Help Save the Bees

I saw this video on Lexi’s Clean Kitchen; a blog I follow. Here’s the link go check out her blog.

http://www.lexiscleankitchen.com/

We’re losing them at a rapid pace! We NEED them!! They are a very important part of our ecosystem; no bees =  no food! Bottom line. Please do whatever you can, plant a few flowers, herbs or whatever to feed the bees. Put out a lil platter of water that they can drink from…something.

Help preserve this very important resource.

Top Thirteen Most Influential People in Goddess Spirituality

Top Thirteen Most Influential People in Goddess Spirituality.

Organized Chaos

This is the motto of my life it seems..organized chaos; or perhaps it’s just my denial believing its somehow organized, when truly it is not.

I have been so scatter brained lately, I cannot manage to get myself focused and on track no matter how motivated I may feel to get a certain task(s) accomplished! It’s quite frustrating.

I think I have finally gotten my little guy off and running with school and where we were supposed to be on track with that. It’s only taken us a month to get there. Not that I’m resting on my laurels mind you; while I’m feeling some happy sense of small accomplishment it won’t last long if I don’t stay on top of it. There in lies the key doesn’t it; staying on top of things.

I am the procrastination queen!!!! There are those that are worse than me; ( I know them) and some that are so very organized and “got it together”; I envy them. I want to be that way; it’s finding my niche’ to be able to find what works for me to be able to be that “on the ball” gal I long to be.

With having my own small business, totally still in its infancy; procrastination and disorganization is something that will not work. It’s not something that will work for my life as is anymore period. While my self pep talk sounds good, saying and doing are very different things. My favorite saying is: Take my advice I’m not using it! In this case…I have to walk my own walk…

man I hope they recently paved that road : )

Stitch Along with Inner Hooker

If your new at crochet or still learning (like me) or both (also like me) then a great place to start is here:

Inner Hooker’s Stitch Along

Weekly she is offering new things to learn and create. You can click the link about to find her page and the wonderful items within.

She’s week 2 into the stitch along, however as she says, you don’t have to do them all if you don’t want or need to.  I’m looking forward to the cluster stitch, as that’s a new stitch for me.

Look forward to seeing you there.

An Apple of Reflection

Back at work for day(nite really) 5 on my 7 day stretch. I am tired, simply no other word for it.

I am also feeling rather inadequate in my life contributions for the day. I had to work this long stretch as we desperately need to OT that it will bring, but, sleep,work, eat leaves me feeling very empty inside.

I miss being a SAHM. It’s been years now since I have been, but I do miss it very much. I feel guilty most days when I have to leave my little guy (who’s not so little but always will be to me) to have to go work.  I have this deep yearning to be at home, crafting, cooking, coming up with new ideas and items for my little business, taking care of my guys and all my “extended family”, i.e. friends, that used to come by and “hang” at our home until all the changes happened.

My husband lost his job several months ago, that one incident caused tidal waves of changes in our lives. In some ways we were very blessed as he was only out of work for 7 months; however, he’s just now getting into the swing of his new career that keeps him away from us most of the month. My husband and I have been married almost twenty years and once a month visits are not what I envisioned for our lives,  at this point.   Some of our “family” have met the same fate and are now working elsewhere, trying to figure out how to pay bills and “make it” in today’s economy. It’s hard out there and it’s hard when those kind of changes occur for things to stay status quo, in all likelihood, they will not.

In the middle of his job loss I decided that I could start my own little business that hopefully with any divine intervention would bring in some extra money. That hasn’t happened. Oh I have the love for my creations, and my little business that I’ve always wanted, but I once again now feel like I’m wading in a sea of doubt and not sure how to find that elusive North Star to wade my way out.

And then there is school for the little guy..he’s in 6th grade this year. I attempted to traditionally home school him last year. When things went wrong, it was difficult to stay motivated to keep him motivated to get thru what he needed to accomplish to be successful. While I know he learned and grew, he learned and grew in the things I felt were most important, not necessarily what a B&M school finds most important. This year we are trying K-12, my son is in the TXVA. If you are of the mindset to find other options for your child’s education I believe this is a good place to start. I am optimistic that even with all our changes this past year that with their tools and assistance that we can get thru this and be successful.

Yes I am a little blue and lost today. Not so much as a person but as to where or what I should do next. I was reading Miss Mustard Seed‘s blog today about losing and finding herself and she said,  “We are a society that defines someone by what they do.” and she is quite right. I thought back to when I was a child, growing up in a very rural area of Texas as compared to how things are today. I had this very conversation with a seasoned lady in the market the other day; my how things have changed. We use to get up and work in the fields, or barns or in the house because it’s what you did. It was an unspoken rule. It wasn’t even necessarily your chores, or you weren’t being punished, you just did it. It helped your family. It helped your neighbors, it helped your community.

I still live in a little less rural area in Texas, and that sort of help, these days, is not easy to find. There are a few tremendously big-hearted people out there that are angels on earth; god bless them. My hair stylist is one of them. She’s such a dear sweet lady, I can’t imagine not having her as a friend. The wrecker company in my area, the owner is such a wonderful kind gentleman, and has always ran when I’ve called. It seems people today are so close minded about others today; they miss out in the good apples in the barrel.

