The Little Things

What a long week! It shouldn't seem like it because I was out sick two of the five work days, but those days are exhausting too! I am so tired! It's not even the fact that I got spit in the face like three times today or that I've been on my feet pretty much all day/all week/three days this week or that I forgot I was supposed to be at work early today and had what I'm pretty sure was a heart attack (I was subbing at a new site today because my student was out and luckily I left early to account for traffic because at 750 this morning I realized that I was supposed to be at work at 8am. Praise God I made it on time. Like, exactly on time!), I think it's just because I'm still getting over being sick? Or still adjusting to the new work schedule? I don't know. But all I wanna do is sleep! And I'm supposed to be taking a nap right now and I can't. I have been waiting ALL day to take a nap and my eyes and body are tired, but I can't sleep! What kind of cruel punishment is this?! Ahhh!

So anyways! I still don't think that I'm convinced that numbering these lists is the right thing to do. Maybe I should just go back to listing them. Well, I'll try that for today, lemme know what you think!

It's the little things that matter.

-writing stuff. Nothing in particular, just writing. Not even so much the action of writing, well yes that, but also, I just like they way my writing looks. Is that weird? Too bad.

-Shade on a sunny day. Unfortunately, this makes the list this week because I miss having shade to park under on my breaks to take a nap. Its all sun, all the time. 

- Getting the perfect amount of sleep. Psht. This never happens. It has maybe once. And it was so long ago, I can barely remember how good it felt. And I want it back.

-Getting packages in the mail. Stupid Justin always gets them! I don't even care if its just tubes for his tattoo stuff! I never get them. And I want to get them more. Send me something! Please!

- Nail polish. I love painting my nails. And my nail polish collection just keeps getting bigger and bigger. That's actually something that I never cared about until like a year ago. And now I paint my nails once or twice a week oooor if they get a chip in them.

- Cloudy days, especially after its been hot. 

- For those of you who actually know me... You'd probably never think you'd hear this one - cuddling with my kitten Amelia. Okay, she's not a kitten anymore really, but she still acts like one and she's just so sweet and looks all cute and I just love her (and Marilyn too), but let me be clear, that's the extent of my cat liking. I only like my own cats. #andthatswhatthecrazycatladysaid #shehad50cats

- Staying hydrated with the H 2 0. That's really all I drink. That and iced tea. And pink lemonade (which Justin thinks doesn't taste any different than regular lemonade, which I completely disagree. I'm going to do a blind fold test with him and prove that there's a difference!) Oh, and I'm hooked on starbucks' passion tea with lemonade. M'mm! And no sweetener, okay thanks. Ya know, if ya ever wanna buy me one!

And mostly right now, 

- Friday evenings because ya know, that's when the weekend starts! Hahha.

So what's on your list for this week?!

Take care ya'll! Hahaha oh gosh. Not gonna say that again...

Weekend Getaway

 As a lot of you may know, this Friday we  headed out for the beautiful Julian, Ca. Just to get away for a night/day. We both have been working really hard and lot lately, so it was a nice weekend just for the two of us to spend some time together, relax and reconnect. And what a better way than a small town at 4200 feet!

Since Julian is a small town, we figured everything would be closed for dinner before we got there (because we left in the evening) so we stopped in Ramona for something to eat. We tried our luck at a place called Amerient (it was the only place that looked open still). Its and american and oriental place... it wasn't that great. Kinda actually not that good. Everything tasted the same. Well, the american food did anyways. Hahaha.

We got into Julian at a quarter to ten at a cute bed & breakfast. Our room was super tiny! But cozy nonetheless.  Saturday we spent the the morning checking out all the antique, trinket and crafter stores. Okay, that made it sound like there was a lot of them. I assure you, there was not. Hahaha. Justin bought a corncob pipe (literally) and I bought a cast iron mouse. There was a llama being walked by a young girl, a "ton" of people for some music festival, a little boy selling lemonade for 75 cents, the smell of apples literally everywhere, everyone was friendly, some hipsters showed up (that was a bummer), warm weather with a cool breeze, and the company of my handsome husband.

