Have I mentioned lately that I love making gifts for girls? Brighton was invited to a "Magical Birthday Party." Here's our card for the sweet six-year-old.
All of the patterned papers are shimmery, paired with shiny foil chipboard Thickers. Love those sparkly, swirly letters! The patterned papers are actually Christmas papers - I just cut off the Christmas trees and reindeer and holly jolly stuff. Even the Thickers are from American Crafts' holiday Tinsel line. I just love it when I can multi-purpose things like that. Makes me feel clever - LOL. :)
Off to wrap a present...
Supplies. Paper: SU! (Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette), KI Memories (Joyful line of patterned papers). Stamp: PTI (Everyday Button Bits). Ink: SU! (Basic Black marker). Brad: SU!. Chipboard Letters: Cricket Tinsel (American Crafts). Ribbon: Offray.
(Pardon the non-craft-related post, but this was certainly a project!)
Okay, so really I jog/walked a marathon. But still. I made it through all 26.2 miles and crossed the finish line on my own two feet. I never, ever thought I could do that. I'm proud!
I've had over a week to process my experience - yet still my thoughts are all over the place. Here goes.
A marathon is 26.2 miles. I've been asked about this a lot. A marathon is not "a really long foot race." A half marathon is 13.1 miles. A true marathon is 26.2 miles.
Running a marathon is NOT like running two half marathons. There's something about topping 18-19 miles that's a game changer. It's called the wall. And like the Holy Ghost, you can't see it, but you can feel it, and you know it's there.
"Heart rate monitors, GPSs, and Heed! Oh my!"
The tempo of Whatever It Is, by the Zac Brown Band, exactly matches my marathon pace. Never heard of the song? I put it on the playlist of the iPod-look-a-like at the bottom of this post.
The hours after the marathon felt worse than the hours after childbirth. Seriously. I laid on my bathroom floor for hours, wrapped in my space blanket, unsure which I would do first - fall asleep or vomit. Fortunately I only fell asleep. And in case you're wondering, the day after the marathon was definitely better than the day after childbirth.
I {heart} cheerleaders. The three-foot-tall ones who hold homemade signs and yell, "Go, Mommy, Go!"
Over 10,000 people registered for the marathon. 8154 finished. Though I never want to celebrate another person's injury or failure, this tortoise beat 2000 hares.
I wore down a pair of high-quality running shoes in four months. I had my previous pair of running shoes for three years, if that tells you anything.
Dear Treadmill, we have battled. And I have won. I am not intimidated by you anymore!Neener.
This is the best picture I have from the marathon. It was taken after the finish, while I was wearing the ever-so-fashionable space blanket. After you run a really long distance (say, 26.2 miles), blood rushes to your legs to start repairing worn-down muscles, giving your upper body chills.
Thank you, MMW, for providing six months of encouragement. For running hundreds of miles by my side. For getting me into this mess in the first place. For waking up at ungoshly hours with me. Then for waking up at ungoshly hours for me - to cheer me on and serve as my pit crew - handling my germy water bottles and sweaty clothes without batting an eyelash (way worse than the early hours, I know). For getting teary when I crossed the finish line, because you knew how much work was behind it. I don't like getting all sappy here on the blog-o, but I'm really glad I'm on the list of people who can give you a hug without it being awkward. *hug*
Dear Ben, thank you for supporting me through all of this. For letting me be away every Saturday morning for six months. For financing a hobby that ended up being a much more expensive than I anticipated. For running races with me, then always waiting at the finish line to cheer me on. For telling me I look hot in my football pants. (There's nothing that ruins a good self-image like standing beside thousands of stick-skinny marathon runners.) I love you.
Dear body, you are amazing. The fact that you did this is a testament that you were designed and created by a knowing, loving Heavenly Father. I apprecaite your power and your ability to heal. I promise to take care of you. And I can't wait to find out what else you can do!
And since my iPod and I have become really good buddies over the past few months, I thought I'd post a handful of the songs on my exercise playlist. Get ready to laugh. :)
I got some happy news today. Getting my daily craft fix, I popped onto the Cards blog and saw that I am the lucky winner of the cute Ghoulies collection from Helen Dardik!
Aren't those little kids adorable? Brighton's already requested a ghost card. I have family visiting this week, then I need to make Brighton's Halloween costume. But hopefully I can make time to play with my new freebies. Okay, really, I'm sure I'll play with these before I do the things I supposed to do, but that's only natural, right? I can't wait to see what's in the box!
Many thanks to the folks at Cards magazine and Creative Imaginations for making my day!
Who doesn't love making baby gifts? And if you're like me and only have boys, the opportunity to make something for a baby girl is even better!
A family friend recently welcomed a new daughter. I happened to know when the happy family was coming home, so I hung this banner on their front door, ready to greet them. It reads, "one little baby - many happy hearts." You may have to click on the enlargement to read it.
Aren't those papers yummy! I bought nearly the entire line from My Mind's Eye knowing I'd find a use for them sometime. A week or so later - I get to make a gift for a baby girl! Congratulations to the happy family. :)
Supplies. Paper: My Mind's Eye (Deena's Penny Lane), SU! (Pink Pirouette). Punches: SU! (scallop circle, scallop border). Ribbon: SU! (Pretty in Pink). Other: Thickers, by American Crafts.
Who needs a craft room when you have an Ikea end table and a pint-size camping stool?
I've been working on invitations to an upcoming Relief Society dinner. I'm making over 100 invitations, each requiring five pieces of paper. So yes, mathematicians, I cut all 500+ pieces of paper while camped out on my driveway with this little set-up, watching my boys play outside. :)
It's times like these when I long for the industrial guillotine-style paper trimmer of my dreams - the kind that can cut through ten sheets of 110 lb. cardstock in one slice - smooth as butter. *ahh, Heaven* Still, this trusty little Fiskars fold-away has served me well for years, so I can't complain.
Check out my cute little helper. And in case you're wondering, the timer's there to tell me when dinner's done cooking in the oven. Some days I brought the phone out, too - LOL.
Last week was one of those weeks. When I thought I'd already had my share of all that could go wrong, something else piled on top. Thank goodness for good friends! Because my husband was out of the country, for an entire week - seven days straight - at some point I needed someone else to care for my children so I could tend to this and that.
To you good ladies, please accept this gift of love you can taste. There's something about the air turning cold that means there should be something pumpkin-y in the oven and a warm drink simmering on the stove. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and apricot-apple cider - I tell you what - my house smelled goooood!
Thanks again, ladies! *big hugs*
Supplies for jar decorations. Paper: Heidi Grace Designs (pumpkin reverses to argyle), PTI (Spring Moss), SU! (Naturals Ivory), I don't remember where I got the leather-ish paper. Stamps: PTI (Rustic Branches). Ink: SU! (River Rock, Always Artichoke). Ribbon: tan twill by Wright's, ivory twill is leftover packaging from Pottery Barn Kids organic cotton sheets, linen thread by SU!. Other: Curly Label punch by SU!, rhinestone leaf from the $1 bins by the checkout at JoAnn's.
