What would you do in a little canoe, when the moon is shining all around?

I haven't posted a 'personal' post in a while, so here I am. Except after reading it you'll probably tell me to stop being so chipper and die in a ditch already. I've just been so happy even though I've been stressed about school and money and have had to take care of my gimp husband (is the term gimp PC?) who hurt his leg a few weeks ago and can still barely walk leaving me to take care of pretty much everything around the house and feed him out of a silver spoon and wipe his ass.

I think I can attribute the happiness to the fact that I've really taken to heart the about what I've explained in this post. I've been pretty good at managing my time and have gotten SO much done. Since I wrote that post at the beginning of last month, I've just been going, going, going and trying to fill my days with as much as possible.

I also attribute it to transitioning to the paleo diet, even though I'm still not 100% there.

I've had a lot more energy and have been having fun cooking some amazing (and not so amazing) meals. Having my kitchen warm and smelling delicious is just such a good and inspiring feeling, especially when it's cold outside. Vince has been interested in this as well and has even 'gasp' talked about trying to be gluten free for a month to see how he feels. When I cook it's always gluten free, but he still eats regular pasta and sandwiches, and isn't gluten free when we eat out. We'll see if he tries it!

Lastly, I attribute my happiness to seeing every little thing I do as an accomplishment. I finished organizing under the kitchen sink? Awesome! I ate that whole bowl of pumpkin ice cream? Amazing! I brushed my teeth and finished at the exact time as the timer? I'm a champion! Start seeing everything you do as an accomplishment and I swear you'll feel like your on top of the world, even if you just managed to walk up stairs without tripping.

General updates:
School: I'm fuckin' killing it. Today my math teacher talked to me on our break and said that I had a brilliant mind (I kid you not, he said brilliant) and asked if I was going to further my math career. I told him I am going to be a doctor and he said I would be a fantastic doctor and that it was a great choice. I was speechless! I still have all A's somehow and don't see them dropping in the next month before the semester is over.

I went to the cadaver lab with my class last week and was blown away by how awesome it was. I was nervous as first because hello dead bodies, but I quickly got over that and was awestruck with how amazing our bodies are. We were able to look at four bodies and to compare them was so cool. There was a lady who died of metastatic breast cancer and it was intense to feel it in her breast tissue, and then see the other organs that were just covered in tumors. It definitely made me more conscious about doing self breast exams, as every women should.

Roxi: She's as cute as ever. I've been taking her on more walks since Vince has been sick and there are guys in the yard all the time redoing the plumbing, and she's been pretty good. I took the sheets off the bed the other day to wash them and left Vince's pillowcase on the bed. She curled up into the smallest ball and laid directly on it. I was laughing so hard and thought it was just darling!

Vince: As I said before, he hurt his leg when he was mountain biking, so I've been at his beck and call. It's not bad anymore because he's got most of his mobility back, but he wasn't able to do anything for a while! He wasn't able to drink while on his painkillers and continued to not drink, so since he hasn't had any beer he's been eating sweets, which is so unlike him! I guess his body wanted the sugar it wasn't getting from the beer. So he was sharing my pumpkin ice cream with me, but refused to admit that he liked it. When I tried to take a picture he was mortified that I would document him eating something sweet.

Purchases: I bought a new wallet from Issa.Ino and love it. I was sick of my giant bulky one and now I don't even have to carry a purse, I can just throw my new wallet in my pocket! (Oh, and she's doing a promo soon for small business Saturday!

Projects: I've been doing a lot of random things around the house to make things more functional and pretty. I've been going through kitchen cupboards and getting rid of so much old stuff that has been there for god knows how long. I also hung up some new curtains that I got from the thrift store, made a fall table runner for the table and 4 matching placemats, and sewed two new gold spotted pillows since Vince ruined the old ones with a bloody elbow after his wreck and they were forever old anyways.

Drinking: Lots and lots of Yogi Chai Rooibos Tea with a splash of milk and a bit of honey. Vince and I are both in love with it (thanks to Sara's suggestion!) and I can't see it leaving our diets anytime soon. Pots and pots of it are made each week and all throughout the day since it's caffeine free.

Cutest little girl around: I got to hangout with my niece today and holy heck she is getting so big! She'll be two in January, and it doesn't seem possible. She's starting to talk a lot more and is so playful. When Roxi is happy, she makes a long sigh/groaning sound, and Alyla kept going up and putting her nose on Roxi's and making the groaning sound. Today we went to the park and played on the 'sings'!