Then, after lunch, the real fun started! Not really. We were supposed to go to the California Wolf Center just outside Julian where you get to learn about wolves and then see them! How cool is that! Unfortunately, we didn't get that far. Actually, we were REALLY close, but didn't get to make it there. 

Ya see, when I called on the phone to ask for the directions, the lady said make a left at kcjfgvaufng and I was like cool thanks! Honestly, I didn't know exactly what she said, but it sounded like kcjfgvaufng. How could I miss that street?! Well folks, I did. I was looking for a street that looked like what she said, aaaaaaaaaand we passed it. Totally my fault. (It was a nice detour though!) 

Realizing we probably passed it, I looked up the place and found that the street we were looking for was called K Q Ranch.  If you say K Q fast enough, it sounds like kcjfgvaufng (autocorrect wants to change this to Kanchenjunga, which I learned is a place in the Himalayas, and not what I'm talking about lolol) . Try it. Well, not exactly, but you get what I mean right?! Oh well. We find the street and we drive up it and then the truck shuts off. Umm okay, he restarts it and things are fine. Psych. It shuts off again. So not only is my husband upset that I made us miss our street and caused us to be late, but now the truck is like eff this. 

Long story short... Jus rolls the truck back down the hill to the main road, there was an hour fight with AAA on how to get us back home (we lost, they were jerks). Then the tow truck driver showed up earlier than expected and was really super nice and then a two hour and something/120 mile ride home in the tow truck.

I'd say it was all bittersweet. On the plus side, neither of us had to drive home. So I guess there's always a silver lining right? Hahha. 

I still had a lot of fun though! Even with the sucky parts. Honestly, for me, the only "sucky" part was still the Amerient restaurant. And even with the truck breaking down, at least I was with Justin. And though AAA were some poop heads, we made it home safely and I still had time to make some chicken and pasta and watch Emperor's New Groove with Jus.

Any crazy happenings this weekend for you guys??

The Little Things

This week has seemed like the longest week of my life. Well, not really the looooooongest, but it sure felt pretty dang long. With that said, every day when I get home from work I just plop down on the couch and rest. Not nap, or even close my eyes for that matter, just rest. And because that's all I've done this whole week, I have not been a very good blogger. 

But without further adieu, here's the little things that stood out for me this week!

31. Lunch breaks. (45 minute lunch breaks to be exact. I get to take my 15 and my half hour at the same time. Though I sometimes don't know what to do with myself, it's definitely much needed)
32. Chinese food. From this place. Jalapeno chicken please!
33. Lipstick
34. Laminating machines. (I stinkin' love laminating!)
35. Copy machines
36. How cute the iOS 7 is! (It's like getting a brand new phone)
37. Hand sanitizer (definitely it working with kids)
38. Get away weekends with Justin. This weekend we're going to Julian. And let me tell you, it is much needed!
39. My lunch box that Jus bought for me.
40. Buying things on eBay, just bought a super adorable purse (completely on impulse...there was only 45 seconds left on the clock!)
 41. My business cards. Gosh! They are so cute!
aaaaand
42. Running shoes, not even specifically for running - for long days at work too!

That's it for today! Off to start a great and relaxing weekend!

Happy Birthday To Me/25 Before 25

After reading my friend Megan's post, 25 x 25 and with my 24th birthday being today (yeah yeah, happy birthday to me), how appropriate and fun to make a list of my own!

I have but only a couple rules for this. For each thing that I complete, a picture must have been taken and blog entry must be published about said completed item BEFORE it can be crossed off the list. Okay, so maybe that's only one and a half rules... 

Here it goes!

1. Start a blog (I'm with Megan on this one, 25 posts seems like the perfect amount to say "I've started a blog"). 

2. Sell something I've made on Etsy

21/2. Make an Etsy shop

3. Make a quilt

4. Eat the top of wedding cake for our 1 year anniversary!

5. Bake a polka dot cake for any/no reason

6. Take a roadtrip with my husband

61/2. Camp somewhere I've never been while on the aforementioned roadtrip

7. Get my car painted, because let's face it, this just isn't gonna cut it for much longer

8. Make another video like this one

9. Watch the sunrise

10. Get outta debt

11. Take a balloon ride at the Great Park Balloon

12. Get my arm finished with room left over for two apples to placed under the tree one once we have kids ("the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" Get it? Because I have a tree tattoo on my arm, eh eh?)

