Worn OUT and changes GALORE!!

As my kiddos get older.. my life gets busier.. and I imagine that will be the case for a long time to come.. This fall, in addition to homeschooling all 3 of them - we will have football, tumbling, and piano .. with football alone we usually have 2 practices and 1 game.. thats 3 days just for football.. and on those days I swear I feel like the day zips by and I hardly get anything done.. Here's some pics from our scrimmage last weekend:

Here's the boys taking a break on the bench

And Daddy on the bench with the boys.. he doesn't coach b/c of his work schedule but he does help out.

It was really hot out... we were out on the track in the blazing sun.. I didn't realize how long we had been out there until I got home and realized.. I had a farmer's tan:

I vowed that next time a tank top and shorts will be worn.. If I have to bake in the hot sun, at least I could get a half way decent tan too :-)  The boys had a really good time that day - although we were all hot and hungry.. We also figured out that we need to start bringing a cooler to the games.. just a drink bottle isn't enough.. This is our first year in football - so there will be a bit of a learning curve for a while. I also want to mention Jas started piano last week - and the boys start tumbling this week.. There will most definately NOT be any rest for the weary anytime soon!! But I am trying to make the best of it!

I started a new personal journey starting in May of this year.. I decided I couldn't take being a fat, lazy, blob any longer.. I started exercising (I do it 4X a week), taking Advocare suppliments (see http://catchyourspark.com for my sister's website who is an Advocare distributor), and eating CLEAN.  I don't eat any white starches (i.e. potatoes, bread rice)..I don't eat table sugar or anything that contains it except for once a week on my "cheat day" where I eat anything I want..  I DO eat whole grains, lean meats, nuts, and all the veggies and fruit I want.. so far so good.. I have so far lost 27.5 lbs.. even better than that I FEEL good.. in fact I feel awesome.. it makes me think - WOW if I feel this good now - imagine in 50 lbs from now at my goal weight!!Life looks so much brighter and my depression is all but a distant memory.. I cannot speak highly ENOUGH about clean eating.. I credit that for about 70% of my success.. for more details - just google "clean eating"  - there is TONS of info out there.. these days I am not dieting but changing my lifestyle to one that I can live for a lifetime - not just a temporary fix... or a bandaide on fleshwound. 

Another new change for me - I am taking a swapping hiatus from Swapbot.. I've been so fed up with all the flakers (people who receive but do not send out), ppl who send out their swaps WAY after the deadline and give lame excuses expecting clemency every time,  ppl that kiss the butt of the admin who do VERY little, favortism the admin show to certain members despite the negative behavior of said individuals,  and certain OTHER individuals that spend their days being contrary for contrary's sake and nothing else.  I really don't think the admin realizes how negatively the rest of the swapping and crafty world views Swapbot.. time and time again I hear from ppl who say they wouldn't touch swapbot with a 10 ft pole bc of what I just mentioned.. and I don't blame them.. Sadly it's things that could be easily fixed, but for whatever reason the admin leaves things as they are - in a steep decline.. I am thankful for the friends I have made there and am keeping in touch with them in other ways.  I will be swapping still - just not there.. And in the immediate future I want to do some RAKS, make stuff for my booth space in a shop in town, and start on some (gasp) Christmas presents... 

On a creative note.. I am still hard at work at my art as always.. here are some things I made recently:

These are some ATCs I have made:

Here are some twinchies and rolos (altered rolodex cards):



And some postcard RAKs for friends:



And this is a package I put together for a tag on swapbot for a friend.. and YES those ARE handmade pasties:



Here's my current WIP (works in progress):

This is a dishcloth I am working on.. I hope to make some of these for my shop in town:



This is a freeform embroidery piece I have been working on for the last couple weeks.. I am really enjoying it.. it's actually referred to as a mixed media embroidery piece as it is hard to see, but there are metal bits and bobs, fabric, crochet, etc.



This is a book I am reading - sort of an expose on the religion of Scientology.  Not one to convert but to expose their secrets.. I just started but it's very interesting.. I find the study of different religions and belief systems fascinating:



It's almost 1 am and it's time to close up shop and go to bed... it's been fun getting back into the blogger swing of things and I hope to continue it and start visiting friend's blogs again.. until next time.. much love and God bless.

HERE I am!!!

Well first let me say It's been a good break from blogging.. I actually did try blogging on wordpress again, but once more found out I just don't like the way their system works behind the scenes.. So I decided to return to my old haunt :-) Just so I don't have to RETYPE what I typed before.. here's the one post I did on wordpress..

