Perspective

I'm sitting here in bed perusing blogs and quite enjoying the fact that there are a bunch of boys sleeping in my living room and therefore keeping me from doing my chores. Ben has a few friends over for a fun filled weekend of hunting, BBQ and of course super smash bros. The rain has put a damper on the first two but definitely not the later. Anyway, as I'm sitting here relaxing for the first time in quite a while I was feeling thoughtful. My boss loves to say "It's all about Perspective" and you know what, he is SO RIGHT! Perspective influences everything in your life. I look back over the last month and I feel like I lost it a little bit. In this holiday season it is way too easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle. I now understand why my mom always kept it as simple as possible. It's a much better way to do things. So when you lose perspective, how do you get it back? How do you get your head back in line with reality? I feel like I'm back in a place of sanity but how did I get here? I realized it's not just one thing. It's a few different things. So here's a list of things I think helped me get my perspective back.

1. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: bringing my burdens to him is something I have to do constantly. I try to bear them myself and always fail. This do it yourself girl has to get it through her head that it's a lot better to pass them off. What freedom it gives you!

2. Movie nights with my husband: It's something we've done since we started dating. We rent a movie (now netflix) grab a simple dinner and just veg out on the couch. Sometimes it's just the ticket we both need. Just to be together doing nothing at all but enjoying each others company with a movie. (however good or bad it is)

3. Running: I know I'm just a nerd like that. This rain has been killing me but when I get to go out, it's like therapy. Just going out and running however fast I want, destresses me and helps me think about things with a clear head.

4. Making things: I guess I've always known that I like to create things but maybe I've just never said it in words. Maybe defining it has helped me realize how true it is. My dad builds custom cabinets and as a kid I loved getting scraps and trying to build things. Now that I'm older I still would love to be able to do that but I also have come to enjoy sewing and crafts. I guess I can thank my dad for the love of creating things and thank him for always letting me glue random stuff together in the shop.

5. Great family and friends: Thinking about my family and friends I was a little overwhelmed on how absolutely blessed I am. Not only do I love and have a great relationship with my own immediate family, I am lucky enough to have great in-laws that have welcomed me with open arms and treat me like their own daughter. I have made some great friends since moving here and they have been such and encouragement to me and in my new life. They've been there when it was hard and are a constant inspiration to try new things and live life to the fullest.

6. Now you might laugh at this one: My puppies. I love them very dearly but that's not why they're on here. They are always happy to see you and love you unconditionally. If only that kind of attitude came naturally to me! How much happier would we all be if we were always excited to see others and treated them with love? I know it's cheesy but it really struck a chord with me the other day.

As I look over the last week and how much more level-headed I feel, I realize all of these things had a major part in how I feel today. So I want to remember it, and hopefully remember all these wonderful things I've learned. So like Michael J. Fox says I'm going to "choose to be happy" and not forget the reason for the season. I bet if I am mindful of all these things it will be the best Christmas yet!

Neglect

Yes, I have been neglecting my blog. This December crept up on me see fast and I got blindsided. I started wayyyyyy to late on all my Christmas crafts and had parties and weddings.....I got overwhelmed. So I'm catching up. Have no fear. I have been taking pictures of what I have been up to.

First another apron for another friend getting married....I know, the story of my life this year.




Christmas Tree!

We decided to try a new spot this year. Last year we had a smaller dining room table so putting it in the kitchen was easy. This year we have a much larger table that we thought would overwhelm our kitchen. So we decided to try to put our tree here. As you will see below, it was a bad call. It stuck halfway out into the living room!


So back to the old spot it was. The table is in the kitchen and all is well.


Ben was an extra good listener when I was naming off stocking stuffers. He got me some little bird ornaments which I am absolutely obsessed with. LOVE!


I tried doing a makeover on the plain ornament balls we had. I puff pained some and then spray painted them all.


I love the colors they are. They are white, dark red, and dark green, very vintagey. I'm not a fan of how they turned out though. I don't think I'll keep them. But I do want to try to find some in those colors. I'm glad I tried it though.


Bird on the tree!


Finished product! This little area of my house I like to call Cafe Christmas.


I always drool over all the Christmas decorations in the stores but this year I decided I didn't want to buy anything. I made a couple new Christmas decorations and I think I will keep this trend. It makes it more personal to me. I made some embroidery hoops just for the season.




And a wreath



That's all for now! Hopefully it won't be so long before my next post.