of my favorite layouts are in greens, yellows & blues...also my favorite colors! Sometimes when I push myself out of my comfort zone I like the result, like in the 'Exhausted' layout which is not typically my style. And sometimes...not so much. And those layouts aren't on this post! hehe

One thing I also noticed is that my favorite layouts mostly come from the first half of this year...when I wasn't as rushed, and tired, and stressed. When I could spend more time on my layouts. So I plan on taking more time on my layouts from now on and not making myself so rushed.

I hope you enjoyed some of my favorite layouts from last year. 

Happy New Year!!

water for Christmas

Have you ever thought about the many things we take for granted on a daily basis are not so common in other parts of the world?

I found out about a movement to raise money for wells in Africa. Can you imagine if you didn't even have water to drink?? We have so much in this country. I discovered this from a blog I read all the time...and if you don't read Meg's blog you really need to. She cracks.me.up!

Anyway, you can check out this post and this one.

I wasn't able to get anything done in time to be added to the shop. I'm hoping I can make up some stuff for next year. So I did the next best thing...I shopped! hehe

Check out this adorable bib I got in the mail last week:

Yes, I could have made one myself. But then it wouldn't be helping out anyone but me, now would it?

There's still some items in the etsy shop, you can check it out here.

this week

Checked on the kids before going to bed the other night and found that someone had snuck into Olivia's bed ;) Love when they get along like this.

My liatris & gladiolus' flowers started blooming. So pretty.

Took this sweet old man to the vet...been having a lot of 'accidents' lately. We got some meds (that are hopefully working) and they did blood work which all turned out great. Not bad for a 15 1/2 yr old doggy!

Haircuts...Olivia got a bunch cut off. It's supposed to be angled toward the front but to me it just looks like a bob. Kinda bummed about that. But it's still cute.

Eclipse premiere with my friend Kellie. I actually hadn't thought much of it (despite the fact that I'm a huge Twilight fan) just because of all that's happened in the last month & a half. But she called me on Monday and said she had an extra ticket :)

lots of groceries...that were fun to bring in the house considering my garage door just broke this week. Won't go up or down cause the big spring busted, had to carry them around to the front of the house.

Dead frog in the pool. Happens several times a summer. Super gross. Dirty pool from a couple days of rain. 

Thought we had a trojan virus on our computer...which is why I haven't been on the internet/blogging since Monday. Had to wait for my hubby to do some stuff to the computer and make sure it was ok.

And lastly...

Now that I'm back up and running I'm going to be opening up my etsy shop very soon. I've been working on some fun stuff so I'll be posting that soon!

No thrifty thursday this week, too much going on. Although I'm working on a few things so we'll see...

this is me...the real me

Stephanie Howell did this post and I thought I would do a similar post. I totally agree with everything she said. I have never tried to be "perfect" on my blog or make anyone think that about me. I have hesitated about posting things from time to time but then I thought "this is my blog, this is me. If someone doesn't like me for me, they can move on". It's just the truth. I can't be anyone but myself!

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Anyway, so here's "me", flaws and all!!


My bed is rarely made. I just don't have time. My kids' beds aren't made. I love the look of a made bed but it never seems to happen...til my hubby comes home and does it. Yes, he makes the bed at 6pm. It seems pointless to me but more power to him if he wants to do it!


During summer vacation I am usually in my pjs past noon unless we're going somewhere. So are the kids. We love it.


I am happy most of the time. I love to have fun and laugh...and I have a loud laugh! But some days I'm so frustrated that I just want to scream. Then I have some chocolate & move on... :)


I love living in the south but quite honestly I sometimes get tired of being called a "yankee". It doesn't happen all the time. But I know it's not being used as a term of affection. Don't judge me, you know nothing about me. I actually feel like I fit in more down here than up north.


I love my life but there's parts that I miss. I miss the body I used to have before 2 children & 4 surgeries. I'm trying to fix that...not for anyone else but me. I miss when life seemed "easier", before Crohn's disease, before pneumonia, before infertility, before family tragedy. I miss it. I miss my friends in Michigan. I miss the friends I've lost due to moving with my husband's job...not because I didn't keep in touch but because they didn't. That hurts the most.


I love blogging & facebook for the community. I get giddy every single time I get a comment on my blog. I know, lame. But being a stay at home mom can be lonely sometimes. And now that my kids are in school I'm not part of the "playdate" group anymore.

When my husband is out of town I rarely make an actual dinner. Sometimes I cook but not always. It's usually cereal, or frozen stuff, or we just go out. It's just easier. 



I love God. I love Jesus. I go to church. But I'm mad at God right now, for several reasons. And I'm slowly finding my way back. But I also know that's ok. Cause He still loves me no matter what. And I haven't stopped talking to Him which is all that matters right now.

Sometimes I swear. Not all the time, but I do. It's a fact of life. I'm not perfect.


I have never been the type of person to "keep up with the Jones". I don't care that I don't have a flat screen tv, or a Wii, or granite countertops in my kitchen, or have a designer purse. It just doesn't matter to me. I buy what I like, what I need, what my family needs. I would rather save up for 2 yrs and go to Disney. We have a nice life and that's all that matters.


My house is not always clean. And lately it's never clean. Some days I feel like I'm drowning. I hate it.

I love crafting of any kind. It does wonders for my mood & well being. And I've discovered over the last month that it is a necessary part of my life. 

So that's it! That's me in a nutshell. Yes, I am a nut! hehe 

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So I'm going to continue the challenge ~ post something similar on your blog. And be sure to let me know so I can go read how un-perfect you are!!

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Btw, thrifty thursday is coming later today :)

eye spy

I've been so inspired browsing around the web these days. Then again, I'm always inspired. You should see the gazillion bookmarks I have in my internet browser!

Anyway, here's a few things that have been inspiring me lately (that I'm also hoping to try soon!)

Ruffled burlap runner 

photo from tatertotsandjello 

I think Jen has successfully created a burlap addiction in many of us! I've already purchased the burlap for this project and I have tons of fabric to make this. Hoping to get this one done up this weekend! You can see her tutorial here.

Portobellopixie

I am in love with her fabrics...especially this one:

photo from Portabellopixie

Farmer's Market. Just gorgeous. Must.have.all.of.them!!! Check out her blog here.

T-shirt aprons

photo from Ruffles and Stuff

We all have extra t-shirts laying around that we don't really wear, right?! You can find the tutorial here.

Glass Bead Necklace

photo from Get Craftin'

If you're a scrapper, then you have Mod Podge and cute paper to make this. The tutorial is here.

By the way, the last 2 ideas were shared at Ucreate. If you haven't been there you need to check it out. She's always posting neat projects over there!

That's it for now! I've been working on getting the house in order for company next week, my daughter's First Communion dress, party dress, invitations, party stuff, etc etc etc. I'll share some of that tomorrow :)