My Treadmill

So I've been thinking lately about how inactive I am. My mind goes a million miles an hour, but my body just sits there while I think.

I've been working on eating healthier for awhile now, but I knew that wasn't enough. I had to add in some activity. I'm getting close to middle age, and tons of health problems run in my family. (So far, so good. But I want to be a wise steward of my body, too.)

Well, I sat down and tried to think of what might work for me. I hate to be hot and sweaty when it's already nearly 100* outside, so I knew walking outside wasn't going to happen in the summer. But I also knew that I could do it if I were in an air-conditioned building with a fan blowing on me. (Please don't judge me too harshly. My rosacea acts up in extreme heat, and it's just not worth it to me.)

The only solution I could come up with was a treadmill. The problem is that we're not in a place to be dumping money into a treadmill right now, new OR used. I had resigned myself to seeing if we could borrow my parents' treadmill until we found a killer deal on one.

That was Monday. Today we were out running errands when my husband decided to stop in at a tiny thrift store I hadn't been to yet. What did we see as soon as we walked in the door?

Yes, you probably guessed it. This:



I took a quick look at it but couldn't determine if it worked, where it might plug in, etc. Then the sales lady told me that someone had just brought it in (no price yet), and it didn't plug in. Your momentum is what makes it go. (This is good, since electrical parts aren't the cheapest things to replace on these things.)

I asked how much it was, and she paused just a moment.

"Oh, how does $5 sound?"

REALLY?! It took me all of five seconds (if that) to tell her I'd take it.

Bonus: It's not a huge, bulky thing, so it will fit nicely into an unoccupied corner of our bedroom.

God came through again, and even I was taken off-guard by this one! He knows what we need before we even ask, and He provides for us when we allow Him to be in control of our finances. As someone has said, "God shovels it in, and I shovel it out. But God has a bigger shovel."

posted from Bloggeroid

Bullet Journal: What's Working for Me This Week

So far, I'm in love with my bullet journal. I think I've already used it more than I've used any planner since I became a stay-at-home mom. The key to this is the fact that I can design it to fit MY needs, which probably aren't the same as anyone else's needs.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a few things that are working for me, a few that didn't work, some new finds, and a recent page that I especially love.

WHAT'S WORKING

1. Loose leaf - I keep wanting to buy a graph paper composition book ($1 at Wal-Mart), but I honestly don't know if I could stand to have my specialty pages in anything but alphabetical order. I may try it sometime, just to see how it works for me ...

2. Washi tape headers - I found this washi tape at Dollar Tree on clearance because it was supposedly Easter-themed. At 10 meters for $0.50, I may just buy more if they have any left the next time I'm there. I especially love that it makes simple headings a little extra-special without taking a lot of time doodling. The dots make it easier for me to form the letters uniformly, too!



Along that same line, I need to tell you that most pens and markers will not write on washi tape. At least not this kind.

The only thing I could find in my house that would write on it was my trusty Sharpie Ultra Fine Point. (Regular fine-point Sharpies just bead up.)



3. Cheap-ish felt tip pens - I dearly love PaperMate Flair felt-tip pens. I looked around and found some off-brand felt-tip pens at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. So far, I'm pleased with them. I've been using them longer than the gel pens lasted, so I think they may work for me.



I got this (2/pack) at Dollar Tree. They have both black and blue inks, but in separate packaging.



I got this (2/pack) at Family Dollar. Yes, it does smell great. You can even faintly smell it for awhile after you've written, if you sniff the paper. (Of course, I don't recommend sniffing the marker for any length of time.)

WHAT ISN'T WORKING

The only thing that hasn't worked out recently is a set of gel pens that I bought at Dollar Tree. I wasn't surprised because I've never liked gel pens - not even the expensive ones. I got them as an experiment, and I've already handed them over to my kids. I need ink that flows consistently, and gel pens just don't do that for me.

NEW FINDS

A lady in an online group posted a picture of cute stickies that she found at Dollar Tree recently, and I've been searching for them ever since. While I was out of town recently, I found them and picked up a few of my favorites. I haven't used them just yet, but I'll share when I do.



They're not necessary, but they're fun and add some color and design to a layout with minimal fuss.

A NEW PAGE

I haven't read much since I had kids, but my kids are old enough now that I can read for awhile without them needing me to do things for them. Since it's summer break (from homeschooling), I decided to start reading again.



I used someone else's page as inspiration, and I love how this page turned out! As I read books, I color them in.

I'm feeling more comfortable with where I'm going with all of this, and I'm using pens a lot more. I may trace over this with pens at some point.

Well, that's it for now. I'd love to hear your experiences with bullet journaling, if you've tried it!

posted from Bloggeroid

Faith, Family & Friends pillows

I posted last time about the pillows I knit for my sister-in-law. Today I'm sharing the ones I knit for my own living room.



