Week in Review

I'm sure you can guess what my week was full of. Packing & moving!

It's so weird to think that next week's review will be filled with pictures of our road trip & sights of our new home & new town.

My heart is heavy today thinking of all the goodbyes that are soon to come, this being our last day here.

We leave bright & early tomorrow @ 6am.

I'll definitely be facebook-ing, so if you want, you can find me on facebook: Nikki Mans. Just let me know you're a blog fan so I know who you are. And I'll blog everyday too, via my iPhone, so there will most likely not be pictures. But I might be able to figure that part out.

After the house is sparkling clean I'll be running last minute errands & organizing our suitcases & 'to-go' bags.

Busy, busy.

I'm really excited about the road trip & adventure we're about to go on. I could not be more thankful that my parents will be traveling with us. They're fun people & I'm happy to share this portion of our adventure with them.

Gotta run. The cleaning crew is arriving soon (which includes Tia, my mom, my aunt, my grandma, my girls & me). Bring on the dust bunnies, dirt & grime!

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

{the last supper}

Still in my p.j.'s & packin' the kitchen with my mom. Little Zoey, in the background, has been ready to help in any way she can.

Tonight was "the last supper" with my family. We gathered at mom & dad's & had takeout from my favorite local bbq place. We played a few games of Wii bowling, tennis & baseball & had apple crisp for dessert. And then it was time to say goodbye to my brother & his family. I hugged my little brother & just lost it. I never thought it would be this hard to say goodbye. Really, I haven't had time to even think about the "goodbyes". And it just hit me hard tonight. I hugged him real good & just wailed & bawled & weeped. It just suddenly came over me. But my sweet brother is a sensitive soul. Which meant that he was wailing & bawling & weeping too. We were a pair, he & I. It wasn't pretty at all.

And then, on the sidelines, mom joined in.

♥

i ♥ not packing.

This picture pretty much perfectly describes my day. The sepia tone really makes it special I think. The girls sat in front of the computer most of the morning & watched/listened to books while me & the Mr. put in a long day of pack-a-rackin'. (Tomorrow we finish!) Tia stole me away in the early evening for some coffee & shopping & I couldn't have been happier!

And I'm happy to say that the Saran Wrap has almost completed its mission. I hate that stuff. And I hate Mr. WhiMSy love talking about it. I threatened to wrap him in it while he slept. He'll wake up a plastic sheeted burrito, just you wait & see.

The highlight of my day? (Besides not having to help with the saran wrapping anymore?) I got an iPhone!!! A sweet prezzie from an even sweeter person. I feel so lucky! And it means I'll be able to blog/facebook/twitter while I'm on the road! Yahoo!

The first app I loaded was for facebook. {I'm cuckoo for facebook now!} The second one was for a rotary phone app. I LOVE it! It really works like one of those old rotary phones too. I got it from iRetrophone.com

In this photo I'm playing with my new toy while Tia, in the black coat, waits for our pizza dinner.

I'm thankful for friends who are superheroes & rescue me from all the madness.

♥

Roll Me To The Couch, Please.

As is tradition on Thanksgiving: I ate too much. It's a lovely kind of "full", though. A happy sort of "stuffed". 21 of us gathered at my parent's house & it was the usual Turkey Day procession: Loud kids. Lots of yummy food. Too many people gathered in a cozy house=hot. Football on the television. Piles of dishes needing washed while I find some excuse to avoid helping out- such as a Wii bowling competition. Little ones getting tired & cranky. Time to leave. The End.

I left my camera at mom's house, so no photos this time around. How weird. I feel kinda naked.

More tape & moving paper will be purchased tomorrow so we can continue on with the packing. No, I didn't complete my goal of getting all packed up by Thanksgiving. But, we are ALMOST done & that is awesome! I feel like this is such boring stuff to talk about, but since I closed up my Etsy shop until December 7th & all my crafty things are packed away, I have nothing much else to do or talk about now.

Oh, I DID create a fan page for WhiMSy love on Facebook. A lot of you were asking about that. So, yeah, become a fan! It's in the beginning stages & I really have no idea what I'm doing. I want it to be a collaboration of happy & crafty. I'm not sure how to build upon that theme yet, but I'll learn as I go.

4 more days left to soak up time with my friends & family.

