Sanity

When I first started working in Houston, I made an agreement with my employer to work 80% (4 days a week) so I could have dedicated time to finish my dissertation. Once I finished my dissertation, I considered increasing my hours to full time. But another opportunity opened up in late spring. In May of last year I started working at The Grief Resource Center (TGRC) one day a week. That job has seriously helped me maintain my sanity here in Texas.

Ceramic hearts made by our participants and volunteers.

There are so many reasons that my one-day-a-week job is awesome. It is my first true opportunity to work with other counselors and helping professionals, which I missed more than I can describe. It has really helped me develop more of a community here so I don't feel as isolated. And the people - the people I work with are fabulous. It is such an affirming, positive place which is so good for my soul. Because of those people, it has also been a really supportive place for me when I've needed it. The final bit is that the work and the growth of the organization are challenging in new and fun ways.

One of the new challenges associated with TGRC is that we're trying to increase our business security and viability. We are currently in the process of starting a counseling program where before we were only providing support groups. As part of that process, I am going to transition over the next couple of months to full time at TGRC. I cannot describe how excited I am about this.

An image from our Silent Lights Remembrance Service this past winter.

Sometimes it's amazing how the timing of things seems to happen right when you most need it.

It's a new year thankfully

If life is a bit like seasons, this past year felt mostly like a damn cold winter. Yep, I said it. And dammit, we live in Houston. It's not supposed to feel like that! It's supposed to feel like this (and yes, this is one of the main reasons I tolerate living here):

I wrote a really really long post about all the crap that was a part of last year but I did that while I was feeling a high level of self-pity and decided it was mostly junk.

Wikipedia defines self-pity as "the psychological state of mind of an individual in perceived adverse situations who has not accepted the situation and does not have the confidence nor competence to cope with it." I would describe my self-pity as being tired, really freaking tired. Exhaustion does not lend well to coping.

Somewhat ironically, I had a wonderful conversation with a woman at work yesterday about self-pity. Her husband committed suicide sometime ago. We discussed how self-pity can be and is often a very helpful process but it can easily suck you in such a way that you are left in an unhealthy place. Thankfully, my self-pitying experience is over for now and left me with no permanent scars!

This past year was trying. Admittedly I like to see the bright side of things and be positive and I tried that for awhile. Sometime during the year a very dear friend told me that I don't always have to see the bright side of everything. She was right of course and I gave myself permission to work on owning the not-so-great feelings. Which meant that for a lot of the fall and winter I wasn't exactly happy. Naturally, I didn't really feel like writing about recipes or house decorating or what not. Hence the sparse blog updating.

While I struggled with (and continue to struggle with) some life things like purpose, career, etc, the primary theme of 2013 centered around medical issues. I have been more than lucky in my life as it relates to my health so this past year was a huge deviation from my normal. Suffice it to say, I can confidently recommend a good number of specialists if you ever find yourself in Houston and in need of some sort of physician-specialist. But as of right now, things are pretty good, so no worries on that front.

That's a brief update. My plan is to actually blog more - I even have another post in the works. I'm also hoping to have some photos of the bathroom to share next week. We're in the process of finishing things like molding and other finishing stuff that honestly really sucks. Here's to hopefully completing this thing for good this weekend!!! :)  I cannot express to you how much I would like to walk through my bathroom and not see a hammer, a drill, various small construction items, a shop vac, etc littering the path and counter.

And because the post has a lot of words, here are some fun photos (to me at least).

The only decorating we did for the holidays and I might leave them up all year.

This is what happens when the husband is out of town.

Keeping me company while I was sick.

The didn't sit perfectly for long.

She wanted to join us up front during the drive to North Carolina.

The third year

I mentioned in my last post that I felt like the husband and I finally hit our stride in this third year in Texas and we really have in so many ways. Professionally speaking, I have a ridiculous amount of stuff going on right now - which is all very very good and requiring a bit of an adjustment on our part!