I want to share just a couple creative things.. Here's a zentangle C ATC I made to angel for a swapbot swap..

I really enjoy angelling swaps.. I get to create something and bring a smile to the face of someone who has been disappointed.  That's a win-win if you ask me.. I have angeled and been angeled before. I really try to pay it forward whenever the opportunity presents itself.  I love doing random PIF type things in real life too.  Example - I printed more than one 40% coupon before I headed to my most recent trip to Hobby Lobby and passed a coupon to a couple behind me.. and I like to think they will  pay it forward as well.. In a world where everything is so " me me me" - it's refreshing to do something nice for someone else for no reason at all.. and having been the recipient of such kindness myself - it's just as refreshing to receive it.

I finally finished a belated bday gift for my dad.. he loves the things I make.. he (like my mother) would rather have something I made than something I bought. So I put this mini wall hanging together for him .. the skull and wing pattern is by Bad Bird - but I added the crown and "Dad".. I am quite pleased with how it turned out:

He love skulls.. so I also made him a card with the same type theme:

I really enjoy making these skull zentangles.. reminds me of the Mexican Sugar Skulls..

I was also informed of a great tutorial to make zipper bracelets.. so I was coerced into making a few and I am currently waiting on a shipment of zippers to make some more.. they really are quick, easy, stylish and fun:

I have such a fondness for all things Kawaii.. I am dying for a kawaii tshirt presently.. but I have made some kawaii style ATCs and Altered Rolodex cards lately.. here's some I worked on the last few days:

I am currently contemplating a kawaii painting so stay tuned!!!!

I am going to close with this .. I have more I could say, but it's been a LONG day... filled with cleaning, cooking, and football practice in 107 degree heat. I am going to retire for the night and start all over in the morning :-)  Gnight!!

Won't be blogging for a while..

Why you ask?? Frankly b/c I don't wanna.. yep - I don't wanna!  It's been torture making myself do the last few entries..and all it's really been is pictures.. which is what you can see by going to my flickr stream found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mommasgoodies/

I have had comments suggesting that I do more frequent posts, to make the amount I have to post less each time.. but it's not the amount.. just the blogging in general.. I don't have any desire to post or even to chat - I just want to create.  I am lucky to get my items in my flickr stream.  So I won't bore you with a picture show that you already have the link above to see for yourself.

I also joined deviant art.  I find my artwork well received there and there are lots of groups and contests to join - which I thoroughly enjoy.  I just can't keep trying to post pics of my stuff in 50 different locations, and being miserable to boot.  Here's my deviant page if you want to take a look:  http://cajunhillbilly.deviantart.com/

So all that said- my blog isn't going anywhere, but there won't be new additions for a while.. I am still here and if and when the desire to blog comes back I will return.  In the meantime if you want to get in touch with me - email me at cshortprudhomme@yahoo.com  OR check me out at the links above.  I appreciate your comments and love you have shown me - it has not gone unnoticed :-)

Until next time, Much love and God bless!!

Mixing things up!!

Being mommy has been rough this week!! I had one come down with that terrible stomach bug - couldn't keep anything down, and just about the time he was fully recovered - my other two started.. ei yi yi!! I was ready pull my hair out from stress and run down the street screaming I was so tired.. I was in full mommy radar mode so every little noise had me jumping up whether I was asleep in bed, or sitting in the recliner.. I even spent one night in the recliner watching over the first sick one.   Needless to say, little got done other than taking care of the little ones.  I am happy to say the last two to get sick are on the mend and ready to go back to their regular diet and activities tomorrow.  I am keeping them on bland foods for one more day.  

Here are some things I have worked on since my last post.  I was told I should blog more often - I am going to TRY.. I was mixing things up this week with a variety of projects.  Here are the crochet things I have worked on:

This is a crochet mandala for a swap.  I tried not to think too much about the colors - just grabbed it out of my stash.  Ironically, the recipient (who I don't know personally) told me it perfectly matched her living room decor!  I can't wait to make more of these:

This is a pocket monster I made for a private flickr swap - this is for a little boy - 

These are motifs for a CAL from the book "Beyond the Square:  Crochet Motifs":

I did some jewelry too!  I did a bit more than this, but was feeling lazy or in a rush to mail it and I didn't get a pic.. This is a set for a repeat customer :-)  I am quite pleased with how it turned out:

 I have been drawing again.. It has been hard to drag myself away from crochet,  but I feel I must to keep from getting burned out.. So here is a zentangled tile and ATC I did for a Zentangle Shamrock swap I hosted on swapbot:

This is an altered book for a RR.. this is my turn in this great old book.. I have only done one spread, but I am toying with the idea of doing one more in this one - perhaps a different style.  Normally I do some altering, but i decided to draw this time - I am quite happy with it - I hope the book owner will be:

Finally this is an ATC for a Mardi Gras ATC swap on Swapbot:

Last but not least - I have finally finished 2 fallen soldier memorials I made for a local family.  I am pleased with the results and I am trying to get a sponsor from either the VA or American legion to pay for professional framing.  If I don't get the funding I will go ahead and try to do it myself.  I would prefer the professional framing, but if I do it, it will still be nice.  Here they are:

I just recently joined http://soldiersangels.org and adopted a deployed soldier to send weekly letters and a monthy package to while he is deployed until he returns home.  I have already connected with him on facebook and am excited to put together a package for him next week.  I plan on having my kids join me and help out.  Even the hubs is going to contribute to our letters.  Whether or not you agree with war - there are some very brave soldiers that are out countrymen that deserve our support.  I recommend that you check out the website and help where you are able.  There are lots of different opportunities.  

Well that's my update - We will be starting another exciting week with lots to do!! Until next time - Much love and God bless!!

Monthly Update

I think it's looking like monthly updates for now.. I started trying to figure out why my blogging has slacked off.. and I think I figured it out - and it all boils down to this - Facebook, Swap-bot, Flickr, and now Ravelry.  I am more active on those sites lately.. so less frequent posting here.. I mean who wants to post pictures on 5 different sites?  I saw my followers on the front page of my blog and I started to feel guilty.. I should at least update once a month.. so that's what I endeavor to do.. keep your fingers crossed!!

We are now done with soccer.. last weekend was our last soccer games.. For those of you who don't know- I coached my twin 5yr old boys' team.  It was my first time coaching any sport, and was a trip.  Most of my players were 3 or 4 yrs old.  Having the attention of my boys was hard enough - try 10 of those little people.  It was fun and frustrating all in one.  Not only was it most of their first time with a team sport (except my boys), but their first time with any exposure to soccer.  My team ended up #1 in their age division, and I was such a proud coach!!! We only lost 1 game.  It was an enriching experience that I will probably continue to do as my kids play soccer.. Here's our team picture (and that of my boys):

Jas did well too - she loves soccer.  This is her second year playing.  Here is Jas with her team and her individual picture (that I took - I didnt have the professional photos yet):

It seems all our spring sports run into each other.. which is another reason why this time of year I don't blog much.  We spend nearly every day (while the sports overlap), going to practices or games, and trying to fit in our normal school and home activities.  Jas is in basketball and doing pretty well.  The coach says she has a good shot - now she needs to work on her plays and ball handling.  Here is Jas after  her first game - I love her retro looking hightops:

My boys have been begging for cowboy boots - so I finally gave in and got them some - check it out :

Leaving family matters and on to crafty stuff!!  I have been doing a boatload of crochet lately.. I feel like I have finally caught on to basic amigurumi and am ready to try more difficult pieces.  But I have to be honest with you.  With the amount of time involved in making these lovelies - I really don't forsee doing too many swaps with the more difficult ones.  My kids have already put in their orders and will be very upset if I don't get done with them soon :-)  So here is some crochet work I have done. Some of it is swap stuff, some is CAL (crochet along) stuff, some is just because stuff.. check it out:

Whew!! My hooks were on fiyah!!!

Done a little bit of jewelry this month too:

I have done a wee bit of drawing and altering.. This is a box for a valentine swap package - this originally was a shoe box:

This is for a moleskine exchange.  I am NOT a person/figure drawing artist.. but the theme of this moly required it - so I gave it a shot.  The theme is "the usual suspects" and obviously fairy tales were on my mind LOL:



I also did some zentangle inchies for an angel package on swapbot:



This is my spread in an altered book round robin.  This is my second round.  The first round was in my last post:



That's about the sum of things.  I am recooperating from soccer season and preparing for our new sports - although thankfully simply as a spectator and not as a coach.  I also have to get us ready to go to the tax preparer with our business and personal stuff.  I probably could do it myself, but I like having a professional looking things over.  I highly recommend it, if you can afford it.  It's a proven fact that the professionals get you more money back - especially if you itemize like we do.

We are also edging towards spring/summer and I am trying to get our school "year" wrapped up and look forward to what activities we will do as we lean away from the books and more towards hands on things (which is what we do this time of year).  This  Spring I hope to get some field trips in before it gets ungodly hot.  We have a wealth of museums and parks in our own backyard that I would like for us to explore.

Well that's it for my monthly update.  Until next time, much love and God bless!!