Coupon Organizer Mini Album *picture heavy*

Happy Tuesday! It's very strange not working today. I've been working

Guess what?? I finished my mini album! I thought it would take longer to finish but it didn't. Music works wonders! This is a picture heavy post. Ready?

 I started with a coupon organizer! When I saw it in the dollar bin at Target I knew exactly what I was going to make. I had a different idea on how I was going to use it but once I sat down the ideas just started flowing.

Unlatch the elastic…

...And this is what you see. I cut out the accordian part (I have some ideas for that too!) and just used the base as a cover for the album.

This is my favorite page. 

Not a huge fan of pictures of myself but I take them anyway. I needed a few pictures of me a few years back and I had 1 picture. One measly picture. For the entire year. And it was a horrible one at that. None in the previous year either. That was when I vowed I would take more of myself, even if they aren't good. Someone somewhere sometime in the future may want to know about me, and what I looked like. (I can hope right?????) If I ever went missing I'd be screwed! Not that I'm going missing or anything, just saying, What if???. Know one would know who to look for.

That's it! What did you think?

Linked here: Sugar Bee Crafts
Time to sparkle Tuesday: 

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Monday.

How was your Weekend? Did you have a good Mothers day?  I did absolutely nothing and it was great! . In the  morning my husband got me my favorite breakfast from the local coffee place. We're both not big on gifts and I love breakfast, so it was perfect.  He was going to surprise me with breakfast in bed but I woke up at 5:00! I'm usually working Sundays so my body is on that schedule.

Actually, I shouldn't say  I did nothing.  I got some serious scrapbooking done.  What a difference music makes in my creative process! I was sitting on the computer looking for inspiration when I causally mentioned I would like a stereo or some sort of music device wherever my scrapbook stuff is located in our next place. I like silence, but not when I'm working, creating or trying to get something done. I need to have music. Nothing gets done any other way. I know I can use my cheapy, ten dollar mp3 player but I don't always like wearing headphones.  Well, what does he do? He took the stereo that was sitting on a bookshelf unused for who knows how long and put it in the bedroom.  Isn't he sweet? I don't care about trends. I'm pretty sure with the advances in technology, these clunkers don't exist anymore. I don't care, it works.

 I don't know why I never thought of that before..duh! I write better when I have music on too, so it was no surprise how much scrapbooking I finished and how much more creative I was. I worked on a mini album I've been picturing in my head. I love it so far! Here's a sneak peek!

Not much of a sneak. Sorry.  I'm not finished yet so You'll just have to come back in a few days to check it out. *wink, smile* I'm not working until Friday night (Yes!!!!!!) so I'll have plenty of time to work on it.

 I  also made some spray mists. I know they are not acid free but  I'm not that worried. My scrapbook budget is nonexistent so I've been searching for many do-it-yourself things. I've even made some printables to use  for scrapbooking because I can't buy the stuff I want.

That got me thinking about making about making digital kits and elements for scrapbooking. I'm rusty but I'm seeing what I can come up with so .…I hate and love that I like everything! *Smile* It just makes making a decision really hard because I want to do everything.

 Hey, who says I can't do everything?? I'm crazy (in a good way!) but I'm perfectly okay with that.

It's Friday!

Hello Friday! Well, Friday is almost over. I didn't have time to post earlier,  then I had to work. And now that's it's 10:30ish I'm full of energy.  I've been feeling down in the dumps lately but when I saw my work schedule for next week my mood instantly changed. I wanted to do a happy dance right there in the office (we've got plenty of space!) but I figured it wouldn't be the best thing to do, especially with a security camera in there.  They'd probably have me thrown in the loony bin.