 

Salutary Sunday

This week I have finished season 1 of Numb3rs. I'd call that a successful week, wouldn't you? Hehe. No, this week I did a lot of exercising and cooking. I also made a big decision.

My Etsy shop. Ya, ya know that 'thing' I started a couple months ago and have yet to mention it again since? Ummmm ya.

I've decided to put it on the back burner for now. I was 'pressured', in a sense, to get it up, but now I'm not feeling motivated for it!  I don't know why I'm not as excited as I was before, but I'm just not. I feel like I could get myself excited about it enough to continue with my shop, but I also feel like there are so many other things in my life that I am pursuing and everything is getting caught up in itself.

When I envisioned my shop, I wanted to have a lot of product available. I wanted to have a big stockpile of stuff available, and I just haven't reached that yet. If I have my 'brand' out there, I want it to be exactly what I want, and it's just not that. Having a measly 9 items in my shop is not what I want. I think it's pathetic and I know I can do better!

I also feel a sort of internal pressure to do good, so I feel as if I am letting myself down. At the beginning of the year I set goals for myself to work in my craft room for an hour a day, and needless to say, I am NOT doing that. I think it's because I was forcing myself to do it. I need it to just come naturally! I'm still doing great thinks with myself, I'm the healthiest I have ever been in my entire life, and I am PROUD of what I'm doing with myself. I don't need this internal guilt of 'failure' looming over me.

So for now, once my listings on Etsy expire, I'm not going to renew them and I'll close up shop. I'll still  continue to make jewelry, though. It's something that makes me happy and I thoroughly enjoy doing it, so I'm not going to stop that part! I'll post new pieces here and there on this blog, and if anyone wants to buy anything they can just tell me.

Maybe when I get to another point in my life I will pursue it again, but for now, I will not.

I definitely want to thank everyone who has encouraged me through this! All of your kind words were really appreciated and it's great to know there are wonderful people out there. ♥

Saturday Love

Oh my. Three posts in one day? I'm making a crazy comeback y'all. After today though, I promise I won't spam ya and will be back to one post a day. ;-)

I haven't done a Saturday Love in a while, though, so I figured I'd do one today! It's snowing outside and I feel like curling up on my couch with the laptop anyways.

{1}

In the beginning of July, I am going to hike the 16 miles of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley with my family and I'm FREAKING OUT. It's going to be so awesome! Don't know what it is? Click HERE to read about it and HERE to learn about the cables you have to climb up so you don't die. The reason I'm telling you this is because there is a guy who climbed the 2,000 foot vertical cliff WITH NO ROPE. He free climbed it. Watch the video HERE. I couldn't embed it, but it's so crazy to watch. It's a 2 minute clip, and I wanted to throw up the entire time because I was so nervous!

{2} 

A friend told me about a Free Proctor and Gamble Brand Sample Pack! I'm getting a coupon for laundry soap, free tampons {every girl will need them at some point, plus they're free!} and some Head and Shoulders shampoo. Sweet!

{3} 

{Found HERE via HERE}

{4}

{5} This post over at the Rhythm Method. She writes a wonderful post with great imagery about retiring to a little cottage on the beach  and "It will be right on the foreshore, exposed to the weather: so close to the ocean that our garden will be sprinkled in sand." Sounds wonderful with this current snow!

{6} 

My brothers.

{7} 

Emmy's poetry, especially the one about road kill!

{8} 

The packaging for some earrings and a necklace I sold and shipped out last week from my Etsy shop.

{9} 

Little Chief Honeybee's post about tattoo etiquette and NOT being a douche. Read it if you don't have tattoos!

{10} 

{I REALLY really really wish I new the original person who took this picture, but I've looked for like 45 minutes for the origin and can't find it. If you know, tell me so I can give credit! I originally saw the picture through soulBACON.}

{11} 

A recent episode on Grey's Anatomy WHERE THEY SING.

I cried. It was amazing. Watch it HERE.

Salutary Sunday/Tattoo

It seems like I say this every week, but this week FLEW by. When I'm at work, it seems like the days are DRAGGING on, but once I get through the weekend, it seems like it went to quickly. 

As you know, this week I opened my Etsy shop, and I'm proud of it!  I'm really excited to have it grow over the next few weeks and hope to add enough items so I have at least 30 items for sale. 

