The good and the bad

So, there has been a lot of uproar in the world lately. Far away and close to home.

I have been having ups and downs here as well. Good and bad. I want to concentrate more on the good than the bad. Sometimes it's hard to take the high road and I don't always choose the right path. I am, after all, human and human emotions sometimes get in the way. I make mistakes and fall short more times then I want to admit. One thing I can fall back on is that I am forgiven.

Shawn and I are on the upswing with the job issue and the difficulties Shawn had when he wasn't working. His new job - almost 4 months in - is exactly what he needed and is so great at. He is an amazing boss and treats his employees so well. He's a hard nosed boss but teaches the right way to do things. I am so proud of him and happy that he has been placed exactly where he needs to be.

Olivia will be coming back home to finish her college degree at a university closer to home. We are happy that she chose to finish school in Maryland. She already has a full time job waiting for her and so many options for which school to go to. She wants to attend Towson State University.

I have still been having some memory issues. I play games to try and build up my short term memory. I have such a great long term memory that some people don't believe that I have memory problems. It's funny how people judge you when they don't understand your issues. I guess that's not something I should concern myself with. I know what happens to me, and so does my team of doctors.

I try really hard to be kind and nice to everyone. Sometimes people fool you and appear to be the same, but eventually the truth comes out. It takes a lot for me to end a friendship and usually I hang on longer than the other person, so when I dump someone, there is a real good reason. I have either seen something new, or the person shows their true nature. I really despise it when the person I dump tries to turn mutual friends or people in general against me. That's just not a good thing to put others in the middle of an issue. I have been placed in the middle of situations in the past and I know that it's not comfortable.

So, Friday Shawn's grandfather is turning 100. We are having a huge party for him. Nate and Naina are going to come for the night so they can attend the party, but Olivia has too much school work to do so she isn't making the drive. I think it will be a good evening. I'm actually going to buy a new dress to wear. UGH a dress. Shawn is buying me new jewelry to wear that will end up being an heirloom set. A necklace, earrings and a ring made from sterling silver and opal. I will post pix of it when he picks it up on Thursday.

Next Friday, Shawn will turn 50 and two days later Mariyah will turn 3. Lots of important birthdays coming up in the near future.

I have been keeping myself busy by making jewelry and taking beading classes. I am still tatting a little, but right now, I'm enjoying learning new beading techniques. I will always crochet, knit, tat, quilt and bead. I just like to switch up where my energy is going every once in a while.

So with all this being said - I am going back to making the bracelet that's sitting on my bead board.

It's been a year since.....

It's been a year and a day since my cousin's house burned down. One year since Braxton died and one year since Tiffany died. One year since Tre' was put in the hospital in critical condition. Tre' is out of the hospital and attending school on a part time basis. He has a lot of physical challenges right now, but his life is a miracle and he is an amazing boy. He misses his brother and sister. He has a hard life. He loves so hard and is a wonderful person.

On the same day as the fire, my son and his then fiancé (now wife), celebrated at their engagement party/blessing ceremony. The day was such a mix of emotions. I wanted to be happy for my son, but was so sad that our family was going through so much.

Olivia was a mess because Braxton was named after her and they were very close. That young man could do no wrong as far as she was concerned. His death hit her very hard. My daughter has dealt with many deaths in her 22 years of life but this one was one of the hardest things she has had to deal with. She still cries when she thinks of him. She still cries when someone talks of him. She still cries when she hears his name or sees his picture. I keep telling her that she will see him again when she gets to the gates of Heaven.

Braxton was a Christian and I know he is in Heaven. Olivia is a Christian and I know that she will go to Heaven when she leaves this earth. He will be there waiting to greet her and welcome her home.

The one think I like to say about those who have gone to Heaven before us is that we will see them "In the blink of an eye". Because to them, it will only seem like the blink of an eye. To us, it seems like we will never get to see them again and life just drags on.

I don't normally "preach" on my blog, but God has really put it on my heart to say this:
Not everyone will be in Heaven. Only those who accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior will get to enter the gates of Heaven.

I always hear people say of a loved one who died "They are in heaven looking down on you". "They are my guardian angel."

I'm sorry, but I don't believe that. I guess that people say that their loved ones are in Heaven to help them feel better. I'd rather know the truth. I know that a lot of my family members who have died will not be in Heaven.

I worry about people who are not believers. It scares me to know that people I love so much will not get to share eternity with me.

Ok, so I'm going to stop preaching now.