13. Pen pals with Marie (consists of at least ten letters from each of us)

14. Book at least one photoshoot a month with my business Golly Gee Photography. Starting this month. (go like on facebook here!)

15. Put on fake eyelashes everyday. I love fake eyelashes and they'll make me do the rest of my makeup lol.
151/2. No more  stretchy headbands that my husband absolutely hates. Hahaha.

16. Read the New Testament (again)

17. Read the Old Testament (for the first time)

18. Follow daily/weekly/monthly cleaning schedule

19. 60 day workout

20. This one was actually supposed to be a New Years Resolution... One craft a week every two weeks, bi monthly let's say, (first off, let's be practical and I'll do them on Wednesdays, because with my current work schedule, I have the most time then this doesn't work because I hang out with Kate on Wednesdays. I just have to make time. And I can't say I've been doing them unless I post them on here, Instagram doesn't count.) and no more pinning craft things on Pinterest. Because as you can see, I've got WAY too many things on there, and mostly just because I'd actually like to do those things! So no more pinning crafts. At least until 3/4 of my crafts board is gone. Though I'm still going to allow myself pin Home Decor stuff (see also: Cleaning, Random/Funnies and Food)

21. Maintain a blog... I'm finding this one to be quite hard. Definitely harder than I expected. I'd say at LEAST two solid blog posts a week. I think that can be managed.

22. Take walks at night with Jus. This one is really important. I know we can't do this every night, well, it's just not practical. But I'd like to do this at least twice a week. 

23. Let Sundays be our/my relaxing days. Church, lunch with the in laws aaaaand then just relax away. Our weekends are too busy sometimes.

24. Consistently dye my hair. MAYBE even go get it done at a salon instead of just boxing it. Maybe.

and last but certainly not least (especially because this list is definitely in no particular order)

NUMBER 25. Take a sign language course. Not only does this benefit me at work, but how super cool would that be?!

I was going to add to the list don't wear sports bras so much/to work, but let's be real here. Those things are amazing! So much more comfortable. Sorry Jus! No more headbands and makeup everyday is all you get for now!

Wow. That sounded really bad. Let me be clear here, Justin isn't vain by any means. I just want to look good for my husband. There is nothing wrong with that.

*Moment of truth: I actually wrote this a couple of weeks ago ... My husband came home and asks me what I'm doing -

Me: Making a to do list, well, 25 things to do before I'm 25 kind of list.

Him: You have too much free time on your hands.

And he is so right! Ya see I knew this when I started it. I knew that a) it was gonna take me a long time to do b) more time than I wanted to put into it because come on, it's my birthday! and c) I'm a working woman again now, so why not use up all the free time that I had to prepare this blog for my birthday??

I'm awesome.

So what's on your to do list? Let me know! I would love to hear what you all come up with!

PS.

Keep checking back to see what I'm crossing off mine!

The Little Things

I'm only a day late on this post... Sorry guys! It's been a long week as it was my first day back in a month! I got home from work and really wanted to write some posts, but I was just so exhausted all week long!

Okay, so last week I left off on #20, so I think I'm going to continue from there, sounds good, yeah?

21. Windows that roll down, all the way... and don't have a problem rolling back up. This may be a funny one, but I used to not have this luxury. In my old car, the front passenger side window was broken so we made it so it couldn't roll down, and then the driver side wouldn't stay up. So yaay for working windows in the Falcon!

22. Seeing my husband after a long day of not seeing him. 

23. A hot shower, I tend to take this one for granted sometimes.

24. My husband in the kitchen (doing art) and I on the couch (blogging). Both doing our own thing, but still close enough where I can (non-creepily/creepily) glance over at him and think about how lucky I am.

25. A drive down PCH (though that's not so little)

26. A sharp pair of scissors

27. Learning a new skill

28. Instagram, is that lame? Psht. Whatever.

29. Or even better, the usernames that people use for instagram. Seriously people?? We're grown ups. (@derelict_rebel) C'mon, let's use our real names hahaha.

