One World One Heart Giveaway!

Hello OWOH'ers!! Welcome to WhiMSy love! I'm so excited to be participating in my 3rd year of One World One Heart. To find out exactly what OWOH is, click the logo at the top of this post. You'll be taken to a wonderful place with hundreds of blog links also participating. Get to know some new bloggers & enter to win tons of prizes-- most of them handmade!








I'll be giving away one of my pieces of "Writing on the Wall" book art. A vintage (1966) book, titled THE MAN WHO WAS MAGIC, has been folded (366 folds, to be exact!) into its now funky form.

Enter to win by leaving a comment! Simple as that. (Make sure I have some way of contacting you though!) Drawing will be held on February 15th.
Thanks for visiting, & see ya 'round blogland!

♥ Nikki

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Winter Nature Suncatchers Tutorial

I got this idea from a book but added my own twist.
For supplies you'll need: water, scissors, various sizes of shallow containers, twine (or rik-rak, ribbon, shoelaces) & things found in nature.






Fill the containers with 1/4"-1/2" of water. If desired, add food coloring. Then place your twine at least halfway into the water on either side of the container.






Scatter your leaves, pods, feathers, twigs, etc over the water. Carefully place containers in the freezer.






When they are frozen all the way through, pour another layer of water on top. Again, add food coloring if desired. Freeze again.






I filled my sink with a tiny bit of hot water & placed the bottom of the frozen containers in the water. This helped to easily pry the ice shapes out of their molds.






Hang from tree branches & you're all done! As you can see, it wasn't a sunny day when I made mine. And I wasn't patient enough to let the water completely freeze (due to tutorial & photographic reasons).





They should stay frozen in cold winter weather.
Have fun!
♥ Nikki

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Everybody around here cooks & bakes--- from scratch. Like, REAL scratch. As in..
Q: What's for dinner?
A: I got a buffalo out back.

I'm a little intimidated but a lot motivated to be a real home-cookin' kind of gal. In fact, last night someone gave me a couple gallons of beans, which are in my freezer-- ready to be heated up & smashed & turned into homemade refried beans. I've never made 'em before. But how simply lovely that someone gifted me with beans!!

Tonight I'm going out on the town. Well, I'm tagging along with some ladies from my church to go to dinner & comedy with ladies from another nearby church. It's very weird being a pastor's wife for the first time. I felt very comfortable in my skin 2 months ago, but now that there are more eyes on me, & I can't help but wonder if some people are being more chummy & wanting to hang out JUST because I'm the pastor's wife, well, that feels all strange-like. I find it perplexing. I want to be popular because I'm awesome, not because of who I'm married to. Haha!

♥ Nikki

P.S. I can't stand it anymore. A crafty post MUST happen tomorrow. I have no idea what it'll be, but it's gonna happen!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The other night I was talking to my mom on the phone. She called to get the recipe for pistachio torte. She realized she had all the ingredients on-hand except cream cheese. At 10 o'clock at night she decided to run down the street & grab this last ingredient real quick from the grocery store. I was so envious. She has the access to 24 hour grocers.
For 24 hours.
In one day.
I miss that. I miss the convenience of hoppin' in my minivan at any hour of day I wanted & having the availability of "...just down the road."
That's the only thing that I am finding hard to adjust to now that we live in a small town. Everything else, I'm fine with.
I'm fine living in a town without any traffic lights.
I can deal with stinky cow poo. (BIG stinky cow poo.)
I'll learn to handle the fact that everyone knows everything about everyone & their business. (And a common phrase heard is: "so-n-so told this person who told that person who heard it from such-n-such...")
l'm fine residing in a place where it's known as Population:Tiny. (ok, I made that up.)
And, I can understand that if you offend one person, you've actually offended a large percentage of the town. (Mathematically it just works out that way.)
I even appreciate that the whole town shuts down to go to the highschool sports games.
And I can occupy myself with an assortment of random activities since there is nothing to do in this town.
But, if I have a hankerin' for some Taquitos late at night or--worse yet--need some feminine products, well, I'll just have to wait.