• About a month ago I was asked to assist the administration of our department with various activities. I have been involved in different aspects of running the department and our medical clinic. It has been a nice addition to the work I am currently involved in, which at times can be really monotonous. It has also been challenging in a completely new way because I am primarily involved in finance and management activities of which I have no experience. I am really loving the challenge of it and grateful for the change of pace!
• At about the same time, I was offered the program director position at The Grief Resource Center (TGRC) where I volunteered for a few months this spring. I accepted the position and officially started two weeks ago. TGRC was hit pretty hard in the recession and right now I am only working one day a week with them. With several efforts in the works to increase their income, the hope is that I am able to add more days next year.
• Of course, I still have my main job, which accounts for 80% of my time. I will be promoted to faculty as of July 1! This is really exciting for many reasons but I'm especially psyched about getting an office! One other bonus of being promoted to faculty is that I am now able to participate in grants at the faculty level and I have been written into a new grant as a co-investigator and the project evaluator (stats stuff). As far as grant/university work goes, that is a great step for me.
• In addition to those experiences, I have been offered one other position that is based on grant funding. We just heard last week that the department received the funding and so I should know more about what that might mean for me soon.

Describing all of that makes my head spin a little. After what felt like a really long period of uncertainty and an experience in a job that is less than fulfilling, things are finally moving in the right direction. With any change, it has also been a little challenging. After two and half years of the same schedule, adding lots of hours all at once has resulted in a little bit of chaos at our house! But we're making it work and I think things will start to settle down in the next few weeks just in time for us to start the bathroom remodel! Oh goodness! :)

Life

Lately life has been different than maybe what we expected. While I may not know much about what lies ahead of us, I do know that I am really and truly grateful for the people who travel that road with me.

Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky in my life. Today I am feeling extremely grateful for these things (in no particular order):

• My deeply caring friends and I don't mean that in some trite way - they really are super awesome people who make me feel so very loved and cared for.

• My husband. He. Is. Amazing. Period. (no worries - we have our fair share of bickering over household stuff, etc, but he is still amazing)

• My parents, who would graciously give up all that they have in this world for me and my brother.

• Honey, who reminds me daily how to face life's challenges with grace and love (and fun).

• My crazy dogs who, despite being super neurotic, love me unconditionally and seem to know when I need that love the most (i.e., for the moment I need them, they forgo doing things like throwing up after eating their food too fast - thank you Gracie for waiting until 5:45 am today to that)

 

• My husband's family and the relationships they have with him and us. I got super lucky on this one.

Currently

My lapses in blogging usually mean I have a lot on my mind. When I have a lot on my mind writing about house stuff seems so unimportant. Somewhat tangentially, I really like our house and working on it but I really actually despise decorating and I kinda suck at it and it's super expensive. If anyone wants to visit and decorate for me, please feel free! :)

Anywho I thought I would update on life right now with a list of randomness. Enjoy.

• I miss my people. 
• Women are awesome and often struggle with things and never tell one another - why do we do that?
• I am super energized by the work I'm doing at the grief center here and it makes me realize how much I miss counseling, supervising counselors and teaching counselors. 
• One of the things I miss the most is having awesome intellectual conversations with other counselors and educators. 
• I was super lucky to go to awesome masters and doc programs where I met and learned with even more awesome people.
• I miss that.
• I'm going to the national counseling conference this month and I'm excited!
• Next month I get to hang out with my mom in Baltimore and I'm excited about that too!
• I'm on a granola kick and make a ton every few weekends. My go to recipe is here but I of course switch out stuff depending on what I have in the pantry. I usually use almonds instead of pistachios (which are awesome but expensive), no coconut b/c the husband dislikes it, and dried cherries or cranberries instead of apricots.