 It may sound bad considering the circumstances,  but I'm very excited that my hours were cut at work!  We finally got a new Office/HR manager, so I knew it was coming, I just wasn't sure when. It couldn't have come at a more perfect time. I've never been so excited in my life…well, that's an exaggeration, but I've been feeling so burned out lately.   I felt bad that I made my husband feel sad when he had to listen to my uncontrollable crying the other night.  I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to cry, but it did. There was no stopping it.  I try to be so positive about everything, but let me tell you…Sometimes it is hard, REALLY HARD, as I found out the other night.. I'm so overwhelmed and now, I'm kind of glad I get a break.  The past year has been crazy, but the last few months,  I felt like I was watching my life through another dimension. I didn't even feel like myself.   It's just so crazy; not a feeling I like.  Now that I don't have very many hours,  I can focus on getting some things  that I've been wanting to do for a while but just lacked the energy and motivation. I have big plans for next week…more sewing, cooking, writing, exercise (again....ugh!! lol!) etc.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and if you're a mom, Have a great mothers day! See you Monday!

Randomness & a Mess

I cleaned off my desk just enough for me to scrapbook a bit and make it mess again. That always happens. :)

I've been thinking a lot lately. A bad thing if you know me.

I think too much. WAY TOO MUCH.

I've been thinking about what the heck to do with my life.  You would think at 29 I would have that figured out by now. Nope.

I probably shouldn't plaster this on the Internet but oh well. I highly doubt anyone from work will be reading this, I don't think they know I blog but if they were reading this I'm sure they would be in agreement.  I HATE my job.  I hate being a secretary/office assistant/customer service/HR assistant/and whatever else I do.  It's boring and it's the same thing day in and day out and I don't like it.

 Bleck. Ugh.  *Sticks tongue out and crosses arms* 

No one would ever guess because I'm so "peppy" (ugh!!!!) and people ask me why the heck I smile all the time (as if it were a bad thing!!???).   I just hate sitting at a desk answering phones all day. I can answer the phone like there's no tomorrow but I hate it. I'm actually happiest when it's my day to be locked in the Cash office. That's boring too but  that's when my mind wanders and fills with ideas. I also don't have to answer the phone as much as I do if I'm out in the main office.  I love working and being busy but  I hate monotony. I hate sitting down doing the same thing day in and day out. And most of all I HATE the phone. I'd love to find something where being on the phone has little to do with the job.  I even asked my husband how well I would fit in in a warehouse environment…. I told him I'd work for him when he found a job.  He laughed for about 10 minutes. I think he thought I was kidding...

Even though I have a serious hatred for the phone I've still been applying, going to interviews, etc, but I've been having just as much success as my husband, which has been making me think more about doing that I would actually enjoy…maybe it's a sign????

I love being creative and I love to write. Writing comes naturally to me and it's something I've dreamt about turning into a career for as long as I can remember. I just strayed from it because I listened to everyone but myself.  I don't care about being "realistic" and "practical" anymore. It may work for some but it doesn't seem to work for me. Now that I have somewhat of a clue what I want to do, I haven't a clue where to begin. 

Turkey Burger with cilantro mayo on marbled rye

Hello! Did everyone survive Monday? I did!  I went grocery shopping. Fun, huh? I actually love grocery shopping. Seriously. I'm not even kidding. Since we sort of need to stick to a budget my husband has taken over that task because I'm not very good with budgeting when it comes to shopping. If it looks good, I'll buy it. I try but it doesn't work so he took over.

 Since it was a nice day he invited me along for the ride. After we checked out, I think he regretted taking me. At least we won't be eating the same thing day in and day out this week!

Tonight I made Turkey burgers with cilantro lime mayo, topped with cheddar on pumpernickel bread. I wasn't sure how they were going to taste but they were really good.

4 turkey burger patties, I used Harvestland Fresh turkey burgers but use whatever your taste bud like

4 slices of cheddar or a handful of shredded

8 slices of Marbled rye bread

2/3 cup of mayo

1/2 Tablespoon dried cilantro

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons lime juice

Dash of hot sauce

In a bowl combine the first 5 ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use. Cook burgers. Top with cheddar  cheese and cilantro mayo.