30. Watching Marilyn clean her face with her paw, that is just the stinkin' cutest thing hahha.

What do you consider a little thing that matters? Is it a moment? Is it literally little? Something that you just take for granted? All of the above? Or just something that seems insignificant, but makes you happy, even if only for a moment....

Only ten for today! Maybe more next week!

A Smelly Working Wife Who Loves Crafts

Yesterday was my first day back at work! Let me tell you, summer off is great! But only for awhile... I had a complete month off, that's a long time!

This is what it looks like each week:

Week One: Woooo! Vacation! (relaxing, drinking tea, enjoying summer)

Week Two: I'm going to get so much done! (and to some extent, actually do)

Week Three: I'm just going to craft all my time away!

Week Four: I miss work. I've done everything there is to do. (this starts the two weeks of straight up laaaaaazy)

Week Five: I never want to go back to work again! (at this point, it's just netflixing all day long.)

To which this would have been the most appropriate thing for me to wear during the last couple weeks of summer. Too bad I didn't find it until yesterday! Wish I would have known sooner, someone buy it for me for next summer? Or even better, winter break! I'll even provide the link!

I never thought I'd say that I thought summer break was too long. Hahaha. Oh man. That's really sad.

After my incredibly long first day of work (going from netflixing to 7 hours of work), I was pretty smelly. Justin even said so... Jerk. It's not like I didn't know! I just really didn't feel like taking a shower. It required more effort than I wanted to put into anything at that point.

I had just enough energy to post this on facebook "When you really NEED to take a shower, but you don't want to" and I got an overwhelming amount of people (mostly women) saying they knew exactly how I felt! It was the funniest thing! 

You guys ever get like that? Where you are too lazy to take a shower and when you finally do, you don't wash your hair and only shave your ankles?? That's totally what I did yesterday.

Oh! And I totally forgot to blog about this! Oh well, just gonna give it a quick note... Look how cute it is!!!

Jus needed a microphone case, so I made him one! Should have kept it for myself. Isn't it adorable?! Took me only like ten minutes to make. I'm getting pretty good and quick too!

Birthday Presents and Tattoos

So my birthday isn't until September 11th and my husband has already given me my birthday presents! This always happens. He makes things and gets super excited about them and can't keep his stinkin' mouth shut. It's really the funniest thing!

He actually gave me my first birthday present a few months ago! He saw this old 1940s sewing machine on eBay and was going to get it for me for my birthday. Since it was on eBay  he couldn't pass up buying it. So he bought it and because he was so excited about it, he told me and then gave to me when it came in the mail! Oh, but I'm definitely NOT complaining. It gave me something to do this summer and helped inspire the making of this blog! And not to mention, I have a husband who's always thinking about me and doesn't wait until the last minute to buy me something. He makes things for me!

Like this!

He gave me this one last week I think..? And it's absolutely perfect! It seriously makes me heart smile <:)3 <-----that's my heart smiling, in case you didn't know. Hahha. 

This wall piece is extra special because it's lyrics from one of his songs for me! (Give I'm Wrong, You're Right a listen to! And check out his other stuff here.) But also because he made it with his hands. He didn't buy it for me, he made it. And I have to say, it sure makes our home just that much sweeter!

He also gave/made me these things.

Keep Calm and Craft on tin case and inside penny charm bracelet that he also made! Each penny has the year 2012 on it for the year we were married. And then also, a couple silver tags for some of the crafts I've been making, as well as a few small belt buckles and a Michaels gift card. My husband sure must love me or something! And boy, I sure do love him!

But enough bragging about what I got for me birthday! Here's my latest tattoo!

After a long first day back to work, I was taking a nap and Jus wakes me up because he wants to tattoo! Assuring me it would be cute, I went ahead and skipped the rest of my nap and got this cute lil swallow instead! I just love this little guy so much! He's currently my favorite! Mostly because I can see him, but also because it's my newest tattoo. That always happens! The newest is always the favorite! For some more of his latest work, check him out here!