• We're going to remodel our bathroom this year (probably) and hopefully we don't kill each other in the process.
• As part of that remodel we are considering replacing the carpet in our bedroom with laminate that matches the laminate in our house.
• I hate that laminate. And it has spots on that look suspiciously like roaches. Who designs floors with roach-looking spots?
• We have so much of the laminate in our house, it would be too cost prohibitive to replace it so we're stuck with it. Sad.

 That's it for now!

The finale

You could probably call graduation the finale of my education. The weekend of graduation was full of celebrating the end of my educational career (ha) plus an early Christmas with my family. On our way to Winston we were fortunate to catch dinner with some of our NC friends in Raleigh - definitely a nice way to start the weekend.

Graduation took place on Thursday. We celebrated with a light lunch at Natty Green's afterward, followed by dinner at 4th Street Filling Station in Winston. It was all fantastic and I'm so lucky to have had the opportunity to celebrate throughout the day with family and friends.

The Saturday after graduation we had our family Christmas celebration.

Per tradition, we started out with a "Christmas Eve" dinner at Honey's where shenanigans occurred.

And then we celebrated "Christmas Day" with brunch at my parents' house.

As usual, my parents and family were extremely generous with gifts. For me, the showstopper of the bunch is the Roomba!!! (Yes, I am super excited about a vacuum) And it is awesome people - freakin awesome. I cannot express to you how much I'm loving that thing - it is handling our dog hair problem like a champ. The dogs' opinions are a little mixed. Gracie doesn't seem to even notice it exist. The one exception is when it wakens her from a nap at which point she relocates to another room. Shadow on the other hand is handling it like her usual self - she currently finds it somewhat alarming (and thus deserving of a few good barks) but once she gets used to it she'll be fine!

It was a packed few days but so worth it!

Yay for today!

It's my birthday! :)

Really, though, yay for today because I am one step closer to being completely done with school! I received the official feedback from the graduate school today on my dissertation submission. I have a few minor edits to make and will be submitting it today for a well-timed happy birthday to myself present! :)

In the spirit of that, here is a section from my acknowledgements. And I just wanted to say that while I could not address all of the amazing people in my life who have supported me through the years, if you're reading this, you are probably one of those people. So THANK YOU! :)

            I never imagined the process of writing my dissertation would take me several years and would be written primarily in a state far from North Carolina. While writing my dissertation has not been what I imagined, I am grateful for the process it became and the knowledge I gained. I could never and would never have made it this far had I not had so many amazing people on my team. I am a sports lover at heart and this metaphor – of my team – has truly helped me stay centered throughout this process.

My team begins with my family. My parents have always said I can do anything I put my mind to. As I have gone through life I have recognized the limits of this - I am positive I cannot be a professional singer even if I worked really hard at it – however, this go-get-‘em attitude has kept me focused and helped me hold on when I wanted to give up. I am so grateful for my mother’s fierce dedication to her children, her determination, and her unfaltering love; my father’s encouragement, long conversations over soccer, and unwillingness to follow the “status quo;” and my brother’s compassion, loyalty, and love for his big sister. I have also been so lucky to have an amazing extended family that has helped me, some in ways they will never know. My grandmother, Honey, is the epitome of a strong southern woman and I am grateful for her humor, love, and cooking. My late grandfather, Pa, instilled in me the importance of simplicity and patience. Grandmother and Grandfather Hodges taught me the importance of hard work and following your passions, whether those involved chemistry, flying, or sewing.

Throughout my life I have been fortunate to meet so many fabulous women, all of whom have helped me in one way or another through this process. It began in middle school when I met Jenny, my first and now longest friend. While we may have started out as awkward middle school students - wearing horse and wolf t-shirts and worrying about zits and boys - our friendship has grown into one of constant support and love. She is an amazing woman and I am lucky to have shared so many years of friendship with her. Then there are the women from North Carolina State University, especially Jenn and Melissa, who have seen me through years of school and amazingly maintained enough patience for the loss of perspective that comes with educational processes like these to work at being my friend even when I could not. Thank you for that – I cannot express how much it means to me. Through those years of education, I have met even more amazing and dear friends. At Wake Forest it was a love of the same music that led to my friendship with Betsy. Her beautiful spirit and calming presence encourage me to be a better me every day. It was also at Wake Forest where I met Laura, at the time a professor and mentor, and now a friend. Her compassion for others, gentleness with students, passion for counseling and way of living provide me with continual inspirational.