I also made the blue flower pillow at the end, but I haven't made a matching one for the other end yet. I'll try to post about it (with a better picture) when I get the second one finished.

posted from Bloggeroid

Faith, Hope, Love Pillows

I recently rearranged furniture and started working on making the color schemes of someone else's furniture more palatable to my tastes. (We're currently filling in at a church with a fully-furnished parsonage, so the color schemes came a bit pre-programmed, at least with the upholstered furniture.)

I had seen pillows with words knit into them and really liked them. Most of the patterns weren't free, so I decided to design my own. They aren't difficult to design, if you've done much colorwork at all.



After I finished them, my husband commented on how perfect they would be for his older sister, who is like a second mom to him. They are the names of her daughters, except she didn't get the third daughter. ;)

Well, they were easy enough to make, so these went to his sister. Fortunately, the color scheme works with her living room, too.

posted from Bloggeroid

God provides a bat bag.

I enjoy blogging about these things. I hope you enjoy them, too!

My son went to church youth camp for the first time this year. He loved it! When he came back, he had a list of things that he'd like to have for next year. (He knows I like advance warning so I can look for good deals.)

One of the things he wanted was a bat bag. I'm not a sports type, so I took him to our local sports store so I knew what we were looking for. I know I'm out of touch with regular prices because we shop so much at thrift stores, but I was still shocked at the $40 price tag. I told him we'd look at thrift stores, and our community yard sales were coming up, too.

Well, a week later we were shopping at the community yard sales mid-afternoon when he found a bat bag (the exact brand and style he wanted) in excellent condition. There wasn't a price on it. When we asked, the lady said we could have it for FREE!



We took it home and cleaned it up just a bit, and now that's one less thing to find for youth camp next year.

God is good!

posted from Bloggeroid

The beginnings of my bullet journal

I was recently introduced to the concept of bullet journaling. As someone who hasn't found her "perfect planner" since leaving the workforce to marry and have children, I was pretty excited at the thought of customizing one to perfectly fit my lifestyle.

I *wasn't* so sure about how decorative some of the journals are getting these days. I enjoy creating, but I'm not an artist. That's the beauty of bullet journaling, though. You can do it how you want to.

So, in typical "me" fashion, I researched tons of layouts, page ideas, and even a few doodles. In the process, I managed to spam my Facebook friends with over 80 pins to a new Pinterest board dedicated to bullet journaling. (Lesson learned: Figure out what those icons mean before pinning 80+ ideas. I think it came pre-programmed to post everything on Facebook, which is really annoying.)

But after a day's research, I knew what I wanted and had a general idea of what layout would work best for me.

For starters, I broke the cardinal rule of bullet journaling: I went loose-leaf. I just can't bear to have reference pages in anything but alphabetical order, and I certainly couldn't bear to have them interspersed with weekly and monthly pages. I put my list-style pages in the back and only use one side of the page (unless the ideas spill over onto the back). This way, I can rearrange them as I get new pages/lists that I want to keep track of.

My second deviation came in the form of pencil - for the moment. Until I know what works well for me, I like to have the freedom to erase what isnt working and redesign it. (I'll probably design the next set of pages in pen, since this layout seems to be a good fit. That's when I'll probably add in more color, too.)

So, here is my monthly page for July:



I took pictures before I added too much personal information. I have added quite a bit already.

I have more room for habits, but I don't want to focus on too many at once. These are the main habits.I want to track for now, and I'll add more as I feel comfortable with it.

I realized that I am a slightly visual person, so I really needed to see the days like a traditional calendar (top left). However, I'm a list-maker at heart, so adding appointments/details in list format (across the bottom) works best for me. Now I have the best of both worlds.

I was surprised at how easy it was to fancy it up a bit with the lettering and a few artistic touches. As I told my daughter, I can copy almost anything. I'm not so good with doodling or drawing straight out of my head.

The next page is a combination gratitude journal/memory log. I plan to write something for each day. I need to catch up on scrapbooks at some point, and this may help jog my memory.



My last page (for now) is my weekly page:



I am trying to drink more water instead of tea, so that's what the numbered boxes are about in the daily section.

I plan to write a few details or thoughts about each day in the log section. This is more in-depth than the gratitude log.

So, that's about it for now. I may share more as I go along.

If I've piqued your interest, I recommend searching Pinterest for "bullet journal" and/or "bujo" (the shortened version people seem to use on Instagram and such). There is also a website dedicated to the original, very plain and basic concept at www.bulletjournal.com. I found a combination of the two to be most helpful for me.

Do you bullet journal? If so, I'd love a link to yours in the comments!

posted from Bloggeroid

Pineapple Doily #2

So far I've only made 2 pineapple dollies from this ball of thread. I love them both. (And I have enough thread left to do at least one more.)



This one is hanging out on top my dresser now.

The funny thing is that it used to take me at least a week to finish one of these. I finished both of these in one day (each). Either I've learned to crochet faster, or I can keep at it for longer stretches. Maybe it's a combination of both.

posted from Bloggeroid