What I was most excited about this week, though, was my TATTOO!! I finally got the outline started from Tanin at Birch Ave Tattoo and now I can't wait to get it completely finished. 

Getting my arm tattooed is way easier than my chest or belly. I still can't say that my chest hurt, because I've felt worse pain than that, but it was definitely uncomfortable. My arm, however, was pretty easy and there were only 2 or 3 parts that were even remotely uncomfortable. It was awesome. It was only the outline, so we'll see how the next few sessions treat me.

When I went in to get the tattoo, the part I was most excited about was the girl, Effie. Now that it's on me, I think my favorite part is actually the little guy on my shoulder! 

{Sorry it's a little dry, it's still healing!}

I just love his face and the way it sticks out of the mask. I'm amazed at how well Tanin captured both of their faces, and how exact it is. As I said, I am SO excited to see how this turns out!

*****

So, moving on to the Salutary Sunday part, because while my tattoo was created, it wasn't created by me! 

Some things I made this week was good food. 

Yesterday I got to spend the whole day alone with Vince and it was so wonderful. I've been having a rough time with my sister this past week, and having Vince to support me has been so helpful. It makes me realize that he is absolutely my rock, and that I wouldn't change anything about my life with him. 

The first thing we did was ate some yummy gluten free waffles I made {recipe found HERE}. 

I bought some maple syrup over a year ago and it was sugar free; it was the worst thing I have ever tasted so I threw it out and I've forgotten to buy syrup since then! What I did to make my own syrup was just use some apple jam {that I had canned last year when apples were on sale}, added a little water to it and threw it in the microwave for about 20 seconds to warm it up. It was delicious. 

{Isn't the color gorgeous?!}

Vince also added some peanut butter to his waffles and made some bacon {and then tried to avoid me getting a picture of him}. 

After eating we were supposed to CUT THAT HAIR, but played disc golf instead. Vince's beard and hair is SO long and now that winter is hopefully gone, all of it is going. I'm stoked.

Anyways, as I said we went and played disc and it was perfect outside. I wore a long sleeve shirt because I couldn't put sunscreen on my tattoo yet and I got a little warm, but luckily there was a slight breeze. The dogs had a blast and just got to run around and get muddy and tired. As soon as we got back to the car Izobel passed out but Roxanne was ready to run 10 more miles! Izzy's definitely lazy like me. Hehe.

After disc we dropped the girls off so they could eat and sleep, went to an outdoor store and got things for the yard like a new hose, and went to the post office to drop off some stuff I sold. After that we came home and I cleaned out both of the cars. The new one was so dusty from all the dirt roads we go on and Sedona trips! We I also cleaned the house up so that I had nothing to do today and could just relax.

After eating dinner we watched the movie How Do You Know. It was HORRIBLE. Like one of the worst movie I've watched recently. The acting was disastrous and there was absolutely no plot. I clearly don't recommend it!

What have you guys done this week? Anything fun?!

Grand Opening!

So I totally fail at this 'Grand Opening' thing. I forgot to even tell you!

So, here it is: MY ETSY SHOP IS NOW OPEN!!

{Click the picture to view the shop of go to iffyinklings.etsy.com}

You'll find stuff like this:

And this:

I also made my first sale today, which is AWESOME. 

What makes it even more awesome is that it wasn't my grandma or my mom that bought something! 

I had my first real customer. =D

So if you haven't already, go check out my shop! Let me know what you think and if I need to improve something.

If you decide to buy something, enter the code 'open10' and get 10% off! Woohoo!! 

Salutary Sunday

Whew, I can't believe another week of my life is gone! It seems like it went so quick, yet dragged on for ever. I worked last Sunday for a friend, so I worked 6 days last week, which explains the 'dragging on' part.  

I made a few things for my Etsy shop, made some good food, and hung out with family, but other than that I haven't done too much this week.

Some food we made was delicious gluten free onion rings, shrimp tacos, and bacon covered hot dogs. HEART ATTACK WAITING TO HAPPEN.

*****

When I was at Walgreens on Friday picking up some meds and for some reason I had the urge to buy some bright and pretty nail polish. I love popping over to the blog The Dainty Squid because she always has such fun nail colors! {And hair colors. I really miss dying my hair shades of blue, pink, and every other color.}

For this week, I settled on 'Blue Me Away' blue, and I love it!