            The final step in my educational journey led me to a cohort with nine other women - nine incredibly unique and strong women who have all left a piece of their strengths with me. It was a difficult three years (or more) together and I know that it would never have been bearable without you all. Thank you especially to Metoka, who endured my anxieties through Wake Forest and UNCG, and who has an amazing way of helping me maintain perspective. I will remember my time at UNCG fondly, largely because of Holly, my partner in crime, neighbor and friend. I cannot imagine making it through that program without her and I am extremely grateful for our friendship.

While at UNCG, my path crossed with those of many other students and faculty who were instrumental in helping me maintain perspective and ultimately succeed. I was fortunate to be assigned the same graduate student office as Adria and Carla – both of whom made late days of work so much fun. In addition, their knowledge, as students ahead in the process, was instrumental in keeping me sane. Amazingly, Adria still has that ability today and I am grateful for our quick get-togethers, even when infrequent. I am also grateful for the supervisors I had at UNCG. As an introvert, supervision was a comfortable and safe space for me to learn about myself as a person and as a counselor.  Thank you Patty for your consistent support, encouragement and challenges throughout the years. Thank you Dr. Young and Dr. Mobley – your passion for the art of counseling is evident in your supervision and I am a better counselor and person because of that.

            Moving to Texas in the middle of a dissertation is less than ideal. I often felt disconnected and alone in my struggle to finish. I am grateful to my friend and fellow North Carolina transplant, Jennifer, for helping me maintain perspective, giving me necessary breaks, and reminiscing about North Carolina with me.

While I am so very fortunate to have amazing family, friends, and mentors, I remain the most grateful for my husband, Chip, who has endured every step of this process with me. For most of our relationship I have been in school; first a master’s program and then a doctoral program. Through it all he has maintained the steadiness and support that I have needed. He also pushed when I needed it, even when I may not have appeared or acted appreciative of that pushing. Beyond his support of my education and ultimately my dreams, he is a true match for me - the only one I can imagine putting up with my simultaneous need for independence and closeness, the only one who will listen to my counseling babbling at length, and the only one who loves me in such a selfless and complete way. Thank you for all of that and so much more.

Whether you call those who love and support you a family, a village, or a team – I firmly believe it is those relationships that create a life of meaning and purpose. Thank you to each and every one of you who are on my team.

Those times

Warning: Strong opinions regarding marriage equality follow. If you think that might ruffle your feathers, I would recommend coming back another day! Thanks!

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You know those times when you read something and it so beautifully states exactly how you feel about something?

One of the blogs I follow (and to be real, I also follow his instagram, etc) is Jason Hudson's These Roving Eyes.

He wrote a post in August that really touched me. And then he posted it again today. It so perfectly states how I feel about marriage equality. In The Ones I Love, Brian and Chris, Jason artfully describes how marriage creates a new family and how such a special life event should be a right afforded all people. I liked it so I'm sharing it.

P.S. Canadians are pretty awesome in a lot of ways. Just saying.

Done

Well folks the whole school thing is finally nearing the end for me. After too many years to admit, I successfully defended my dissertation this past Friday! :) I am officially a doctor! Yay!

I had some serious support from a ton of people over the past few years and it truly did make a difference to know that so many friends and family were on my team, as I like to say. So, THANK YOU, to those of you who read the blog. You may not realize it but the comments and smiles and patience really mean the world to me! :) You are all so awesome!!

