Hiatus...

Just wanted to give a little update to prove that I'm still here! Things have been so hectic lately with the new job and just getting some things done around the house.

Still waiting on some direction at work. Hopefully that will happen sometime tomorrow. Gotta work on a marketing plan and maybe (just maybe...fingers crossed) ordering a new computer. For the record, I hate PCs...I'm totally a Mac girl. We shall see though.

At home, just the usual. The garden is really doing well. Already harvested some squash and the tomatoes are just about ready as well. Who cares about that stuff though, right? I'm waiting on the cantelope and watermelon!

I'm kind of bummed that a bunch of my friends are heading to Vegas to visit Mike and Steph this weekend. Not so much bummed that they're going (happy for them), I'm mad that I can't go. Seriously...who plans to go across the country on a whim and expects everyone to be able to drop everything and go too?! That being said, if anyone wants to donate $900 to the "Send Jewel and Jeremy to Vegas 5 Months Earlier than Expected" fund, just let me know! No...really........

On another note, somebody needs to inspire me to crochet again. One thing that would help is to make me jealous of something that you made so I feel the need to try to make something better (and usually fail). I just have no drive to do it lately and it's irritating.

Now, back to pretending to work until they actually give me something to really do. Here's to hoping that I don't get caught blogging at work!

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I've got sunshiiiiiinnnnneeee...

Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot!

Yesterday, I posted about starting an etsy store, so here's a preview:

Can't wait to do have more stuff to add to it. I've even got Jeremy in on it. I told him I was going to teach him one of the following: photography, sewing, crocheting, graphic design, or painting. Then I just decided that teaching him to crochet would be easier than anything involving the computer or artistic skill. And he went for it! I know, I was shocked too. His first crochet lesson is Sunday when he's finished with his online classes. One of which he finished last night :)

Yesterday I went in to discuss benefits and sign my life over to my new employers. They said they were excited for me to join them, but it can't compare to my excitement! I'm gonna have a huge office, my own department, a ton of creative freedom, and they're even willing to buy a new Mac for me to use! (For the record, I'm NOT a PC) The increased pay isn't too shabby either!

Another part of the process was doing a drug test. I know, luckily I kicked my cocaine habit months ago ;) Anyway, I just want to point out that there is nothing more uncomfortable than handing a complete stranger a cup of warm urine. AWKWARD!

As I was typing this, I also got some FANTASTIC news! When I put in my two weeks notice, I proposed to my supervisor that I could do what I do now from home. That way they won't be in a bind to find someone else quickly and it keeps my grandma happy (it was pretty obvious she didn't want me to quit...she also says that she's gonna pray that I don't sell my house so that I don't move further away, but that's a whole different post.) What else does this mean? Extra moolah! Never complain about that.

Speaking of extra jobs, I have another photo session this afternoon with Levi. Seriously, this kid is cute as hades. He's the little boy featured on the right side of my header. Flippin' adorable. He just turned a year old and it's time for more photos! I'll post some when they're complete...or done at all. Hopefully the weather will hold out and we'll find a good spot in Greenville.

So, if you can't tell. Life is grand right now :) I'm a happy girl!

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Etsy!

I bit the bullet and opened at Etsy shop! So excited :) Only have 3 items now, but here it is:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/cocoberrybaby

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Let's just start over...

I want to be perfectly clear...I hate my furniture. I HATE it. There are certain pieces that I like, but even they need work. All of our stuff is an accumulation of pieces we've collected over the years that we've been married. I've never been able to go out and buy all the stuff I wanted all at once. It's going to happen one day. I swear it! I'm going to have a yard sale one day, but instead of putting items in the yard, I'm going to let people walk through and make offers on anything they see. That's how much I hate it all.

And another thing...I want to completely rip out the disgusting (and I mean disgusting) carpet in the former office and bedroom. Thank you previous owners for leaving us with a pile of crap. Everyone may comment about how pretty this house was when you had it, but I know what it is REALLY like. Polish a turd and it's still a turd.