♥ Nikki

Chatting.

The computer needs some work. It may be a while before it is repaired. It's all in the research stage now as far as what to do next. So, I will be conducting my Etsy shop business from my iPhone. I will be stuck only relisting items though, since I am not able to add photos to my shop with the iphone. This should be a real interesting ride. But, you know, this'll give me a chance to get all crafty for the first time since settling in. And maybe a crafty tutorial, via my iPhone camera, will be put into action. No more fancy macro shots for a while. (I think I might cry.) Macro makes the world a better place...But this will be fun! For reals!

My ma-in-law arrives on February 4th. She'll be here for 4 days. We usually spend our time dining & shopping when she's in for a visit. But now that we have relocated to Tinytown, I'm afraid Target & Chili's might be as good as it gets. (Hey, I'm game!)

Yesterday the Wii fit kicked my butt. And the thing measures your weight & has you do all these balance exercises & then tells you your Wii fit age. In real-life I am 34. But in Wii-life I'm 41. So sad. When Tia was here I tested it out & I was 31! So I've aged 10 years in a week & a half?!?! Something's not right. Either way I need to get fit. I refuse to be 90 when I'm 35. Plain & simple.
After my workout yesterday, I decided to soak in the tub. That probably won't happen too often. I was spoiled by my former roomy tub with its fancy jets & spaciousness. Now it just feels like I'm bathing in a shoebox.

I'm on a TO-DO list kick this week. Next on my list is to make a birthday present for my niece & finish writing thank-you cards from Christmas.

Have a terrific Tuesday!
♥ Nikki



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Shall I squeal now or later?

A lovely customer & blog follower, Tara of http://tarahope.com emailed me this morning offering her help in my iPhone blogging mess. Apparantly I just needed to splurge & download the BlogPress app. Two dollars & ninety-nine cents later, here I am. *giant high-five to Tara*
I've been wasting all my time struggleing with the free BlogPress lite app & haven't been able to even sign on. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. Cheapskate? Honestly, no. I was just nervous about all the BlogPress mixed reviews.

All my photo files are on my dead computer, so I'll have to make-do with what sparse pics exist on my iPhone. (Which means my One World One Heart giveaway & week in review posts STILL must wait.) Do you want to know what I'll be giving away? You'll have to wait. Sorry. But it'll be a nifty prize. I promise.

And, you know, just be patient with me as I stumble around & figure this thing out. Already, I never thought I'd be so happy to see a paragraph. I know it's not my regular layout, but you'll have to let me know how it looks on your end.

Ok, I'm ready to get my workout on. I got the "Wii fit plus" as a late Xmas prezzie. I don't own any workout clothes, so my owlie pajama pants & yesterday's t-shirt pulled from the dirty laundry will have to suffice.

*the picture at the top was taken this weekend. "A family that cuddles together stays together." And, yes, I realize that it's sideways. I can't win 'em all. At least not now.

♥

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

*sigh*

MY COMPUTER IS BROKEN. AND SO I'M BACK TO THIS AWFUL "ALL CAPS IPHONE BLOGGING CURSE". OH, & THE INABILITY TO FORM PARAGRAPHS...MY ONE WORLD ONE HEART BLOG EVENT GIVEAWAY IS SUPPOSED TO BE POSTED TODAY. AS IS MY WEEK IN REVIEW. BOTH WILL BE POSTED AS SOON AS THIS MESS IS FIXED...ON A GOOD NOTE, I HAVE HAD A REALAXING WEEKEND & AM READY FOR MY FIRST WEEK OF ROUTINE & A STEADY-ISH RHYTHM...I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS TO ALL THE PEEPS & BLOGS WHO HAVE FEATURED THE CARDBOARD FURNITURE SILHOUETTES RECENTLY. IT'S BEEN FUN SEEING 'EM POP UP EVERYWHERE...TOMORROW I START MY FIRST DAY OF WII FIT. I NEED TO SHED A FEW...I LOVE HOW THIS IS ALL RANDOM & MUSHED TOGETHER. BRINGS BACK MEMORIES OF FIRST MOVING IN & WAITING FOR INTERNET HOOKUP. I LIVED ON MY IPHONE...MORE LATER! HOPEFULLY WITH PICS & FUN STUFF!!--NIKKI

Jumpy Out-takes Part 2

Bellies stickin' out. Flabby arms wobblin'. Squishy thighs. Triple chins. An imperfect smile.