Graduation is in a little over a month. I have a few things to finalize between now and then but otherwise I'm done! In a very special turn of events, I will be graduating with my dear friend from the doc program! She was such an instrumental part of my years in the program and I am so excited that we can share the last step together!

As for the blog, I'm slowly getting back into a somewhat normal life with time on the weekends for things other than writing. My head is no longer (completely) full of dissertation-related thoughts and worries. I'm excited to dedicate that energy to other things in my life and as a result, I should have more to blog about!

One week

One week from today I will be in Greensboro, NC. In a medium-sized conference room. I'll be super nervous but in a good way. I will stand up and, with a PowerPoint as an aid, I will share the results of my dissertation study. My committee will be there and maybe a few others. After my presentation and answering questions from those in attendance, I will have the final meeting with my committee. During this meeting, they will provide any last feedback on my process and then, hopefully, agree that this is it. That I am done.

Dissertation Defense Seminar: October 26, 2012 9am.

When I'm really busy

I developed a strange coping mechanism over the past few years. It seems that the uncertainty and lack of control involved in writing a dissertation (and getting a PhD) has caused me to cope by daydreaming about projects around the house. Yes, I actually day dream about work - just work I have complete control over! :)

While I work really hard to finish up this school thing, I've been daydreaming about the following:

1. An organized pantry
2. Overhauling the kitchen and re-organizing the whole thing
3. The master bathroom remodel that hopefully will begin next year
4. Completing the painting in our home
5. Sewing - curtains, pillows, etc

The husband and I plan to come up with another priority list of to-do's around the house in the next week or so. That way we can pick the most appropriate ones for Thanksgiving and Christmas since we have more time over those holidays to get stuff done.

And we should know a lot more about the master bathroom situation after Christmas  because my awesome SIL and BIL offered to help us with the plans. They are both architects and are in the process of remodeling their home in Philly (and doing a kick-ass job). I'm excited to have some professional help and grateful they offered!

I will also be back on the blog train soon as school stuff will slow down in the next few weeks. T-minus 1 month until defense - October 26 is the date. Eek!

It's semi-official

As I start a weekend of writing (I'm hoping to complete a rough draft of my last chapter), I thought it appropriate to share a little update:

I applied for graduation this week. Eek!!!

You would think that applying for graduation is a bigger deal than hitting a submit button three times on the website. Nope - easy peasy. (also, for those wondering, I can apply to graduate as many times as I want so it doesn't mean it's a done deal quite yet)

Now, if only it would be that easy to finish chapters 4 and 5 and defend! :) If you have any to spare, I could use all the crossed fingers, and thoughts, and whatever else over the next 7 weeks or so! Thanks! :)

Compartmentalizing

Compartmentalizing is a counseling term that means separating ideas in your mind. It can be both positive and less-than-helpful. I like to think of it as taking thoughts and putting them in different 'boxes' in your mind so they might be more easily managed. However, it is what I tend to lean on when things are emotionally challenging - putting thoughts away that may bring up strong emotions. And is apparently what I did for the first couple of weeks after my grandfather died.

My 'boxes' have failed me recently though. Or maybe I'm more ready to grieve a little now that things have quieted a bit for me at home and in my heart and mind. Either way, I've found the last two weeks or so to be more challenging, and me more sad.

I ran out of tissues at work a few months ago but haven't bothered to bring in a new box. And so last week when I felt a bit sad and couldn't harness the tears, I had to reach for tissues in my purse. They were the tissues my mom gave me for the funeral. I don't use tissues frequently and so it seems that I've only used these tissues for Pa, once or twice a week, usually alone at work or in the car.