Here's why I'm growing increasingly pissed off as I think about this. This is what we moved into:

1. No insulation—What?! Are you kidding? It doesn't help that you lied to us about how much you spend on gas and heating this house in the winter time, but the fact that paid $15,000 to renovate the kitchen instead of paying $800 to insulate the floors blows my mind. Priorities, people. Priorities.

2. Paint job—Horrendous (seriously! Did you run out of paint in the living room, or did you honestly think a 2 inch gap of white between the molding and the wall color looked good?) Not everyone may like the colors I've chosen, but at least they can't complain about the paint not covering.

3. Giant cracks in the plaster—look, I know this house is somewhere around 110 years old, but really people, finding a giant hole in the dining room on the day I move in does not make a happy Jewel.)

4. Carpet—*vomit* do I really need to mention the carpet again? It's the reason the doors on those rooms stay shut until we can find the time to refinish the floors. Thank God the rest of the house is hardwood.

5. Electrical work—Who puts a breaker box BEHIND a refrigerator that's framed by cabinets? Morons. Not to mention it's against code. It's an enormous pain in the butt to pull that mammoth of a fridge out any time there's an issue. I'll say it again....Morons.

I will give you this. You had really pretty furniture that covered up most of these problems. Unfortunately, I can't afford to buy new furniture right now because our money goes into fixing all this crap. So again....Thanks.

Don't get me wrong, with all of its problems, I still love this house. I like the layout, the renovated kitchen IS nice, and it's incredibly spacious. But putting make-up on a warthog doesn't make it pretty. And now thanks to this horrible experience, I doubt we will be purchasing another home for a while. I think my husband is committed to being a life long renter.

On a brighter note, I finished the elephant yesterday. We've dubbed him Elliot. Original, I know.

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Just another boring Monday...

Another busy weekend that flew by WAY too fast. Spent most of Saturday driving around. Went to Jeremy's old church to get some barbeque and tomato plants they were selling (but I got them for free...let's not kid ourselves.) Then I went to get more compost for my garden from Jennifer and John's house (also delivered some barbeque.) From there, it was on to the Plum Tree Market Place to get more plants. The Barnes sell plants there and it's really interesting if you've never been. I highly recommend it. Got lots of plants for my grandmother, and a headband and grape hull conserve for myself. Finally....headed back to the house.

Forgot to take a photo of it, but I spread some of the plants around in my little flower bed. They're getting big, people! I might be a gardener after all! I'll set my self a remind to snap a pic when I get home.

After working in the yard and getting burnt (doesn't take much for me), I was on the road again, this time to deliver the plants to my grandmother. Tomatoes, cantaloupe, marigolds, and spaghetti squash <----can't wait til my own start producing :) Anyway, after helping her with some stuff around the house, I forced her to order my fav, Greg's Pizza. Seriously, I pity all of you who haven't tried ANY of the food from there. SOOOOOooooooo gooooooooddddd. While I was there, she wanted me to take a picture of the flowers in bloom. This one is her favorite. All I had was my phone, but it's not too bad.

I'm going to steal a vine of it to put at my house, she just doesn't know it yet. Well, after getting treated for my sunburn with aloe and my mammy's secret "talking the fire out," I was back in the car. This time the destination was hell Walmart. I was inspired by the headband I bought at the market to finally open up my sewing machine a year after I bought it. I have all these beautiful fabrics that I purchased that have been sitting on the shelf. So, I went to Walmart and bought elastic since I was determined to make one that night.

It's so hard to believe that I used to be able to make purses a couple of years ago, because I can't make anything now. Seriously, I had to watch the dvd that came with my sewing machine to figure out how to thread it. It was pitiful. My hard work was not in vain, however! Here's what I've made so far. Not too shabby, I think. In fact, I'm wearing the green one right now :)

Maybe the skills are coming back. I'm going to make an attempt for a camera strap tonight. Of course this will have to be right after I finish my crocheted elephant (I'm so close!) Maybe I'll have a photo to post of it tomorrow. You never know.

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Lots of new things happening...