♥

*sigh*

Mr. WhiMSy love is obsessed. He's gone crazy with this oversized roll of saran-wrap he purchased. In fact, he purchased two. You can buy these GINORMOUS rolls of clear plastic stretch-wrap for moving. It's a moving accessory really. {It goes great with anything. Plastic sheeting is the new black, so I hear.} You use it by wrapping large pieces of furniture so that drawers & cupboards don't fly open & spill out while you're trying to load 'em onto the moving van. Well, he'll wrap YOU if you stay still long enough. In fact, the photo shows proof of this statement. Almost every piece of furniture in this house is wrapped in that stuff. It doesn't matter if it has a drawer or a cupboard. It doesn't matter how big or little it is. That stuff makes him happy. Me, not so much. In fact, I had a meltdown late this afternoon.

 I've had ENOUGH of packing. (And ENOUGH of monster rolls of plastic wrap.)  We have gotten SO much done. But when I think about how much there STILL is to do, I get overwhelmed. So, I had a good cry. And then Mr. WhiMSy love tried helping me out by walking me from room to room so I could see all our progress. After I looked past all the shiny things covered in plastic I noticed that some of the boxes had been "tagged" with portraits of a giraffe...or a flower...or other drawings. My girls were walking around with markers in their hands on an official box decorating expedition. And stuff like that makes me happy.

 Well, I better head to bed. Although, I'm not tired. And I keep thinking, while everyone else I know is probably preparing for tomorrow's holiday meal or visiting with their families that have arrived from out of town, I'm in my lonely, dark & quiet house, surrounded by smelly cardboard boxes & this empty room echoes with the typing of the keyboard...

*sigh*

♥

I'm One of the Cool Kids Now.

Guess who joined Facebook? Yep, I gave in. I was gonna keep it on the down low, but I'm

having so much fun with it!

In this photo Tia & I are hanging out on our last Tia/Nikki date at a coffee shop. She's showing this newbie the ins-n-outs of Facebook. Oh, & quirky little sidenote: Sarah Palin will be signing books at that coffee shop/bookstore this Sunday! I think that's pretty neato.

♥

Goodbye Surprise Party for Me!

I feel so loved. And surprised.

I thought I was going out to dinner with Tia tonight & then we get to the restaurant & the hostess leads us to a table of some of my gal pals! I had no clue. Awww, I feel so special. Thanks girls for a great night!!

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Week in Review

I was really scraping by to get photos for my 'Week in Review' this week.

We are doing very well with the packing & I've still got my goal set to be finished by Thanksgiving. That would be TERRIFIC!! I can't believe that in a week there will be a moving van parked out front of our house full of all our stuff-n-things.

 I've been having so much fun this week collecting all sorts of goodies, doo-dads & surprises to keep Zoey & Pazely entertained on the 3-day trip. They'll each have a shoe box full of happiness. And I'm so excited because while Mr. WhiMSy love & my dad will be traveling in the "Man Van" on our moving adventure, my mom & I are already planning secret side trips while we travel with the girls.

This week, it's all about visits with friends, hanging out with family, & last minute things to do.

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

{packing shmacking}

I packed my art studio all day today. 15 boxes later, it's still not done. But, I did make a discovery. A GROSS one.

Let me back up....

Yesterday in my bedroom I came upon the BIGGEST spider ever. I could hear its legs as it moved across the surface of boxes & books on the floor. EW! I screamed so loud. And my scream---which is a phenomenon in itself---was broadcast far across our house, our street, our neighborhood, maybe even the universe. Of course I killed the spider. One big WHACK with my shoe did the job. If I had let it live I don't know if I would be able to sleep at night. Oh, & it was so big that it couldn't even move very fast. Double EW!  I don't know where it was going or where it came from, but it gave me the biggest weebie jeebie's EVER!

SO... today as I'm cleaning my art studio I come across the BIGGEST spider hideout ever. It's got this large webby ball thing & webs all over. And, you know how you usually find little dead bugs hanging out in corners with the webs? Well, there are BIG dead bugs hanging out in this spider's corner. Oh, & the funniest thing is that one of my paper circle punches is attached to the web & hanging up like some decor.

I don't even want to get too close to this whole scenario happnening in the corner. Someone is gonna have to clean up that mess. And it's NOT gonna be me. All I know is that I HOPE I already killed whoever was living there, yesterday in my bedroom.

♥

Luckily we've been able to rescue & recycle boxes for packing from dumpsters behind some nearby medical buildings. But those (& other) resources are pretty much nil so we had to splurge today & buy some. I hate having to buy boxes. It makes me cringe to have to purchase a bunch of stupid cardboard. I don't know why, it just does.

I'm hoping all this packing here-n-there will help so that I won't have to stress about packing things up to the last minute in a whirlwind of panic & tears. I'm honestly hoping to be done packing by Thanksgiving so it'll be "a breeze" until we move 5 days later. That is my goal: to have an easy, stress-less moving experience.