Then this past weekend we went to a wedding. Now most of you know I love a wedding. However, this wedding wasn't quite the same for me. It was the wedding of one of the husband's cousins and was the first time I had been a part of a family gathering (albeit my family by marriage). I was of course so very happy for the couple and their friends and family but also very sad. The last time I was with my family was when Pa died and the next time I will see my family will be my cousin's wedding in September. And then, as if my poor compartmentalizing skills weren't failing me enough, at the reception I was seated across the table from the only grandparents at the event - directly across from the groom's grandfather. I was surprised at how emotion this brought up. This grandfather was older and appeared to be experiencing some memory lapses along with some significant pain at times. In his discomfort and pain I could only see the discomfort and pain that Pa experienced his last day. In this world where we often strive for uniqueness and success, I am struck by how similar our lives all begin, and then end. 

There are of course times when I smile at the thought of Pa, sharing an encouraging word or, even more likely, giving Honey a hard time. He would say "Mother" in this way that could communicate more than any sentence. And though I do smile at these thoughts,  it doesn't seem to ease the sadness right now. But I suppose with time it will. And I hope it does for each of my dear family members as well.

What can you say

It's been another busy week. I'm behind on everything and in the midst of that, I got a migraine that knocked me out for a day. Nice. Oh well. All of that is to say that I don't have any interesting post today (or this week). But here are some random ramblings from my brain.

I got teary-eyed thinking about the nonsense in NC this week. I know, I'm one of THOSE bleeding heart liberals. (I will spare you any further discussion on this topic)

I've had two people ask me for help/advice this week. That seems strange to me, mainly because I wonder if I'm adult enough yet to give advice. As a counselor, I don't much believe in advice giving but here's a part of what I said to one of those people:

"I believe that we get to a point in our lives where we realize, sometimes regretfully, that we have made all the decisions that have gotten us where we are now and we have to live with that. Realizing and coming to terms with our decisions is I think one of the biggest challenges we each face in life. For me, I currently feel a bit hopeless with job stuff – I’ve worked very hard (but often not hard enough) to get done with a PhD that I’ve not finished still. I often don’t want to think about all the decisions I made to get me to this point but that’s the reality of the situation. So I say to myself, there are two ways to approach this but it is my decision: 1) I can choose to be unhappy and stay immobile in this current space, or 2) I can choose to work hard to get where I want to be. And this is what I try to do everyday. But it is an everyday, almost every minute, decision to move forward and to give myself credit when its due. This is where I find I need support and help. I seek counseling; and I work to be very honest, with myself and others, because if people don’t love me for my true self, then they do not belong in my life. Goodness knows I dislike being honest with myself sometimes but it is that clarity in your life which will help you move forward. 

And so here is the part where I guess I try to give you advice, although I still don’t feel wise enough to do so. Know yourself and love yourself. We ALL make mistakes, you may not recognize them in others b/c you’re used to beating yourself up which brings me to the next point. Learn to recognize your strengths and learn to fall back on those when you face tough times. When I start to feel hopeless about work, I say, I am good at teaching – my students over four semesters told me each time – I KNOW I can do this. When you begin to truly believe in yourself, other things will fall into place. Seek a counselor who you are comfortable with – I cannot express to you how helpful it has been for me to be surrounded by counselors over the years and to have been in counseling myself.

Last but not least, learning to trust yourself and making changes in your life takes great patience. I know because I struggle with this daily and I see so many of my friends struggle with this as well. Write down your goals, and make realistic plans with dates to achieve them. Then, be patient – with yourself and with others - while you work to attain these goals. Nothing comes fast enough but know that if you do a little each day, one day those goals will be in the past and you will be on to bigger and better things."

An update on that which is rarely spoken of

Sorry for the huge radio silence here at the messes blog. The blog has received little attention in the past few weeks because of school stuff. I had my dissertation proposal seminar last Tuesday. With the preparation for that, I've been unable to devote much time to anything else.

The whole dissertation and PhD thing is kind of confusing so I thought I would give an update on where I am in the process.

Last week was a big milestone. In my department, you write three chapters of the dissertation (introduction, literature review, and methodology) and complete a pilot study before proposing. At the proposal seminar, you present your pilot data to the faculty of the department and receive feedback. That is what I did last week. And it went well! It feels great to know that the work I've done on this has resulted in some progress.