A wide bottom. Rolls in the midsection.

Sometimes these features really show their true colors when jumpy photo play is in action. In the past, I may have deleted photos revealing such "unsightly" features. But I have learned to accept that this is who I am. Besides, I'm having OODLES of fun!!!!! The troublesome snapshots of the past have a new face: Confident. Spirited. Spunky. Tenacious. Fearless. Indubitable.

♥

Jumpy Out-takes Part 1

This collage of photos was quickly taken before the sun set on Tia's last day visiting me in Bridgeport, NE.

My visit with Tia couldn't have gone any better. Really.

We stayed up late talking. (And laughing 'til we almost peed our pants.)

We talked about all things serious & silly. (And I think those were my favorite times.)

We texted & emailed each other. (Sometimes from the same room.)

One night we cooked together. (A homemade meal of beef stew, coleslaw & cinnamon rolls.)

I played the piano & we sang together. (She even got to be a part of the worship team at church on Sunday morning.)

We visited an antique store. (My first one since arriving here.)

We watched Julie & Julia. (Not as good as we had hoped.)

We spent nearly all afternoon one day in a coffee shop. (Leaving only because the girls were getting out of school.)

We played the Wii. (And for giggles we made up some hawt Mii characters.)

We got pulled over by a cop. (But you already knew that.)

We took our cameras wherever we went. And got several quizzical looks & a few questions. (One guy even stopped & stared at us taking a picture of our feet against this really cool red painted brick wall. He asked what we were doing & I tried explaining, but I realized how silly it all sounded. And, really, if you have to ask, well, I'm sure my explanation won't help you understand any better. You either "get" it or you don't. He finally said, "Whatever." & went on his merry clueless way.)

We walked up & down Main Street in Bridgeport. (Do these people know what random awesomeness lurks in the corners of their town?)

We saw Chimney Rock. (Been there. Jumped that.)

I had my heart set on jumping in McGrew (population: 99) in front of this AWESOME pepto pink building. And so we did.

We lounged in the now famous cardboard bedroom, thanks to features on CRAFTzine & apartment therapy. (And oooh, there are some mean people out there who have nothing better to do than make fun of cardboard. *insert catty screechy meow noise with some hissing thrown in*)

We slept in.

We jumped. (Until our feet hurt & our foreheads glistened.....OK, my pits were smelly too.)

We went to a Bridgeport High School Basketball Game. (It was fun! I didn't understand half of what was going on, but I sure enjoyed my licorice rope.)

We ate lunch one day at a restaurant where you eat peanuts & throw the shells on the ground. (My girls thought it was the coolest place on the planet.)

And finally, we said goodbye. (Which wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. No tears were shed....except for maybe that next day...& the next....)

♥

{happy Thursday!}

(More dry-erase marker fun on my fridge!)

Fridge Doodles

Actually, my girls aren't doodling. They're doing some practice homework on the fridge! I grabbed a dry-erase marker today & decided to mix things up a bit. Who likes homework? Not Zoey. Who likes writing on refrigerators? Zoey!

It would make a most excellent & handy message center too. Or, draw out a calendar & keep track of daily appointments.

OR, like Pazely, just use it for what it was made for---& grab some munchies!

♥

Week in Review

How excellent that my week in review includes Tia. We took LOADS of photos & I had such a hard time choosing. (Just be prepared for photo overload the rest of this week!)

I honestly can't put into words how special this visit has been. She leaves tomorrow afternoon. I feel completely happy that she has been able to experience life here with me for the past few days.