I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear and I only needed ONE coat. I was shocked. I'm used to having to put on like 5 coats to have a color this vibrant. I knocked my fingers on various things while it was drying {I'm too impatient to just sit} so it messed it up a bit, but I cleaned my house a LOT after my nails were dried and it didn't chip like I expected it to. So I definitely recommend this stuff. 

I also got a couple other colors, and I'm excited to use them!

Did anyone do something more exciting than me? Let me know!

It's naptime for me...

Etsy

The official launch date for my Etsy shop is April 1st, but if you like IffyInklings on Facebook you can get the link and a special 10% discount code to go shopping now!!

Don't Forget...

...to enter the giveaway for these earrings!

It ends tonight at midnight! You know you want them, so head over and enter. ♥

Salutary Sunday

No blogging for me recently! It's be crazy in this here house of mine.

I'm slaving away for my Etsy shop, and I'm excited to announce that it's opening April 1st! {Yes, April Fools Day!}

I have a couple of exciting things planned, so I had to have it opened by then. Meaning you'll have fun jewelry to look at! {And buy, ya?}

What did I make this week?

Well, I made this little boy happy!

{He couldn't see because the sun was too bright...}

My 'baby' brother Will turned 6 on Friday, so Vince and I took him out to pick up his present and get some lunch at Subway. He said that he wanted a foot long like Vince, but needless to say, he did NOT get that. It sure was funny, though.

I think he is the cutest little man in the world and is so incredibly smart. I remember realizing when my other brother Connor was 'smart' and it's such a fun experience being an older sister. One day Connor, Pam and I were talking and Connor said that he was 'puzzled' about something. Puzzled was a word I had heard before but it wasn't a word that was really used in my house and since he was probably only 8, Pam and I just turned to each other and were like, 'Wow, that's a good word to explain how you're feeling!' I bet that doesn't seem like a 'smart' moment to some people, but I guess you had to be there! 

Will, on the other hand, uses big and complicated words all the time, unlike any other 6 year old I've met. It's so fascinating to hear him tell a story and have it be so detailed. He's such a joy to be around and Vince likes him to. When we were walking around Will just grabbed his hand and it melted my heart! It  was so adorable.

{Note to self: countdown from 3 before you take the picture.}

For his birthday present, he picked out a ZhuZhu pet and 2 armors for them. 

{Thor on the left with new armor, and the new Drayko on the right with the new armor.}

They are these little automated hamsters that battle each other and make crazy sounds. He is OBSESSED with them and knows all 8 of their names, the names of their armor, etc., and always like to recite them to you. He also likes giving you little quizzes and asking which is which. His mom, Pam, knows almost all of them, too! Haha.

He now has all 8 hamsters and armors and it building the track they play in. He loves them, and he told me that he was 'so excited that his stomach hurt' when we were buying them.

{Side note: I've always been made fun of for my 'Chinese eyes' by my brother and sister. I never really had eyes that were similar to my family, and they are always so small when I'm smiling and are a little poofy. Whenever I talk about my eyes with Vince, he denies that they look squinty, but a teen at the library asked me the other week if I was Chinese! These pictures definitely show how squinty they are...}

House Love and Etsy

I'm sitting here working on putting my little Etsy shop together and watching the show Income Property on HGTV. Is that anybody else's favorite show?

The gist of the show is that a cute guy with a Canadian accent comes and remodels an area of someone's house that is being rented as an apartment, such as the basement or the upstairs. The homeowners have to pay for the entire renovation, BUT, they have an experienced guy who knows what he's doing design it. 

I must say that that is something I really really want to do, own my own income property. The couple on the show right now have a mortgage of 2,200 a month. They live on the main floor, rent their upstairs apartment for $1,000 and once the basement is renovated, they will rent that for $1,000 as well. Do the math. $200 A MONTH FOR THEIR MORTGAGE PAYMENT. What. The. Hell. 

How awesome would that be?! It makes so much sense to do that. I think I want the first house Vince and I buy to have an apartment to rent out. 

Anyways, Etsy shop. Whoa. I know. I'm finally working on it. 

So far I've put together the boring things such as shop policies, about me, etc. I have most of the pictures I need, but I want to take pictures of the necklaces on people. {Meaning, the ladies I talked to need to tap into their model because I'm coming for you soon!} 

I also need to write up the descriptions and take measurement of the jewelry. I also need to make more jewelry! I'm going to make some more earrings and bracelets, since I already have about 10 necklaces.

So, if you like my jewelry, keep an eye out! 

I'll also be having my own give-away once I open, too. ♥