Along with the new season has come the birth of productivity. So many things are getting accomplished thanks simply to the power of a list! There's something so gratifying about crossing each item off as it's finished. So far, the garden has been planted, the bathroom painted, and the business of crocheting is underway. Which reminds me, here's the most recent addition to my little crocheted bed buddies family:

Not as cute as the bunnies that I previously made, but the little kitty will do :) Next up on the agenda: Elephant. It's probably going to be a little more difficult that the others, so wish me luck. I simply cannot wait to have enough made to start an Etsy store. My MIL is coming up with some great matching pieces and ideas as well. Going to be cute!

Speaking of cute, check out this photo of the world's smallest horse that was just born. 6 lbs., people! How flippin' adorable is this little guy?! Everyone take a look at "Einstein" and on the count of three.....1....2....3...Awwwwwww!

By the way, I've got a second interview for the marketing director position on Thursday, so keep your fingers crossed and have a happy Tuesday!

P.S. New header...woohoo!

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Well, it's Monday....again....

It's hard to believe how productive I was this weekend. Don't ask my husband though because he'll say that I wasn't since the house still needs to be cleaned. Cleaning aside, a lot of other things got accomplished.

Saturday morning I got up bright and early (at the crack of 9:00) and headed over to Neuseway Park to help a co-worker with a community project. Several churches worked on improving some of the public sites in Kinston. Our assignment was to paint the inside of the train tunnel and give it a faux rock look by sponge painting it and applying some fake moss. I had to leave around 1:00, but when I left, it was looking pretty good.

On the way home I decided to stop by hell, I mean Walmart, to get some supplies for my little crochet bed buddies. In my head I'm thinking that I'll do a little cleaning around the house and then relax, put on some Lost, and crochet for the rest of the day. Alas, this was not my destiny. Just outside of LA, my SIL called and asked if I was ready to pick up the plants for my (non-existent) garden. Why not? I was already in the car and driving an extra 40 minutes just gives me more time to listen to the iPod. They end up giving us one of everything they have along with a giant bag of compost. Bear in mind that while I have tended a garden in the past, I've never started my own. So no high hopes for this first annual Owens garden. It was such a pain to even get it started. I won't bore you with the details, just understand that this was as much as I could physically do without needing a trip to the hospital. The result is that my plants are way too close together (oops). It's not pretty, but maybe it'll grow something. They'll probably end up needing to be transplanted somewhere else. We'll see how it goes (or grows <---bahahaha, garden humor).

Ignore the disgustingly large amount of grass that is seeping through the fence posts. Our yard is like a jungle right now. Our goal for yesterday was to get an old riding lawnmower from the parentals. Unfortunately, that lawnmower still hasn't been fixed yet. Not sure what our plans are, but Jeremy comes close to death every time he gets out there with the push mower to tackle our football field sized yard (well, it's probably not that big, but it certainly feels like it sometimes).

Anyway, there was a little time to crochet in between laundry and having a massive headache that knocked me out for about 5 hours. Luckily, I've discovered that I can proofread at work and crochet at the same time. Hopefully my employers won't discover my discovery, but that's a different story. My MIL did come up with a fabulous idea while we were having dinner with them Saturday night. She's going to crochet baby blankets while I crochet stuffed animals and we'll sell them as matching pieces. Pretty genius I thought. Can't wait to have enough for Etsy!

Happy Monday All!

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Thursday is just a Friday wannabe...

So, I spoiled myself and took yesterday off. Well, not completely off. I did have a job interview yesterday afternoon. I think it went well, but you can never really tell with these things. I do know that it's a lot easier to be relaxed when you already have a job. But other than the hour that I was there, I spent the rest of the day slacking off and crocheting. While it's certainly not as difficult as it used to be, there is still a lot to learn. Slowly but surely, however, I'm starting to get the hang of it. Here's my latest creations:

The little bunny even sold yesterday! Ok, well, I sold it to my MIL, but it still counts! When I get several of them made, an Etsy store might need to be in order. Not a huge money making scheme by any means, but it'll help pay for more yarn!

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Oh the creativity...