We've giggled every day & every night. Intensely. I think it will get quiet when she leaves. I'm not looking forward to that. We'll always have Skype though I suppose. In between visits.

♥

For a photo play-by-play click HERE.

{untitled}

♥

Furniture Silhouettes

Before Tia arrived I had big plans & dreams to have the downstairs basement decorated & furnished. Well, that didn't happen. And I was SUPER bummed. Especially because I knew she'd have to sleep on an air mattress on the floor. But, I took a look around at all the moving boxes still needing unpacked & was immediately motivated to create something from them. So, away I went to finish the unpacking!

I love how this ugly mess.....

...became this lovely cozy bedroom nook.

I cut out cardboard shapes from the boxes, outlined the shapes with black paint & filled in the details.

I even printed out a photo of her hubby & 3 boys back at home & stuck it in a cardboard frame. Everything is adhered to the wall with duct tape. I wrapped a smaller box in brown paper before painting it & created a nightstand she could actually use to set stuff on.

Viva la recyclying!

For more photos of these furniture silhouettes, click HERE.

♥

{WANTED}

WANTED:

The Crafty Minx & Mac Packin' Mama

Most recently, these rabble-rousers have been caught in their minivan hustling down a Nebraska highway. Other possible indictments may include, but are not limited to...

• Fanatical jumping on private property. Repeatedly. 
• Superfluous giggling. 
• Consuming an amplitude of the java brew.
• Indulgent photography of the self portrait variety.
• Random acts of merriment.
• Premeditated hoopla.
• Enthusiastic thesaurus usage.

REWARD:

Lollipop$

(Anyone with information regarding these rascals should leave a comment immediately.)

Outlaw. Bandit. Hooligan.

The adventures have already begun.

I picked Tia up from the airport (Wheeee! I can't believe she's HERE!!!) & I got a bit too excited I guess --& chatty-- while inadvertantly hightailing it down the dark unlit highway. Enter... the po po. All the blue & red lights were very thrilling. And the spotlight was quite dramatic. Then the nervous giggling began. I have never been pulled over before. And I made sure to tell that to the officer. All he mumbled was, "Oh, I see...." He didn't care. And then he asked what brought me from Washington to Nebraska. "Oh, my husband's a new pastor in town. hee hee?"

Thankfully I only got a warning & some terrible self portraits.

♥

Correspondence

Yesterday the girls & I pulled out our notecards & writing paper & got a big chunk of thank-you notes written. My mom taught me the importance of the penned "thank you" & I feel it's a pretty special ritual to pass on to my girls too.

One of the favorite Christmas gifts I gave this holiday was something I put together for my 7 year old, Zoey. She loves writing letters & ends up using MY stationery most of the time. So, I put together a little "letter writing kit" for her. (This was her "NEED" gift from the "Want. Need. Wear. Read.") I purchased a pack of fun writing paper, some bright pens, her own peel-n-stick envelopes, some stickers (to decorate the envelopes), her OWN book of  postage stamps & I even printed out some return address labels with her name & info on them. (If I would have thought about it at the time, I would have also added a little address book with all her family & friends' info written out.)

She felt pretty special!

♥

Week in Review

Pretty mellow week: Reading. Coloring. Snowflake-catching. Superhero jumping.

And my big news?? I FINISHED UNPACKING!!!!! Yeehaw! The art studio still has a few wee messes, but they are happy messes that I don't mind organizing. At least I'm not stepping over piles of things, tripping over stuff or looking at UGLY boxes anymore! I admit there are a few boxes left to unpack in the storage area. They are full of pictures & albums & memorabilia: An organizational project that overwhelms me to even think about. We'll worry about that another day year.

Very soon I'll be tidying up, stocking the kitchen shelves with fun eats, & preparing a cozy place for Tia to stay. She arrives Wednesday & I'm so excited! Oh the fun we'll have! And, we might just let you in our some of our tomfoolery & merriment.

Happy Monday!