He'll probably not like that I've plugged him so much in this blog, but he's great at what he does! And I love him and I'm proud of him and aaand, is that so wrong?!

Later!

The Little Things

Happy Friday everyone! And what a day it is! Well, despite the heat here in Orange County...

The Little Things is going to be a weekly feature here at Hobby Hopping Housewife! 

It all started back when I was in high school (some odd amount of years ago) when I was trying to find out what made me happy. I bought a little red moleskin notebook and every time I something made me happy, I wrote it down. Sounds kind of silly, but any time I was feeling down,  just opened the notebook and tried to think of something else to jot down. It turned out to be awesome! Especially when I was in those kind of funks where I couldn't think of anything to make me feel better. I'd just browse on through it, and it'd cheer me up!

What seems like forever ago, I wanted to make it into a book, that was my goal. But who wants to buy a book about things that make someone else happy?? Shortly after telling this to my then boyfriend (now husband), my notebook went missing! But then, not long after I thought it to be missing, it appeared where I thought I had left it. I didn't think much of it other than that I thought I was going crazy!

Then, to my surprise, Jus comes home and says, "I've got something for you." Whaaaaaat (the computer wanted to correct this as whaleboat. whattheheck.)? He had taken my notebook and made it into a little hardcover book for me! With pictures and everything! 

He's always been the sweetest. 

Needless to say, ever since he made that book for me, I didn't write in my journal again. Not intentionally, just didn't happen. So I came across it the other day and got to thinking, I should really get back into doing that.

So here we are. Friday. And I'm going to get that list going again! I love lists, so this will be a lot of fun for me! I'll post a couple pictures next week of my notebook and the book Jus made for me.

Got distracted for a sec (not that you'd know that...). I got caught up looking at my notebook and just started grinning away! A lot of those things, are still important and still make me smile.

Soooooo without further adieu, The Little Things list!

-Collecting old cameras

-Carmex (I can't go anywhere without it!)

- Saturday morning breakfast with my husband

-Not knowing what time it is

-My Falcon

side note: I guess I should only do a certain amount every Friday, let's say 20. That's not too much is it?

-When Jus leaves me the comics to read (yes, I am an adult)

Should be numbering these or bulleting them?

7. Ice tea!

8. Tattoos!

9. All things crafts (though I may eventually break this down to individual things.. for another time)

10. When Justin kisses me goodnight. "Good night sweetheart..." "Goodnight baby."

11. The Office. (We are currently watching all the seasons again!)

12. Getting an interview and then getting a call offering me the job the same day! (okay, that's actually a really big thing, but they just called me and I'm so excited!)

13. Sticking my hand out the window of the car

14. Netflix/netflixing (the act of watching an entire season of a show in one sitting, also a totally valid excuse for avoiding social obligations. Buy it on a tshirt here, I know I need to)

15. Photoshoots

16. Fake eyelashes

17. Mismatched socks

18. Wallets

19. Jewelry

and 20. A freshly made bed, perfect for napping!

What's on your list??

Have a great three day weekend everyone! I know I will!

Let Go, Let God

That's something I've been struggling with lately. Letting go and just letting God handle it. 

That for even as much as I've seen God do in the past couple years or heck, even months, is not enough for me to just let God take control.

I'm stuck in a rut, where in the mornings I choose to watch tv or do crafts instead of my morning devotionals. I don't even remember when I started doing that. I love spending time with God in the morning, it's a great way to start my day off and get centered with Him. But I just haven't been.

And we all have points like this. And we all have excuses. Mine just may be different than yours as a whole, but I think it just comes down to is we get distracted with the world around us. Drama, money, kids, parents, work... Or are distracting ourselves from what's really bothering us. Drama, money, kids, parents, work...You name your excuse.

I feel guilty too, in the morning and right before I go to bed. Every morning I know I should be spending time with Him, and then I don't. And then I pray, "Lord, help me. Help me get back into Your word." And then I go about doing crafts and blogging. And then I'm like, "Praise You God for giving me these hands to do these wonderful things." But I'm not doing them for Him. I'm not doing it to glorify God. I'm making it my distraction. 

