Saturday Smiles

On Saturday I post two or three things that make me smile:
*****

1.) The Monroe Bazaar
Tomorrow (or later today, depending on how you view it), Beth & I will be selling our jewelry at the Monroe Holiday Bazaar. First off, I honestly enjoying selling our stuff, so that makes me smile. But secondly, our first bazaar was Monroe so we have really positive feelings about that one. We'd love to see you if you can make it.

2.) Costumes!
I love getting dressed up as someone else. It must be the actor in me, or else the part of me that loves costumes & dressing up is what drew me to acting... Hmmmm.... Never thought about it, but yes. Most of my favorite child-hood memories involve play-acting and pretending to be someone else. And we would create the best costumes!

3.) Chocolate
Yup. Nothing makes me smile like chocolate. :) I like dark chocolate, milk chocolate, minty chocolate, orange chocolate. You name it. The only kind I don't like is the stuff with coffee beans or espresso in it.

Just 2 Days Away!

If you're in Fairbanks this Saturday, stop by and see us!

Snow Day

Anchorage Trip

We drove to Anchorage last week for medical purposes- a lung doctor for my mom and an eye doctor for my daughter. We had an excellent adventure.

Drove over some crazy metal thing on the way down, which popped both our passenger side tires, plus it dented the wheels... So thankful we went down in two vehicles!

We visited the Earthquake memorial in Anchorage, the Anchorage museum, a couple of bead stores, had dinner with friends, stayed in a nice hotel, and generally had fun.

Enjoyed the VASTNESS of Alaska- We hit a crazy snow storm on the way back up to Fairbanks, and a drive that should have taken us 7-8 hours ended up taking 10-11 hours.

Though the drives were beautiful & eventful both ways, they were not fun! Glad to be home!

All Things Work for Good

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

We know…There are so many things we do not know. We do not know if the economy will dip or if our team will win. We do not know what our spouse is thinking or how our kids will turn out. We don’t even know “what we ought to pray” (Rom. 8:26). But according to Paul, we can be absolutely certain about four things. We know…

1. God works. He is busy behind the scenes, above the fray, within the fury. He hasn’t checked out or moved on. He is ceaseless and tireless. He never stops working.

2. God works for the good. Not for our comfort or pleasure or entertainment, but for our ultimate good. Since he is the ultimate good, would we expect anything less?

3. God works for the good of those who love him. Behold the benefit of loving God! Make his story your story, and your story takes on a happy ending. Guaranteed. Being the author of our salvation, he writes a salvation theme into our biography.

4. God works in all things. Panta, in Greek. Like “panoramic” or “panacea” or “pandemic.”All-inclusive. God works, not through a few things or through the good things, best things, or easy things. But in “all things” God works.

Puppet in the hands of fortune or fate? Not you. You are in the hands of a living, loving God. Random collection of disconnected short stories? Far from it. Your life is a crafted narrative written by a good God, who is working toward your supreme good.

From God’s Story, Your Story Copyright (Zondervan, 2011)
by Max Lucado

1,000 Posts!

I reached 1,000 posts! WOW! Pretty cool.

I write! I photograph! I create jewelry!
I'm not the most consistent blogger, but I am pleased to have made it this far.

Saturday Smiles

Each Saturday I share about several things that make me smile.
*****

1.) "I'm on the Edge of Glory" by Lady Gaga

I admit- I like this song. It's catchy, it gets stuck in my head, it makes me smile... My girls love So You Think You Can Dance, and Lady Gaga performed "I'm on the Edge" for the show this last season. They flipped over the song. Kept singing it over & over...
I know it's about sex. Trust me, I know. They don't. And it doesn't really matter right now. They think it's about singing and performing and dancing. So the song makes me think of my girls dancing and singing and it makes me happy. (Unless they start singing it in the morning while we're all trying to get ready for school. 'Cuz then it's stuck in my head ALL day.)
I had almost no opinion about Lady Gaga until watching her on SYTYCD. She came across as intelligent, positive, and able to give a good critique. I'm not a huge fan, but I definitely like that song. I like her sense of style, and her commitment to the character. It's obvious she is as much an actor/performance artist as she is a singer. Also, I love the fact that she writes her own stuff.

2.) Chicken Teriyaki with rice
But it has to have pineapple, or forget it...

3.) Sharpie Pens

The perfect rainbow of colors! The new colors every year! The permanence! The brilliance! The long-lasting ink! I love Sharpie pens!

Fun Day- Collage Necklaces

I love building these collage necklaces. I love selecting each bead and piece and carefully balancing them just so with the other elements.
I enjoy wearing them, and imagining the person who might prefer the all copper one, or the all silver one.

I love choosing surprising elements- a bit of shell, a hand-made wire bead, 3 wood beads together...

In fact, they are as fun to make as they are to wear. A bit of elegance mixed with a big of whimsy and tied together with carefully twisted and worked wire.