Enjoy!

Linked up here : Ginger Snap Crafts

Confessions of a Beginner

Hello! How was everyone's weekend? Mine was alright.

Today is my husbands birthday so I thought it would be nice to make him his favorite dessert, rice pudding. Well, it wasn't very pudding like, it was more like rice pudding  flavored milk. I followed the recipe too.

Any who, I made another bag today. I love corduroy anything, so I had to snatch up this fabric when I saw it. I never imagined myself being a purple person, but I've been drawn to purple lately. This bag would be great for fall.  See? Do I have a funny story for you about this bag. 

Everything was going fine until I cut the thread and moved on to the next side. Well, it wasn't working. The fabric was jamming and wasn't feeding through, the thread was jamming, then the needle wasn't catching the bobbin thread  - everything was going crazy.  I spend an hour rethreading, and doing whatever I knew, as a beginner, to  try to fix it.  I finally gave up and convinced my poor husband that the machine was broken. He knows just about as much as I do about sewing but he decided to look at it. He too was convinced the machine was broken and told me to buy a new one.  I put the machine away and moped around for a bit because I couldn't finish my purse.

Tonight after dinner I decided to look at it again because it didn't make sense that it wasn't working. Granted, this sewing machine is 15-20 years old but sewing machines are supposed to last...Well, I played around with it for a bit more and was ready to throw in the towel. Trying one last time,  I put my newly threaded bobbin (10th time!) in and noticed the bobbin case had somehow knocked out so I snapped it back in. When I looked up when I was finished putting that back into place, I saw my problem…..I was trying to sew in a back stitch. Duh!

Anyone else have any funny beginner stories? I can't be the only one *smile*

Time will tell

I made myself a shirt yesterday. It doesn't fit the way I envisioned but that's okay. I traced a shirt that I had but forgot to add seam allowance.  So the shirt is a little snug…I guess that means I need to loose weigh.

I made it kind of long, so if I wore it it's scrunched up in the stomach area.  Once I loose weight, I'd probably pair it with legging and a belt or something…we'll see. I'll add more details and fix the sleeves to the shirt once I know it fits to my liking. I love clothes but no one would ever know because my wardrobe consists of yoga pants, a grey sweatshirt, a black sweatshirt and an array of black pants and black shirts for work. And a pair of jeans. I'm so sick of it. I want to wear cute clothes again but it's hard to find stuff that fits well.

Something I've needed to do for a while is to loose this weight. I'll be the first to admit, I HATE exercise and being stressed makes me not want to do it more. Now that I've made a cute shirt, and discovered some great tunes, I feel more motivated than ever to finally loose this weight. 

Do you believe in signs? Laugh all you want but I do. I've had so many signs that keep reassuring me that I need to just keep doing what I'm doing. I'm not religious but I like to think that everything happens for a reason.

Like this music.  I've been wanting to loose weight for so long but never really found the motivation  and now, whenever I turn it on, I can't stop moving….also the singer, happens to fit the  exact vision I have for the main character in the book I'm {trying} to write - I'm a visual person so I like to have a picture or two open to inspire my writing. I was having trouble finding a photo to fit the vision in my head, then I found this.

Sewing…there are many signs. For some reason no matter how many times I want to give up I keep going back to it.  Now that I've actually made a few things I don't want to stop. A few months ago I bought a book,  called the Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard. I kept wanting to put it down but something told me to buy it was cheap enough so I did.  I finally cracked it open and I can't put it down. It's actually really good.  Also during my daily browsing of Pintest, the very first pin that popped up was a tutorial on how to draw fashion sketches…I do a lot of Pinterest browsing and I had never seen that pin before.

There are many more, especially with regards to moving out of state, but this post would have to a few pages long to list them. I don't know how, or which direction I will be going but something good is going to happen.  I can feel it. Maybe these are signs, maybe they're not. Only time will tell.