News...of sorts.

Hey there!  Remember me?  Amanda.  Yeah really.  I'm just checking in to say I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...yet.  I'm in the process of getting my new website up and running, which is more work than I had previously thought it would be, but that's mostly because my attention to detail is--shall we say--lacking.  Oh well.  I'm also busy with boutiques and fairs on the weekends which has turned out to be quite easy and profitable.  At least, it would be if I didn't have to put all my profit back into the company right now.  The price of a brand new business, I suppose.  I'm excited about all the ideas swimming through my head, though sharing them right now would not be so smart... ;)

On another note, we had another Activity Days activity (that sounds weird, but I didn't know how else to word it) tonight that was really fun.  The girls are learning a new song and they'll be singing it in Sacrament Meeting in a few weeks.  As they sang I had this vision of all these beautiful little girls in a few years as Young Women--almost got teary.  They sounded beautiful and all of them were excited to find out they get to perform.  I'm loving this age because their attitudes haven't gotten the best of them just yet.  One of the girls even brought me a little picture frame with a heart in it and said she'd been saving it for a long time for something really special.  Heart strings officially tugged.

For my other calling, I've contacted a local Professional Organizer who's coming to give our Relief Society her "Top Ten Tips", followed by a Swap Meet in the cultural hall.  I'm WAY excited for this one!

And here's the biggest news of all.....

I've kept my kitchen clean for an ENTIRE WEEK!!!  I can't believe it either!  Living room, not so much, but I'll take what I can get at this point.

Almost......Girly.

I am not a girly girl. I know that's a surprise to some of you, {insert mad, rolling laughter here} but because of my general lack of femininity, I had never participated in a lot of activities that some might consider "girly" For instance, Etsy. If you had told me a year ago that Etsy would change my life, I would've given you a blank stare and probably asked you what an etsy was. And then, of course, there are the craft fairs. Not as ignorant of them as I was Etsy, I still would've scoffed at you if you had told me that I would soon survive Hurricane Hilda as I clutched my merchandise in my tight little fist to keep it from flying out to the middle of Bear Lake. So when I first made the decision to start selling ties, I really didn't know where to go or how to drum up business. It was just not a scene that I was ever into. I owe a big thanks to some great friends (Heather, Tara, & Jen) for pointing me in the right direction, and for all the advice and help along the way.

Recently I made another discovery that I had been completely oblivious to until now, and that's Boutiques. Etsy wasn't too much of a stretch for me, since selling on the internet is what I had intended to do in the first place. Craft fairs were a little more intimidating though, since I feel like labeling me a "crafter" for making ties is like calling me a "scrapbooker" because I put together a scrapbook of Maggie's baby pictures once. (Not at all cute, either...) However, I did survive that experience and sold about 150 ties while there. Not bad for a first-timer! But when I was approached to be a vendor at a traveling boutique, I was really thrown for a loop. I'd heard of them before, but I just never thought I'd EVER be interested in going to one, let alone PARTICPATING in them.

It was at this point that Mike and I sat and had a really frank talk about where this was headed. Having a little extra income has been much needed, but we had to decide if it was worth the cost to us and our family. I've been lucky enough (though sometimes it feels more like being sentenced...you SAHM's know what I mean) to stay home with my children while they are small. Because of that decision, we've gone without a LOT of things, and had to sacrifice a LOT of things. Sometimes it's really hard. Really, really, really HARD. Especially when I see others' seemingly easy lives. But as hard as it's been, I don't ever, and will never, regret staying home with them. That being said, one of the reasons I've been so excited about PickleFace Place is that I get to decide when I work. I get to decide if I work. I get to decide how much to work, and I can do it all from the comfort of my "spot" on the living room couch. Of course, OTHER things have been sacrificed because of it (like gardening and canning this summer, {dang it!} and the general cleanliness of my home), but I'm beginning to understand better that everything I do comes at the expense of something else, and more often than not, it's several something else's.