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

♥

Super Paze!

For the girls' "WEAR" Christmas gift, I made them superhero capes. I got Pazely to model hers so you could get a closer look. I followed the tutorial HERE over at the Creative Kismet blog. I'm totally gonna make myself an adult-sized one. For reals. You just wait & see...

I used some lightweight yellow & white gingham, cut out two pieces &---before sewing them right sides together & then turning it all right-side out---I stitched the felt embellishments on the back.

I didn't have a serger, so I opted for "option 2" at the end of the tutorial. It was my first try at using bias tape too. And I'm sure I was using it totally wrong. Oh well. I don't think that will mess up her super powers or anything.

♥

High. Low.

Every night at dinner our family does this thing I call "High-Low". Everyone has a chance to share their "High" of the day (the thing that was the most awesome & best ever!) & their "Low" (something that was rather disappointing & awful). Years ago I got the idea from a movie--I think it had Michelle Pfeiffer in it?? I had forgotten about doing it for a while until we moved to Nebraska. It has really helped our family become closer. I just find it so interesting to hear the happy & not-so-happy things in my girls' day. The things that weigh heavy in their heart as far as importance & value always amaze me. (And it's a fun way to peek into their day!) It TOTALLY opens the door for communication.

Yesterday, my "High" was getting to {finally} photograph some neato stuff I saw while driving. I was the pilot on our weekly trip to Scottsbluff rather than the passenger, so I had a wee bit of navigational control. My "Low"? Well, my Skype presentation to the MOPS group in St. Louis was canceled due to weather. But, it's being rescheduled! YAY!

(Oh! And I'm going to predetermine my "High" for today: I've reached 700 Etsy sales!!!)

♥

Fireside Mocha

My sis-in-law sent me some of this for Christmas. I thought it would be a great recipe to share.

• 
  
  2 Cups CoffeeMate or any powdered creamer
  
  
  
• 
  
  2 Cups Hot Cocoa mix
  
  
  
• 
  
  1 Cup Instant Coffee
  
  
  
• 
  
  1 Cup Sugar
  
  
  
• 
  
  1 tsp. Cinnamon
  
  
  

Put it all in a big bowl, stir it up, and put into containers of your choice. {I got my container at a thrift store. But a simple cellophane bag tied with ribbon would be sweet too!}You can also use flavored creamers if you want. Or powdered peppermint in place of the cinnamon.

To make my felt-n-button medallion just stack pieces of felt atop one another & stitch together by adding a button. Punch small holes in 2 opposite corners, thread twine through & tie around container.

I made myself a cup yesterday while hanging out with my bestest bud Tia. Even though we're now 1200 miles apart, we're continuing our Tuesday Tia/Nikki dates via Skype. I'm so excited! Anyway, we were searching the 'net & found THIS awesome site with lots more dry beverage mix recipes.
Have fun!
♥

Mini Mart

Right outside my art studio is a large room that we've split in half. One side is designated as the "family room" & the other the girl's play area. Last year I was given a bunch of wooden plaques that came from a grocery store---you know, the signs that hang above the aisles telling you where to find stuff? (*Thanks Ronica!*) I think they are so neato & I have been trying to come up with projects to make with them. Well, the little kitchen/shopping/food area in the play area was the perfect spot to hang a few! Pazely picked out her favorite signs from the bunch.

♥

YEAR in Review!!

I did it! I actually dedicated myself to a year's worth of Week-in-Reviews. I didn't miss a beat. And I feel sorta proud of myself.

The 365 Days Project I started last January whooped my butt, so I gave that up shortly after I started. I couldn't keep up. The Week-in-Review is a perfect project for me. A lesson in learning to just do what works for you.

Click HERE to see my entire 2009 set of Week-in-Reviews on one nifty page!

Thanks for following along. It's been a fun way to let you peek into my world.