The next steps are to make any changes (recommended during the seminar) to my research study, complete a full study, analyze the data and write a chapter on the results and a chapter discussing all of that mess.

I don't often speak (write) about what this process has been like for me because it has felt like one of my greatest disappointments (maybe even on the verge of failure). Everyone including myself expected that I would finish in three years and every month since then has seen a little bit more of my confidence dwindle away. I have become abundantly aware of the fact that often this process has nothing to do with me and that I have no control over any of it, which has only made this so much worse.

Proposing this past week gave me back a little of what I've lost over these years. I am so relieved to be one more step further along in this process. In many ways I feel so much better. The weight of this process has diminished a bit. I have renewed confidence in myself and in my ability to finally finish this thing.

I am so very grateful for the support from the few who knew in advance. Sometimes I'm a little superstitious and felt like if I told everyone it wouldn't happen or I would fail. So, I apologize for not putting it out there but with the way this process has gone, I needed luck on my side!

I'm glad to be back and I'll be sure to update you more often here!

Thanksgiving is for

Turkey!

Well, that, and a general reminder to be thankful for those things that we sometimes forget. So as a reminder to myself to be more thankful, here is a short list of some of the things for which I'm thankful.

1. Our dogs, even the one that tends to be a little snooty at times
2. Living in a place where the highs are still in the 70's and 80's in November (and December probably too)
3. The katrillion opportunities I've had, especially as it relates to education and work experiences
4. The grace, beauty, intelligence, ferocity and most of all patience (b/c I am TERRIBLE at keeping in touch) of the women I call friends
5. The women I met through my masters and doc programs - they have all touched my life in meaningful ways and I absolutely love seeing how they continue to be shining examples of humanity in a world where there seems to be less and less
6. Memories - I often remember laughs, I think because they can be one of the most genuine expressions and I love having a memory of a laugh from a dear friend or family member - it surely brings a smile on any day
7. Children, especially all of the new little ones that will soon starting calling dear friends 'mama' or 'dada'
8. My parents - thank you for talking with me, listening to me, and always being there for me
9. Change
10. My sweet husband, who is both supportive and challenging (although I am not always thankful for this in the moment, generally it works out for the best, you know, so that we don't have a chicken coop in our backyard or insert any other hairbrained idea of mine - sometimes I don't think all the way through my wonderful ideas) (an aside to this aside, we are not allowed chicken coops in our neighborhood which is the only reason why his challenge on this front is helpful)

I could do this for awhile because I am grateful for so many things but I won't bore you any further. Enjoy your family and friends on this holiday!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Halloween crafts

I managed to fit in a teensy bit of crafting over the past three weeks - just enough that we had all of our Halloween decorations up for 3 whole days!  At least they will be ready to go next year and you better believe I'm going to put them out October 1!

I wanted to be a bit more festive this year so I made a Boo sign, paper pumpkins, and paper bats. Since I shopped so late in October, I also snagged a cheapo faux spider web. I think it all turned out pretty well and was all accomplished over a few nights in front of the tv.

 

The husband found a stencil on the Baltimore Ravens website and carved the pumpkin. Afterward he said he understood why I didn't want to carve a pumpkin! :)

The bats were based on a good old Martha tutorial and were a big pain to make because I did not buy large enough paper. You almost need poster board to get the really big ones. Oh well.

The Boo sign was based on this idea but I modified it by spraying the letters with leftover black spray paint and I mixed some orange paint to flick over the letters. I also picked up discounted ghosts and spiders and painted these before gluing them to the letters. Add a little string and done. Really quite easy.

The pumpkins were based on this tutorial and were also easy. I'm not a huge holiday decoration kinda gal but I wanted a little something to add around the house and I think these did the trick.

I got a little lazy on tying bows so I knotted the ends of some - you can't tell from further away and it was way easier! :)