But, enough of the packing today. I'm certain you'll get sick of me talking about it. Just so you know, this is like therapy for me. At the end of the day, I enjoy sitting down & just blabbing it all out, even if it doesn't make sense, even if the thoughts don't all go together.

 I'm going to throw my flaxseed & lavender heat-pack in the microwave & give my lower back some relief. I'll watch a movie, sip some hot tea & cozy on the couch as a reward for a hard day's work.

♥

A Motto To Live By

A month ago I hosted a giveaway for Sylvia C. for one of her popular Speak Your Mind bangles. To say "thank-you", Sylvia sent me one of my very own! Wasn't that sweet?!?! I got to choose my own saying & I wanted something lighthearted & fun. I think I succeeded, dontcha think?

I love how lightweight, yet sturdy, the bangle is. I hardly notice it's on.

Thanks Sylvia!

♥

Quick-Sew Envelopes

I love sewing on paper & I thought I'd show off the envelopes I've been stitching up for mailing out orders.

They are super simple to make & have a lovely handmade charm to them. As you view the pictures you'll see my step-by-step method. But here are a few tips, or pointers:

*I use brown craft paper & sew the envelopes up on 3 sides using a zig-zag stitch. The thread is very random---whatever bits are leftover on my bobbins! (And if one envelope has 3 or 4 colors, I like it even better!)

*Decorative scissors embellish the envelope flap.

*Make up some smaller envelopes for an adorable presentation of a gift card or some holiday cash! (Use double stick tape to hold the flap down.)

*Kidlets can help decorate the heck out of these too: stamps, crayons, markers, paint, glitter, stickers, etc.

{That sweet deer stamp makes me giddy!}

   

♥

Super Giveaway Coming Up!

The CSN stores contacted me about doing a review & hosting a giveaway on my blog. So, I naturally zoned in on the crafty supplies & chose this SUPER nifty Beta Box Arts & Crafts box. {In pink, of course!} I'll be receiving one shortly, giving a review AND one lucky winner will recieve an Arts & Crafts box too! Yahoo! The winner will get to decide their color choice.

Check out the CSN Stores for everything from nursery furniture to pet furniture, from shoes to puppets. (Yes, even the kitchen sink.)

Stay tuned for this fabulous giveaway!

♥

FREE SHIPPING!

free shipping this weekend on all

Bug Catcher/Treasure Keeper Necklaces !!

{20th, 21st & 22nd}

(And FYI: Since the girls & I have been making up a bunch of these to sell at the craft show that we now can't attend due to the move, I'll be stocking the shop today with our newest necklaces. I'll even let my blog fans pre-order their favorites. So, message me your choice & I'll reserve it with your name on it!)

♥

Level-headed

Not much exciting is going on around here. The house is slowing turning into a maze of boxes upon boxes & little messes that have no room because the boxes are in the way. I'm still keeping my wits about me though.

I have been contemplating keeping my shop open while the family & I move. I'm having such a hard time deciding. I'm just super bummed that I'll be missing the one & only craft show I signed up for this year & that the dates I'll be packing/traveling/moving are prime time for holiday sales. In the end though, I think it wise to temporarily close up shop. Because who knows how overwhelmed I'll be when I get to our new home & who knows how quickly I'll actually be able to get the shop "set up" when I arrive to the big NE. Argh. Thanks for letting me talk out loud just now.

Not only is there lots to do around here, but today was Pazely's last day of school & tomorrow is Zoey's last day. (Parent/Teacher conferences + Thanksgiving break.) I think I'll break our "movies on the weekend only" rule this week. And next week.

Oh, & our official move date is Tuesday, December 1st.

OK, I'm off to stuff more boxes.

And I think I'll reward myself with some crafty time this weekend.

♥

Fun Food

Peanut butter & jelly tortillas.

Mmmmmm.

♥ ♥ ♥

Week in Review

I can't believe that last Monday I was returning home from Nebraska. And that Nebraska will soon BE my home. It hasn't seemed real to me. Yesterday we started packing boxes.That makes it seem more real. But also a bit more chaotic around here. Why can't packing up all my crap be more happy-like? I really am thankful for the peace I continue to feel though. It's almost as if I'm living in this bubble & all the things that would normally affect me can't touch me: fear, nervousness, anxiety, etc.

Mr. WhiMSy love & I have shown the girls pictures of our soon-to-be new house & they already have their rooms picked out. Oh, & guess who's getting a bigger art studio? {Yippee!}

Tia & I whooped it up this week with an extraordinary amount of outings. We're trying to cram in as many as we can.

