Make it Personal

I have wanted a Cricut paper cutting machine for a while now and finally got one on sale!  I have been having so much fun crafting since then, that I thought I'd start making gifts to sell.  I'm adding some pictures and you can check out my facebook web page (Make it Personal Custom Gifts) to see all of the projects that I've tackled.
 https://www.facebook.com/messages/150802432#!/pages/Make-it-Personal-Custom-Gifts/243305952399270
Prices are listed on the facebook page under each picture's description.  Most any design/font/monogram can be put on any piece of glassware.
I'd be more than happy to try something if you're looking for something that's not listed!
You can e-mail any orders and/or questions to makeitpersonal.orders@gmail.com

Her True Self

Over the past two weeks we've been getting to know our sweet Daisy Mae.  After a few days she got comfortable to show us her true self... and John describes her perfectly when he calls her "Wild Child!"  She is still a sweet sweet girl, but we've come to understand that when she first meets someone she appears like this:

                                                        Calm... Quiet...Easy Going...

BUT once she gets to know you, she turns into this:

Wild Thing!

Here's some recent pictures of her for your enjoyment!

                                        Showing off her new sweater from Aunt Melinda!

She's got a thing for my feet

Daisy's new favorite toy - a sqeaky ornament from Aunt Melinda! Please check out the stitching... she has torn it to pieces! I've already had to restitch a couple of seams and it's not even been a full week!

I told you she has a thing for my feet...

And it's a hard to convince her to part with my house shoes once she gets ahold of them!

 Peeking out from the top of her crate

Sweet Miss Daisy Mae

John and I have been talking about getting a puppy for a long time now.  Being a nurse has scheduling perks for sure.  3 12's a week and I'm done!  However, since John works a typical Monday through Friday job and I keep odd hours, I wanted a companion.  Also, I came home a couple of times to find the balcony door standing open.  We got another chain lock to put on it because we think the handle lock wasn't catching and the pressure from closing our main door opened up the balcony door.  However, even though we fixed the problem, I still haven't been sleeping that well most days since then because every little sound makes me think someone is breaking in and I wake up!  I decided that if we had a dog that could at least alert me if someone was trying to get in I'd feel better, not to mention sleep better!  I did a lot of research on different small hypoallergenic breeds and had a few in mind.  We've been looking on Craigslist and at the shelters around us, but I'm extremely picky and also a bargain shopper!  John wanted to get me a puppy for Christmas and almost got me one on Christmas Eve, but I talked him out of it... and I'm so glad that I did!  Christmas Day I check Craigslist and found a 10 week old Lhasa Apso for sale.  Everything I have read about this breed was good!  They're hardy little dogs that shed very little, and aren't usually hyper.  They were originally bred in Tibet to be guard dogs for the temple.  They aren't yappy, and only bark when something suspicious or unusual happens.  This is exactly what I was looking for!  Not to mention this puppy was ADORABLE!  I texted the person who put out the ad and got some information, but they were asking more than I wanted to pay.  I tried to put that sweet puppy out of my mind, but I found myself revisiting the Craigslist ad over and over! The next morning I saw that the ad had been removed, so I sent another text asking if she was still available.  They said yes, so I asked if they would be willing to take a little over half of what they were asking, and they said no.  I figured that would be my answer, but I had to try!  A couple of hours later they came back and said that I could have her for the price I had offered if I could come get her that day... So I asked John about it and he said YES!!  We went and got our sweet little miss Daisy Mae and headed right over to Petsmart to get her bathed and groomed and pick up all our puppy essentials!  Every time we walked past the grooming window there were people looking at our sweet little lady in the window and ooing and ahhing over her.  Then everyone that we walked past on the way out had to lover on her a little!  She's just so irresistible!!  She's super laid back and fits right into our little family so well! She'll follow us around to make sure that she knows exactly what's going on.  She's also super quiet!  The only time I've heard anything out of her was when I put her in timeout for almost making a mess on the carpet.  She made the most pitiful little bark/cry as if to say "I'm sorry!"  I think she's already about got John wrapped around her little paw.  He got down on the floor and played with her, then when he was playing video games he put her up on the couch with him and she went and snuggled up next to his leg.  He even apologized to her when he got overly excited about his game and scared her!  I can't even begin to describe how cute she is, so I'll let the pictures do my talking for me!

Sweet Girl

 The poor thing was so worn out from her long day

 Peeking around the bookshelf to make sure we were still there when she woke up!

 She loves that blanket!

 And she apparently loves the boots that I got for Christmas so much that she claimed them for her own!

It's a White Christmas!

This year we woke up to a white Christmas!  It was one of those perfect snows where everything is white, but the roads were still clear.