Armed with all of our resolve to do what's best for the children, and our family in general, Mike and I decided to say yes to my first Boutique, Mindy Mae's Market. I was nervous and intimidated, considering I'd never even BEEN to one before, but once I got there and met Nikki, she made me feel very much at ease. I was a little disappointed in the venue itself (only about 15 vendors, and the dance studio location was NOT ideal), but I made about $200 in 12 hours. I've been told that the venues for the remaining boutiques are in model homes, and they attract twice as many vendors and at least that much more foot traffic, so I'm pretty optomistic about the rest of them. The best part about the whole experience, though, was meeting such GREAT people. And I mean that sincerely and genuinely. Nikki (owner of Mindy Mae's Market) is a jewel, and I just know that we'll be friends the rest of our lives. Carol (PR for MMM) sat and talked with me for probably a good hour, and it felt like we were long lost friends. I was just so impressed with every one of the vendors and all the ladies involved that I am completely investing in Mindy Mae's Market for the long haul. I feel lucky to have found a niche that I feel so completely comfortable in, and so GOOD about!

So, I guess this means I've turned a little girly. Just a little. But don't tell anyone.

I'll be doing other boutiques for the next two weeks.

Simple Treasures @ the Davis County Fairgrounds in Farmington Sept. 22-25
Hollyhock Boutique in West Point Oct. 1-2

Then its back to Mindy Mae's Market @ the Clinton Destination Homes Model Home Oct. 15-16.

I'm totally excited about the next MMM because well be having yummy food, mani-pedi's and MASSAGES available as well as all the great clothes, accessories and home decor for sale! Doesn't it just sound heavenly? Hope you can come!

Activity Days

With the start of school came the beginning of my new calling as Activity Days leader. I was really excited to start doing it, especially since Maggie's now one of the girls! It brought back really fond memories of having my mom as our YW leader growing up. It also gave me new insight into how it must've felt to try to lead and be a mom at the same time. Not an easy task. Sorry, Mom!!!

Anyway, I just wanted to share with the world wide web the printouts that I found/adjusted/created for my girls. The idea came from A Bushel and a Peck, where Angie is a graphic designer and made printable forms for Activity Days that you can download from her site. I took it a step further and used her borders to add other tracking sheets for the girls. I'm pretty excited with how they turned out, and the girls really loved them! Since Angie was so great to share her great ideas and hard work, I thought I'd do the same--you can click on each image to copy and use them at your discretion.

Just to explain--the reason I gave them so many tracking sheets was because, as I read through the Faith in God booklet, I came to realize that the requirements everyone focuses on--the activities in the four different areas, Learning & Living the Gospel, Serving Others, Developing Talents & Preparing for Young Women--are ACTUALLY listed under "Other Requirements".

The BASIC Requirements are:
1--Pray Daily
2--Read the scriptures regularly
3--Keep the commandments & live "My Gospel Standards"
4--Honor your parents & be kind to your family
5--Pay your tithing & attend tithing settlement
6--Attend sacrament meetings & Primary regularly

So, I thought I'd put the emphasis on the basics by giving them a way to track their progress on all of them. I probably spent WAY too much time on it all, but it was sure fun! :)

Cover Page

Binder Tracker--the girls get a treat & a sticker for remembering to bring their binder to each activity.

Prayer Chart--track night & morning using the green line dividing the days on the calendar.

Scripture Tracker

My Gospel Standards--not a tracking sheet, but a way to review.

Family kindness tracker--the girls mark off a box for each act of kindness they do for their family.

Tithing Tracker

Sacrament/Primary Tracker

Articles of Faith

Articles of Faith Tracker--the girls will mark them off as they memorize them.

Activities Tracker

Me, or Something Like Her

I'm nearly starting to feel like myself again. By "nearly" I mean, closer-than-I-have-in-months-but-not-quite-where-I-used-to-be. So many things have transpired since summer began, that I'm beginning to think I've lost the old me altogether. That may not be a bad thing. I haven't decided yet.