This week I'll continue packing boxes until my things are all cubed in cardboard.

*Don't forget about the MOVING SALE at WhiMSy love! I'm adding items every day until Nov 23rd. And thanks to those of you who've helped me clear my shelves thus far!*

Happy Monday!

*Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.*

♥

Man, I'm Gonna Miss This Lady.

She doesn't even know how much...

♥

Front Page Love.

My vintage book {& adorable nerdy nephew} made it, once again, to the front page of Etsy this afternoon.

Handpicked by admin.

And, might I add: SOLD.

Yahoo!

♥

Salt Shaker Photo Stand Tutorial

While standing in my art studio yesterday I glanced at my collection of salt-n-pepper shakers sitting so lonely on a shelf & thought of this idea.

{It's an easy project too!}

You'll need:

•  Salt/Pepper Shakers: Thrift stores are a great place to find 'em. Also, pop into your local antique shops/malls. They are not very expensive at all. The most I might have paid for any of mine were $3.95 for a pair.
• Wire: Whatever wire will fit the holes in the shakers will work. I used a 20 gauge craft wire from a company called The Beadery, purchased at my local craft store.
• Needle-nose Pliers
• Salt
• Photos
  

 First, catch the end of the wire in your pliers & slowly twist around & around until you get this spiral shape.

 Make lots of different sizes of wire spirals. You might want to measure how much wire you'll need for each spiral, depending on the size of your salt/pepper shaker. If your wire is too long & you stick it into a petite shaker, the whole piece will be top-heavy & easily fall over.

 To help with stability & to keep your wire from spinning around, add salt to your shaker.

Carefully slide your photo between the loops of the spiral.

And THAT, my crafty friends, is IT!!

I can totally picture these scattered around a Thanksgiving table!

 Or, propped on a sweet shelf in a kitchen or dining room.

♥

MOVING SALE!

(Well, it makes sense to me!)

Please, help me get rid of this stuff! I've got shelves full of all things thrifty & handmade & I'd love to not have to add their contents to another moving box. So, get cool stuff while you can. At rock bottom prices. Ya dig?

{I'll be adding new stuff to the shop the rest of this week & next.}
Click HERE to find the "Moving Sale" section of the shop!

Monday, November 23rd will be the last shipping day

before I move & the day I put my shop in "Vacation Mode" (which is a first for me!), until a tentative re-opening on Monday, December 7th.
♥

Here's the Scoop!

OK, so I thought I should wait to announce our big news until Monday, but Mr. WhiMSy love just gave me the green light to shout it from the roof tops.

We're moving! Far away! To a tiny town! Out in the middle of pretty much nowhere!

So, here's the scoop...

Scott (a.k.a. "Mr. WhiMSy love") has just accepted the position as pastor of New Life Assembly of God in Bridgeport, Nebraska. Population? Approximately 1700 lovely citizens. The Tri-Cities, Washington, where we live now, has a population of nearly 236,000.

Scott & I flew to Denver last Friday & took a 3 hour drive to Bridgeport where we were greeted by a very warm & friendly bunch of people. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, pretty jam-packed & tiring: meeting people, seeing the sights, touring the school, potlucks, donuts & chatting, cookies & visits, church, & finally....the vote. They liked us! They really liked us! Well, most of 'em did anyway. And, really, they were only voting on Scott. I was just the bonus prize. This is something that Scott has worked hard for. In a way, it was a long time in the making. It's a passion of his & I'm proud that his dream is being fulfilled.

So, are you weirded out that I'll be a pastor's wife? Dorky ole me? Yeah, me too.

It almost feels like we're moving to a different country. That is not meant in a disrespectful way. I'm not used to all the agricultural stuff & the smallness of the town. I mean, we'll be in the heart of it. The size of the town doesn't overwhelm me, but I know it'll take some getting used to. The people are hard working, very tight-knit. We're about to step into a different way of life. But I want to soak it all up, take it all in. I want to know everything: from the people & what they do & how they live, to the small-town way of life, to the history that surrounds us on every side.

We met so many characters... Beulah the beekeeper. Leo, who raises buffalo. Kevin the principal, who, along with his wife, own the local newspaper. Darrell & Lynette, who farm & ranch & are extremely hospitable & beautiful people, with a long history of farming in their blood & 16 cats that I know Pazely will go "ga-ga" over. Animated Scott & Angie, who have 2 kidlets, just like us. Supermom & Superdad, Brandy & Brent, who are parents of 8 kids, all boys, including 2 sets of twins. Kooky & adorable Annie. Softspoken Rose & handsome Ray, who will be one of many adopted gandma's & grandpa's to my girls. These are just a few of the delightful people we met who will now be a part of our family story.