The creativity bug is biting once again. This past weekend, the opening of a small farmer's market was held in Goldsboro. Out of sheer curiosity (and because my MIL told me they would be selling crafts there), I went to check it out. Not huge by any means. There were probably only about eight vendors, but the items they were selling were soooooo good! In addition to my SIL selling some plants from their greenhouse (and making about $120), there were people selling handwoven baskets, pottery, photography, dyed silk scarves, handmade jewelry, and lots of sewn bags. I was in a momentary state of euphoria. Not even sure what to use these for, but I just couldn't leave without buying them:



Now I just need to open up my brand new sewing machine (that I bought a year ago and never opened), and watch some youtube videos so I can figure out how to make some of the cute things I saw. I realize that my "goals" list is getting annoyingly long, but I'm hoping to finish up some paintings, crocheted items, and maybe some sewn crafts that I can sell here before the summer is over. Almost finished with my little blue stuffed animal:



Doesn't take nearly as long when I use a larger needle. Not a bad evening/weekend project that might actually recover some of the hundreds of dollars that I've spent on supplies.

In other news, (insert flashy headline and dramatic music here) Jeremy might be getting a new job. :) <----Happy face!!! It's a position with a company that installs granite counter tops. Not exactly what you might choose for a music major, but as long as it pays the bills and keeps Jeremy from stressing out about money, I'm all for it! We also might be getting new furniture. I use the term "new" loosely. For anyone who knows me well enough, you know that I ADORE old furniture. There's nothing like a piece that has history behind it and you can tell a story about. That being said, my grandparents are purchasing new furniture and getting rid of some that they've had forever. I'm not talking about the stuff that they purchased a several years ago, I'm talking about the covered rocking chair that is so iconic from my childhood. It's the one that was always reserved as my grandmother's place that sat next to my grandfather's recliner. It is seriously mind blowing to think that she might even consider giving it away. Especially since she had it reupholstered around the time I left for college and it really hasn't been used since. We're talking pristine condition here. Soooo if she does, I plan on taking it if for no other reason than to preserve that little part of my childhood from getting tossed out with the trash.

By the way, while visiting them yesterday, I snapped what might be one of the only photos in history of their living room without the deer heads and bobcat that has graced the walls for the past 40+ years. This phenomenon only happens when it's time to paint the room white and ONLY white (since my gma will never consider using color in the house. This probably explains my obsession with crazy colors in mine). It also happens to include the rocking chair I was referring to. Excuse the blurriness and enjoy :)

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Spring (cleaning) is upon us...

Hope everyone had a nice LONG Easter break. Somehow, I spent most of mine cleaning and realizing that I have way too much junk. But before that, I did find the time to finish the bunny I was working on for my niece's birthday:

Not sure how well it will hold up (seeing how I'm not the world's best seamstress), but the end result is pretty close to what I had intended.

Back to the hellacious amount of work on what was meant to be my day off. It was long over due, so finally my hardwood floors were mopped and polished yesterday. I couldn't cover it up after all that hard work, so the large rug that went in front of the refrigerator is being tossed out and I plan on purchasing a smaller one to put in its place.

Some of the other little chores that were accomplished yesterday include: scrubing the sides of the house and back porch, mowing the lawn, laundry, cleaned appliances, washed cars, vacuumed, and prepared the bathroom to be painted. There's still so much left to be done though. I am seriously considering having a yard sale. There's no reason to keep all the artwork, clothes, rugs, etc. that I hate and know I don't really even want. An added plus is that if I sell them, there might be a little extra money to buy the stuff I really want to have. I do have the luxury today of going to pick out some new accessories for the house. The time has finally come to take down the laundry door and replace it with curtains. May sound cheesy to some of you, but the door that's there now is pretty, but polish a turd and it's still a turd. The bottom section where the hinges are is completely busted out and I would rather just take it down and make that area a little more accessible. In addition to the new curtains, a new paint color for the bathroom has to be picked out. Now I've gone through a long list of paint colors that I would love to have and I think this is the one:

The floors won't look nearly this good since there is a vintage basketweave black & white tile in there now, and I won't have that gorgeous sink, but I think this color will turn my little "hole in the wall" into a sootheing oasis. Ok, that might be a stretch...but at least it will look good! If the paint bug is still biting when the bathroom is finished, I might even paint the hallway, bedroom, and exercise room as well. Either way, wish me luck. There's a lot of work to do.