I've come to the realization that I'm purposefully distracting myself from the things that are really bothering me. I'm afraid God is going to tell me to let it go. Umm. Let it go? But (insert pronoun here) hurt me! Forgive them? Uhhh, (insert pronoun here) hurt me. And God's like, remember how I forgave you? 

Honestly, I think that's why I haven't been spending time with Him. He's going to tell me to forgive the person who hurt me (even if they continue to hurt me, just to keep on forgiving, and to turn the other cheek no less!), and I, because I'm human, don't want to let that go.

Why do we want to feel hurt? Isn't that just the most ridiculous thing? I'm just going to harbor up these nasty feelings about said person and how they hurt me until I'm sick in the stomach and all that's left to do is cry. I'm just going to continue to feel hurt because they wronged me! Really? That just makes no sense. That for some reason, rather than asking God to help me to forgive so He can forgive me, to help me let go of the hurt I feel because Jesus will give me rest, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Rather than saying Jesus take my broken heart and heal it, because You are the Almighty and if You can feed five thousand from a few loaves and a fish and still have leftovers, You can make this heart feel whole. Rather than saying Jesus, You got this.

I'm like, naw... I'm good, thanks. Please don't help me Jesus. I just want to be sad.

I'm really tired of hurting and feeling sad and trying to distract myself from the real issues at hand. 

Jesus help me to forgive. Heal me. Make me feel whole. And forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.

Can I get an amen? 

Amen.

Take it easy,

Piggly Wiggly Bear/Other Married Couples

Justin doesn't like the fact that I talk about him "so much" in my blog. Well, soooorry that I want to talk about the love of my life sometimes!

That's something I've learned since I've become a wife, it's hard not to talk about your husband/best friend/confidant/the person you go to bed with every night/the person you wake up to every morning. (Did you guys say "slash" as you read that? I always do...) Your husband is the person you spend more time with than anyone else, so to not ever say anything about him would be weird.

BUT, there is a fine line between talking about your husband when it relates/someone asks and when all you can do(both men and women are notorious for this) is talk about is your spouse! Like, you get married and all of a sudden you lose all social skills and have nothing else to talk about anymore. What the heck! Okay, I get it (kinda), you get married and you're excited and you want everyone to know how happy you and your spouse are, but seriously, not every is as "fortunate" as you, but also, no one cares that you call your husband piggly wiggly bear and he calls you his little luv-a-roni (okay, Justin has called me this on occasion when I make pasta, just to be silly)! Its so annoying!

Or going out with other married couples! And they are all over each other (not in a sexual way, though sometimes, you all know exactly what I'm talking about)! Umm hello! There's other people in the room!

I take pride in the fact that Justin and I are not like that. We are able to be in separate rooms from each other and not get anxiety. Oh and we don't have to do everything together all time. Now mind you, I very much enjoy his company, I like when he's at least in the same general vicinity as me... but I don't have to go to his band practice and he doesn't have to go to that baby shower. And I have more to talk about than him! ( I could talk about my husband for daaaaays if I wanted to, but how inappropriate is that?)

I also like that when we are together, we can show everyone that we love each other but without being crazy. We both have our own personalities and opinions. And that's fine, that's NORMAL. In Mark 10:8 it says that after getting married, "... the two will become one flesh." But that doesn't mean I can't do my own thing/have my own hobbies/friends. What's important is that we come together and make decisions together and on OUR relationship with God/OUR life issues/how WE want to raise OUR family/finances...etc. Those choices are nobody's but our own.

See also: people talking about their pregnancy/how their baby is "the cutest most beautiful baby in the world don't you agree?"

*NEWS FLASH* If your baby is white, I think it's pretty safe to say it looked like an alien when it came out. Exceptions: any other ethnicity.

Someday when we have kids, I'm sure I'll think my baby is absolutely beautiful, because giving birth to life is such an amazing and beautiful blessing! But he's still gonna look like an alien hahaha.

So what do you guys think? I'm not the only one who despises stupid pet names and way too much PDA, am I? What about newborn caucasian babies? Have you guys seen the movie Babies? The white baby looks like an alien compared to the other babies!

Anyways, enough of this rant. Let me know what you think about all this.


Take it easy everyone!