Early Christmas morning we headed over to my parent's house to open presents with my Mom, Dad, sister, and Grandma. Then we headed to John's parent's for brunch and presents with his brother, sister, thier spouses, and our neice, Sophie. She was too cute opening all her presents... and even stealing a few prsents that weren't hers!!  That afternoon we headed back to my parent's house for an early dinner and it was so yummy!  It was a long day, but so fun seeing everyone's reaction to the gifts we'd picked for them and had been sitting under our tree for so long.  It was also nice to recieve gifts.  We took a carload of gifts out... and brought a carload back, too!  I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Learning Adult Lessons

Some lessons I've learned since entering the world of adulthood:

1. Sometimes it's the simple things that make the biggest differences. 

I've seen so many instances of this.  John cleaning the apartment one day while I was at work may seem like simple a nice gesture to anyone else, but to me it was HUGE!  I was happier with that than flowers and a fancy dinner!  My latest adventure in finding the joy of simplicity is our curtain experience.  I had mentioned that I'd like to have curtains, but not really acted on it.  I had browsed through a couple of stores and looked online, but was never so wowed with anything that I had to have it.  One night about two weeks ago I was mentioning to John that I just wasn't sure the vision of curtains I had in my head even existed and that I feared we would have to be curtain-less forever.  He suggested that we go to Bed Bath and Beyond to check out their selection and possibly use our $25 coupon - courtesy of Megan, one of my college roommates and nursing school friends using us as a wedding registry referral :).  We headed over to the BB&B down the street. and low and behold... there was my vision!  After bringing them home and John spending forever putting them up (making sure the rod was perfectly level and that the curtains brushed, without laying on the floor) I took a step back and gasped - our little apartment had finally become a home!  Such a simple thing to bring me such happiness!

Not the best picture of my beautiful, magical, home-creating curtains... but it will do!

The curtains have also lead to my second adult lesson:

2. Everything costs money!  Even the simple little things... and lots of times, they cost a lot more money than you imagined!

Mom and I experienced recurring instances of sticker shock throughout the wedding planning process.  I blamed it on the wedding industry and moved on... until after the wedding when those sticker shock instances kept happening with every shopping trip!  We needed food.  Groceries are crazy expensive, even when using coupons and all the great discounts Kroger offers!  I feel so proud of a penny saved - and I always save many pennies on our Kroger trips, but it's still a lot of money!  I was given 2 Kroger gift cards as wedding presents.  At the time I had no idea how precious those were and wrote a standard thank-you card.  I appreciated the gift, but I didn't have any idea how relieved I would be to have those gift cards a few months down the road!  I am now considering writing the givers of the golden cards  second thank-you notes now that I can truly appreciate their beauty!

3. I have always loved being in the kitchen, but it wasn't until entering adulthood that I realized my passion for it. 

I am so thankful to have a career in which I can work three nights a week.  This allows me 4 glorious days a week to plan a menu and cook away!  One of my newest loves is the pioneer woman.  Check her out here: www.thepioneerwoman.com.  I hope you will love her also.  My favorite section of her site is "The Pioneer Woman Cooks".  She has scrumptious recipes and takes a picture of every step of the cooking process so you never have to wonder "is this supposed to look like this?"  Love it!  I channeled my inner pioneer woman and took pictures of some of my most recent pioneer woman endeavors:

Orange Zest Muffins with Orange/Brown Sugar Glaze

Penne a la Betsy (Penne Pasta with a chopped Shrimp and Tomato Cream Sauce - YUMM!!)
with a side of Garlic Cheese Bread
*Both dishes made from scratch in less than 45 minutes!


This meal led to lesson #4




4. When cooking for only two people, most recipes should be halved or quartered.  I'll let the picture speak for itself.

Why yes, this is just the leftovers.  Welcome to our lunches for the next two weeks!



I'm sure there will be many more lessons learned along the way.  I really look forward to reading this a year or so down the road and saying things like "remember when I made enough food to feed an army and we weren't even having company over?"  Or "remember when we spent entirely too much money on curtains, but they made me so happy once you hung them up that I couldn't even breathe?"  I absolutely love my life and all the blessings that we know we have, and all the blessings that we are beginning to realize we have.  God certainly has had, and does have a plan for our young marriage, and I am so excited to discover the rest of this amazing journey!

Ashley is 15!

Fifteen years ago today my baby sister was born.  I was eight years old and just happy to get to miss a day of school without being sick!  At 3- something in the afternoon Ashley made her appearance.  She had some respiratory issues and sounded like a little mewing kitten - one of the rare moments of quiet since she came into this world!  It's hard to believe that the tiny baby in the NICU, who turned into the crazy blonde ball of energy wreaking havoc on the formerly peaceful Smith household, has transformed into a beautiful young Christian woman whom the state of Tennessee sees as of age and responsible enough to man a vehicle (with the closer supervision of an adult over the age of 21, of course)!  Happy birthday Ashley!!

Home Sweet Apartment!

The day before the wedding Baptist Hospital NICU called to offer me a job! YAY!  So as soon as we left the honeymoon the great apartment search of 2010 began.  We spent one day looking and found the perfect place for us in Cool Springs.  Here's a little peek for those of you who haven't made it up!