So, here's what the "new" me (if indeed that's who she is) is doing differently:

1. She's trying to hold her tongue more. You're welcome.
2. She's trying to be more conscious of others' needs (as opposed to her own).
3. She's trying to find a reasonable balance between stay-at-home-mom and business owner, though success can only be measured in moments at this point.
4. She's showering almost daily. Again, you're welcome.
5. She's trying to focus on the future rather than dwell in the past.
6. She's still a terrible housekeeper.
7. She's becoming a good cook.
8. She's searching for ways to circumvent her ADHD in order to maintain some semblance of organization in her life.
9. She's definitely a better wife.
10. She's trying to turn her self-talk (you know, that voice in her head...) from negative to positive.
11. She's reading more, though finishing 2 novels in 3 days probably has a direct correlation to #6...
12. She's giving up on making lists. Just kidding. She's not a schizophrenic...we don't think.

I didn't realize that letting go of those parts of myself that are ineffective or (for lack of a better term) cancerous was going to feel so much like an amputation. Some of my characteristics, behaviors and attitudes have been so deeply ingrained for so long that I've surprised myself with the domino effect of changing just one thing, let alone a long list of things.

So please bear with me as I make a monumental effort to put off the natural man. He's fighting me tooth and nail.

Tired Thoughts and a Change in Perspective

So there are about a billion things I need to update on here, like how I won the Biggest Loser competition (that ended 2 months ago), or about our trip to Oregon with all the pictures associated with it, or the Stringham Family reunion at Henry's Lake that I didn't go to because I was still stuck behind my sewing machine, or the first day of school that started last week and today was picture day (Seriously! It's AUGUST!) , or about my not one but TWO new callings I got right in the middle of all my tie-making madness (guess that'll teach me to open my big mouth), or Hannah's 10th birthday 2 days ago, or Maggie's 9th birthday 4 days ago, or how about the night I slept for a full 8 hours? Wait...that hasn't happened yet.

Yes, each event does merit its own post, and I promise I'll get to it eventually, but today I need to get some feelings down that are still quite raw and tender. Hope you'll humor me.

The past few months have been the most stressful of my life. Too many things weighing heavily on me, and not much by way of relief. I wish I could say that I made all the correct decisions along the way, despite the pressure, but that wasn't the case. I only hope that my intentions can be recognized for what they are and have been--good.

Due to a few recent events that I'll not go into detail about, I've been pondering deeply the way I interact with other people. I realize that I'm really good at casual relationships, but when it comes to deep and meaningful ones, I'm seriously faltering. My version of "helping" tends to be judgmental and even selfish, and my pridefulness has been a source of unintentional hurt to those who deserve compassion and understanding. I'm grateful for a God that bestows forgiveness so easily. I'm also grateful for His mandate to change, and the tools He makes available to me to do so.

There continue to be stresses, both placed on me by others, and the ones I place upon myself, but as I try to trudge forward, I'm no longer praying for my burdens to be removed. Instead, I'm hopeful that I'll be given a back strong enough to carry it all, for as long as I need to carry it.

(I realize I sound depressed and brooding. It's really not the case. I'm just overly analytical and find that I work though it all best when I can see it on paper...or the computer screen in this case.)

I just thought of the scripture: "To whom much is given, much is required" in a very different way right now. I always focused on the "requirement" part--so much that's being required of me--but I just realized that with the mountain that's being required of me, it stands to reason that I must truly have also been given a mountain. A different perspective can bring much in the way of peace.

Exhaustion is setting in, and I'm not sure that the rest of my thoughts will be viewed as coherent by morning. I guess I'd better return to this later on, else someone views my thoughts as a cry for help....totally NOT, ok? :)

My Thoughts Exactly

www.hopefullymormon.blogspot.com