I have not gotten emotional, yet, at the thought of being away from my family--who all reside in very close proximity to me. Or being separated from my favorite friend in the whole wide world, Tia. I'm pretty much just shoving those emotions deep, deep inside & they'll probably just explode in a most messy way at some random & inopportune time. That's how I roll.

We are driving to our new home in Nebraska on December 1st-ish. (I know! Less than 3 weeks to pack & get ready & do all the stuff you need to do to move & say goodbye?! I'm trying not to freak out.) My mom & dad are driving with us to help out. Becauase, did you know, that I get really-really-really-really sleepy when I drive? Without my parents help driving, it may take us months to get there. We may as well hitch a wagon like they did in the "olden" days.

We're excited for this adventure though! And it has been a peaceful journey from the beginning. That's how we know it's meant-to-be.

♥

Week in Review {the day after}

Ok, so I'm one day late. But I have an excuse: Far away adventures. Not-so-happy plane rides. And just being plain old tired & exhausted! And I have a feeling this Week in Review will give away clues about our journey this weekend. I'll be able to share more about stuff next Monday. I can hardly wait!

It was a busy weekend. And an exciting one.

(And whoever suggested that my "mystery trip" might possibly include an appearance on the Martha Stewart show, sorry to disappoint. But, that woulda been uber cool too.)

*For a photo play-by-play, click HERE.

♥

So, um, yeah...

We're getting ready to leave on our "mystery trip" this morning & Mr. WhiMSy love got online to print out our tickets. Well, for some reason he couldn't print out MY ticket. He tried & tried & tried, but to no avail. So, he called the airline & found out that sometimes they randomly target random people for searches. And today that would be...ME. great.

Ok, Tia's almost here to give us a ride to the aiport!

Ta-ta-fer-now!

♥

I'm Outtie Like a Belly Button.

Things will be quiet here in WhiMSy world for the next four days 'cause Mr. WhiMSy love & I are going to be taking a big trip. We leave tomorrow morning & get back Monday evening. And I can't really say where we're going or why. *Oooh, the mystery of it all.* I'll share soon enough. But I can tell you that our family may shortly experience a great adventure & a life-changing point-of-view.

Have a super-de-duper happy weekend & a lovely Monday too!
Peace out.

♥

What is it?

This is a most awesome creation designed by my 7 year old & I. And what does it do?

It will be the display piece for my Bug Catcher/Treasure Keeper Necklaces at the only holiday bazaar I'll be participating in this year, December 5th & 6th. I've been trying to think of some creative ways to display my handmade goodies. So, I grabbed the tinker toys & my kidlet & I went to work. The little blue piece at the tippy-top has a slit in it & is the perfect spot for some signage. (The sign is still a work-in-progress.)

It's been fun to see the identity of this year's stuff morph into its own little bright & wacky collection. Last year's table was pretty soft & vintage-looking in comparison.

And it's kinda nice to have a starting point now to get inspiration from.

Anyway, just had to share 'cause I was so excited about it!

♥

{my man}

When he takes part in my loony antics & plays along with my silly ways 
it makes my heart go thumpity-thump-thump.

*swoon*

♥

Happiness is...

...makin' it to the top....AGAIN!!

I trekked out on Halloween morning with Tia, my pal Tiffany & a gaggle of her family & had a GREAT hike!

I even shaved about 5 minutes off the time of my first hike. Oh, there was still the excessive panting, wheezing & pained lungs, but I didn't take as many rests on the way up.

When we got to the top, it was so windy that you could lean into the wind without falling over.

OH, & check this out!! A shadow-jumping-self portrait!!

I'm awesome.

Yahoo!
Me. Tiff. Tia.
{Tiff & her hubby snapped some fun photos on our hike but I can't get them to load for some reason. If I figure it out I'll post more pics.}

Ok, & this is the shakiest video ever. It might be one of those "you had to be there" moments, but Tia & I just crack ourselves up. We noticed our shadows on the side of the mountain & decided to have our own shadow puppet show as we were walking down. At the end of the video Tia says "Kick me in the head!" So, I'm pretending to kick her as she pretends to be kicked. Yeah, um, maybe you had to be there. HAHA!

Jumping out-take.

Ready for lift-off.

Bench Shot.

After climbing the mountain, I again realized how AWESOME it felt to conquer something. To achieve an objective. To overcome. And it makes me want to set more goals in my life, even if they're little bitty. It's very rejuvenating to triumph & prevail.

♥