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One of THOSE Mondays...

As I sit here trying not to vomit at work, I think it's a good time to recap my weekend and do a new post.

Let me just start by saying that this weekend was incredible! It started off with going to Raleigh to see the Broadway South Series play "Little House on the Prairie." Very interesting hour long trip that included me sitting on the "hump" in the front seat. That's right, we crammed 6 women into a Buick Century because we thought that would make it more fun :) I love these ladies dearly, but next time I plan on driving separately in order to save my legs and rear end. We arrived at the auditorium a little early, so we enjoyed a nice glass of wine outside in the amazingly beautiful weather. Let it be known that I'm stoked at this point. We were all looking forward to seeing Melissa Gilbert star as "Ma" (seriously...how cool is that?) Anyway, we go inside and get seated. The play begins with some announcements beforehand. Apparently, one of the announcements was that Melissa Gilbert wouldn't be performing that day. Wh...Wha....WHAT?! Of course, her understudy looked so much like her (and since I didn't hear that particular announcement), I spent the first half of the play thinking that it was actually her. My eye sight isn't what it used to be and obviously half of the audience was in the same boat because everyone clapped when "Ma" entered the first scene. During intermission, my MIL informed us that, in fact, it wasn't Melissa Gilbert and at that point I declared that this play was dead to me.

Now...in retrospect, the play was fantastic. Definitely the best one I've ever seen. The way they used the lighting and props mesmerized me. Not to mention that the singing was just insanely good. BUT...and that's a big but...if you're charging $61 a ticket and billing the celebrity above the name of the play itself, they better be there! Seriously, I don't wish sickness on many people, but she had better be in the hotel puking her guts up, especially since I rode the "hump" between my SIL and my husband's aunt to go see her. Bear in mind that I didn't pay for my ticket myself, but my MIL had purchased these months ago and all of us had been anticipating seeing little "Laura" from the television show starring as "Ma". Alas, it wasn't meant to be. Damn you, Melissa Gilbert.

Sunday was wonderful as well. Really wish that the weather had been as nice as the previous day, but at least it wasn't raining. I even drove with the top down on the convertible for a while. Can't complain about that. I went to my grandparents' house for the first time in forever (on a Sunday at least) since my family always gets together for lunch. My grandmother is the best cook in the world. Don't argue with that, you won't win. So, I ate some chicken pastry, sat and talked for an hour or so, and then we turned the kitchen into a beauty parlor. There was 1 perm, 3 haircuts, 1 coloring, and 3 pairs of eyebrows plucked—and none of those were mine! After we finished playing salon, I went home, picked up Jeremy (who had gone to the grocery store while I was gone. LOVE that man), and we went to his sister's house for her husband John's birthday. Wasn't too terrible. I think they fear store bought items. Love them to death, but homemade hamburger buns don't work. Not to mention that Jeremy is easily annoyed by people and their weird philosophies. So after eating and hanging around the fire pit for a bit, we left and crashed at the house. All in all, a pretty good weekend I think.

I had said that I would be posting some photos of the items I crocheted, so here they are. I finished the phone cover I planned to do. This is just a test run for it. The actual one I do will be much cuter, I just need to buy the right yarn. I'm also including some hats and headbands that I crocheted for a friend's two daughters. Not bad for a first attempt, right?

Can't wait to work on some more projects. Really wished I could crochet faster. There's too much stuff I want to do! Maybe I'll be able to finish something else this week. Which reminds me...we're going to see Sister Hazel in concert this Wednesday! It should be a blast. Hopefully, they won't be like Melissa Gilbert and they'll actually show up :P

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Procrastination is a SERIOUS disease...

...and it happens to be just one of my many afflictions. I managed to procrastinate on a project so long that I left myself only two days to complete it when normally it would take at least a week. There's just so much to do. Oh well, it's finished and now I can BLOG!