*Here's to more peeks in 2010!!!!*

♥

Week in Review

This week was all about recovering from Christmas, clearing away decorations & prepping up for back-to-school. (Yeehaw!) I have been in the house all week. Hardly heading outdoors at all. Finally, yesterday, I escaped outside to take some photos, slush around in the dirty yucky snow & enjoy some fresh air while my toes went numb.

The unpacking is going very well. Thanks so much for all your kind & encouraging comments! I have a great head start on my art studio & now that the girls are going back to school I will have PLENTY of *alone* time to get organized! I'm certain this will be the finale of the great unpacking event! I really am blessed with the space I now have.

The creative thoughts are starting to shake & rattle in my busy little brain & the crafty wheels are beginning to turn. I've got some ideas that only now can become scribbled notes on a page, but will soon be turned into blog posts & how-to's!

Something EXCITING happening this week is that I'll be speaking at a MOPS group in St. Louis via Skype on Thursday eve. I am SUPER pumped! I'll be speaking about crafty stuff, but more specifically about crafting with kids. I know I'll be extremely nervous that evening right before I go "live", but I'm busy now getting all the last minute details figured out, completing my notes & trying to get things tip-top for the event. I feel very honored. I hope all goes well...

We have been in Nebraska for a month! Yesterday was the 1 month anniversary. Wow, that flew by! I'm excited for this next year. I can't wait to see what will happen & what adventures will come my way.

Oh, & in case you didn't notice, there is an addition to the sidebar on my blog, where I posted about the One World One Heart giveaway. This will be my 3rd year participating & it's always lots of fun blog hopping, meeting new people (& winning fun prizes!). I'll be giving away something super special of course. So, stay tuned for the start of it all on January 25th.

Have a happy Monday!

Click HERE for a photo play-by-play.

♥

Resolution Revelation

The hubby & I spent New Year's Eve with a group of new friends & acquaintances, playing a card game we've never played in a tournament of sorts. My man even walked away with a prize! (For getting the lowest score.) I'm a card game/board game girl so it was a really fun night! The girls partied it up in another part of town with some new friends of theirs under the supervision of..... a babysitter! *gasp* The occurrence of a babysitter doesn't happen all too often around here. In the past we've had my parents as help when we've wanted to escape on a date for a couple hours. Seeing as they are now 1200 miles away, it's not really an option anymore. Mr. WhiMSy love admits to being super duper protective & if he could, he'd tie our two kidlets up & sling them around his shoulder wherever he went.

The weirdest part of our New Year's Eve was that we left the party before midnight. Oh well. Party animals we are not. As we carpooled home with new friends, the clock struck midnight. We were driving on some random, dark, dirt road, in the middle of Nebraska. Only the blue moon was shining on us. We whooped & hollered & welcomed in 2010 & that was that.

Though a new year excites me & I get all giddy thinking of a "clean slate", a "fresh start", "new beginnings" & such, I don't make resolutions anymore. Just recently I had a resolution revelation. I'm tired of making such bold statements at the start of a brand new year, statements declaring life changes. A new & improved me! I'm no dummy. I always fail at those. And the fail hurts. It brings with it guilt & the awful feeling of being insufficient. Instead of resolutions, I'm just gonna realize.

REALIZE:
Part of Speech: verb
Definition: appreciate, become aware of
Synonyms: apprehend, be cognizant of, become conscious of, catch, catch on, comprehend, conceive, discern, envisage, envision, fancy*, feature*, get, get it, get the idea, get the picture, get through one's head, grasp, image, imagine, know, pick up*, recognize, see daylight, take in*, think, understand, vision, visualize
Antonyms: ignore, neglect
* = informal/non-formal usage

 I will become conscious of the rare moments that are simply mine. I will apprehend the morning & have a piece of quiet. I will become aware of my time & plan my day accordingly. I will get the picture & get it through my head that some days just might suck. I will interpret any challenges I may face as a chance at triumph & see daylight instead of gloomy darkness. I will discern the bad from the good & make better. I will grasp that there is nothing more dependable in this world than the joy I have in my heart. I will think. And understand. And know. That life is better when I recognize each day as a gift.

♥