Braxton was a huge huge huge Seattle Seahawks fan. The coach of the team even sent the family a special video he recorded just before going out to coach the biggest game of his career. He said that Braxton was going to be with them during the game. What an amazing guy. I'm a lifelong Seahawks and Pete Carroll fan because of what he did.

This year they even printed Braxton's name on a list of fans who they lost in 2014.

Needless to say, I will be cheering for the Seahawks this year during the Super Bowl and wearing my jersey I got made in honor of Braxton. His football number was 16, but I got 11 put on my jersey because he was 11 when he died.

Nothing going on

Not much going on lately. Olivia is still home but will be leaving on Saturday for her next semester in college. It was an interesting month having her home.

It snowed here yesterday. We only got a few inches. The dogs loved playing in it, for about 10 seconds and then they were ready to come inside.

We also got the appraisal on the house done yesterday. I'm anxious to see what the house is worth. Refinancing is a pain in the rear, but my loan officer is a great friend so I know he will take care of us.

I've been doing a lot of beading lately. I have two loomed cuffs going right now.

I haven't started working on the quilts I want to get finished in 2015. It will happen. I feel like I will be abandoning some other crafts, though. I think I need a break from tatting right now. I've been taking a break for a while. I even am considering not going to the tatting conference in Fingerlakes NY this year. I know that I should go to see my friends and I always make a lot of money selling shuttles and thread, but I haven't been inspired to go yet. I'm sure I will soon. I don't even know what classes are going to be offered yet. There is no info posted about it yet on the Fingerlakes Tatters web site yet.

I think I'm just getting the blahs. I am sure I'll get over it.

I just finished a beaded fir tree

I just finished a beaded fir tree. The pattern is by Julia Pretl. I will be taking a class of hers at the end of January at my local bead store - Bead Soup.

Here is a picture of the tree.

 

 
It was so fun to make.
The pattern I will be working in January is for 3 beaded turtle boxes. They are so cute.

This weekend I will be doing another loom class given by Erin Simonetti. This time we will have 3 snowmen patterns to choose from.

The new year will bring me a desire to finish all the quilts I have in various stages of completion. I think there may be 10 or 12 that I need to finish. Lets see how far I get with them.

I also want to make sure I get my web site pumped up. I need to make some money to assist my family and this is the best way to be able to do it. I am going to start selling my beaded jewelry again. I used to have a business making jewelry so it will be fun to get that going again. I have a ton of designs that I can sell. I'm excited about getting things made.

I think I will be quite busy in 2015.

Well, going to get my crafting areas cleaned and organized to start the new year.

Merry Christmas

Just wanted to stop by to say Merry Christmas. It's just a few minutes before midnight.

I haven't been in the Christmas spirit for several years now. Shawn's dad passed away 8 years ago on the 20th of December. My dad passed the following November. I haven't wanted to celebrate a whole lot since then. This year I am hoping the day is better. Nate and Naina will be here about 2pm and we will open gifts, then cook dinner. They will stay the whole weekend. Yea. We are going to see the God Daughters on Friday and go into DC on Saturday to check out the museums.

It will be a fun time. We are going to make this a happy time and not have any stress.

Well back to making Christmas gifts. My job is never done.

I engraved some shuttles.

Spent the day engraving and listing some shuttles. I'm having fun with this new machine. I am really learning what it will do. I am also figuring out what type of pictures I can use to engrave and get the best results.

Here are a few of the shuttles I engraved today

 

 
I have learned what pictures definitely won't work. I have a ton of options to play with before I get the right ones.

Now I need to decide what else I can make with this machine. If only I could figure out how to cut with it.

I joined the Baltimore Bead Society last night

I don't know if I'm crazy or not, but last night I went to my first meeting with the Baltimore Bead Society. There was a Bead Bingo night and I had a blast. There were several people that I know there. We laughed so hard and had great conversation while playing bingo. None of us won, but we didn't care.

So this organization is a group of people who love to bead, do some charity work, and have fun. Annually they sponsor a program called Bead It Forward. It's a program that makes beaded quilts out of 1.5 X 1.5 tiles and auctions them off to help a cancer center in Wisconsin.

So I got a few patterns to make some tiles. This years theme is Animals - Wild about finding a cure. What a cool theme. I am going to make some tiles of elephants, horses, whales, peacocks, and a few more.

So, not much else has been going on. I am still purging stuff out of the house.

Christmas is almost here and I am still making gifts. I'm having fun with the ideas I have going on for the gifts.

Not much else going on.