Unfortunately, I don't have that much to blog about. Right now I'm in a race with Jeremy to see who can stay ahead on watching episodes of Heroes. (He passed me last night while I was asleep, which sucks because I was three episodes ahead and kept sneaking spoilers into our conversations.) Watching Heroes isn't ENTIRELY unproductive. While wasting my time sitting in front of ye olde boob tube, I've been crocheting a phone cover for my phone. Sounds lame, but I think it will end up being pretty cute :) I'll post some photos of the finished product. I'm also back sleeping beside Jeremy again now that the poopy plague is gone and the bedding has been washed. It was nice to not have anyone steal the covers though. ;) I'll miss that. Anyway, that's all for now. Later!

P.S. Forgot to mention that this weekend I will be going to Raleigh to see a production of Little House on the Prairie starring one Ms. Melissa Gilbert. Go ahead, be jealous. Thanks to my awesome MIL for buying tickets :)

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Beware the Ides of March

Always good advice. Especially when it falls on a Monday.

Well, I'm trying to keep up with my goals for the summer. I'm still being indecisive about the paint color for the bathroom. I've already gone a little crazy with the colors in my house. I'm not saying that I don't love my previous choices, but I'm definitely considering keeping some rooms a little more toned down. Purple and steel blue are both heavy contenders though.

With the recent (and oh so welcome) weather changes that have been happening lately, I feel my creative side start to awaken from its deep slumber. There's so much I want to do now. I've added crocheting a rug to my list. Yes, you read that correctly...crochet a rug. I've looked online at some patterns and I'm seriously considering it. I'll start with one for the bathroom (if I ever decide on a paint color) and then we'll see where it goes from there. Also, I would LOVE to paint some new art work for the living room. I have a panel design in mind using curtain fabric or something abstract I painted. The hardest part of the entire process is finding the time do it. Hopefully, the end result would be a home that reflects more of my style rather than just being a collection of pieces pulled together over the years that really don't mean anything. (Side note: While typing this, I just remembered something that needs to go on the list—sanding and staining my coffee and tv table. to match. Probably wouldn't hurt to do the sofa table as well.) There's too much to do...ugh.

Like I said, the weather is slowly (and I mean sllllooowwwwwlllllyy) been warming up. I absolutely cannot wait to be able to open the window and enjoy a nice breeze through the house. A good barbeque would be wonderful as well. And even though it's Monday (yuck), it's the first day since fall that I'll get home and have more than 15 minutes of daylight left. It's little blessings like those that make me happy :)

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1st of 2010!

Yes, I am well aware that I said I was going to blog more and have failed to do so. I'm setting a new goal for myself (well, a couple actually). I'm going to make the effort to blog everyday. It's asking a lot from a person like me, but I'm going to try. One thing that is going to make this goal even more challenging is the list of things I want to accomplish this summer. I'm beginning to realize that I'm lazier than I would like to admit so 2010 is going to be my year of change. Some of those changes are: planting a garden, painting the bathroom, losing 10 lbs., maybe ripping up the carpet in the bedroom, paint new artwork for the living room, take more photos, learn how to sew on the brand new sewing machine I've never opened, and HAVE FUN! Not that I don't have fun now, but I really don't feel like I'm making the most out of my time and enjoying myself in the process. Anyway, it shouldn't be too hard to track my progress if I actually do blog everyday ;) But enough of my rambling for now. I'll leave you with something I'm pretty proud of. It's the blanket I crocheted for my mom for her birthday. Later, folks!

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My new addiction

No, it's not drugs, gambling, or alcohol...it's crocheting. That's right, I said crocheting. I have to admit I love it. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's a new talent, but I have fun doing it and it's interesting trying to actually create something. On that note, I'd thought I would share my first "real" creation. I've been slowly working on this for a couple months. It was originally supposed to be completed by April 4th in time for my niece's christening, but I'm a little slow. Anyway, it's finished and I'm surprisingly proud of it. Here's the finished product: 

Not too shabby for a first attempt, in my opinion. On another note, I'm in a great mood today. Today, I booked another wedding (which is awesome!) and I have a job interview scheduled for tomorrow. Hopefully things will work out! I'll give ya an update later :)

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