I really understood what she referred to when she talked about “the routine.”  I am feeling quite trapped in that routine. Defined by where I work, where I live and my monthly and yearly income, leaves this bohemian clawing at the walls. I am much to free-spirited for this sort of close minded, self-serving kind of thinking! To which she goes on to say,   ” I really think that this isn’t about the superficial action of doing a hobby, it’s about using your God-given gifts and talents.  It’s about setting an example for your children and inspiring them to pursue their dreams and goals. ”
The AH HA moment. I try very hard to set a good example for my boys. While they are older now and not so little anymore, they still pay attention to the choices I make, my behavior; i.e. how I choose to live my life and share with others in it.  That is not saying, I always make the best choices or don’t show my butt occasionally (depending on who you talk to) but I try.   I used to have a great affliction of not setting up boundaries in my life. A wise woman told me that boundaries are like the fence around your yard. If you have no fence, anyone can walk into your yard anytime and do whatever they like in it. Fix your fence, close your gate and only let in those you so choose, to keep yourself safe, happy, healthy and drama free. What wonderfully simple advice!!! (you’d have thought me being a big girl with two kiddos could have figured that out for herself)  but sometimes our (mostly my) little brain gets so caught up in my own inadequacies of life that I tend to forget the KISS theory..Keep It Simple Sillygirl!

I hope that when my time comes to close here, that I will be remembered as one of those good apples; with a big heart and a warm hug. I hope that when people know me and my children that they see that kindness reflected in us and perhaps find some within themselves to share.

 

Wanderings of a Crafty Mind…

This past few days have been all about wandering all over the great world-wide web and finding new ideas, new patterns, new people, new places..new this or new that..

Pinterest.com

If you haven’t been; GO!! Why are you still here??? Ha! It’s awesome and I am soo very addicted at this point and of course in the process, found all sorts of places that I hadn’t seen or heard of and visited some I’d been negligent of.  If you’d like to take a peek at mine you’ll find it here:

http://pinterest.com/steffi8534/

and if you go and visit or are already there, do share yours! I’d love to go have a peek at your pins!

My favs for finding / inspiration/ or just plain getting lost in the wanderings of a crafty mind are:

http://www.craftsy.com/

http://craftgawker.com/

http://blogs.babble.com/the-new-home-ec/ and  babble.com

And many many more talented and wonderfully generous bloggers  (some of which you’ll find listed here) that share their time and talents with us daily, weekly, monthly to help the wandering crafty mind find peace and inspiration.

Having said that..my crafty mind does all sorts of things. Jack of all trades, master of nothing you could say, however in my travels around the web my crochet oriented side had this idea that perhaps we should learn how to knit as well. Now, I’m no master crochet artist. I am self-taught and even now I’ve only been at it religiously or so for a little over a year so for my crafty mind to conspire against me and want to knit as well..she claims there are so many cute things out there that can be knit too and what’s learning a new something or other for an old dog. We’ll see if it’s a new trick or not.

I hope if your reading this, you have a fabulous weekend, wherever you are!

Enjoy your travels

Barefoot Who?

It’s the wee hours of the morning here and I’m at my day job..its a little slow at the moment; not that I’m complaining mind you!

There’s a lot going on in my bohemian world right now..and I’m crocheting my fingers off making all my icky little thoughts run for the hills.

Since my blog is new, I’ve subscribed to the WordPress daily email with a “suggested topic” even my over active imagination could use some help sometimes. Today the email was “Why did you name your blog_______; what’s the meaning behind it?”  I thought that was a pretty interesting question considering it makes perfect sense to me but I can see where others would be scratching their heads wondering if I had lost mine.  Adventures of a Barefoot Bohemian is quite obviously me..that’s a given. Adventures are the things that go on in my life and things I embark to try or haplessly fall off into (which does happen).   Barefoot..well if you KNOW me..you know that footwear for me is completely optional unless I can’t get into a store or work without it. I am ALWAYS barefoot..I love shoes..I think they are f a b u l o u s! However, just not on my feet : )  When it’s a must away from work, flip-flops are my choice of footwear..work its a pair of leather mules…anyone else notice a pattern here?  Bohemian..well that is me. I have been called “hippy” (and we weren’t discussing my mid section) “free-spirited” etc. My oldest son totally digs that people think his mom’s a hippy. I find it totally amusing; but my word of choice is Bohemian.

Bo·he·mi·an

   [boh-hee-mee-uhn] noun

1.  a native or inhabitant of Bohemia.   (obviously not me as I’m in Texas)

2.  ( usually lowercase ) a person, as an artist or writer, who lives and acts free of regard for conventional rules and practices. (very me, I have little regard except that I have grown old enough to know when to tuck that away and play nicely)

3.  the Czech language, especially as spoken in Bohemia.  (again not me, I’m good with English and some bad words in spanish, korean, and german..lol)

4.  a Gypsy.  (if you’ve watched my Big Fat Gypsy Wedding at all, so not me however in the sense of wandering from place to place I suppose I fit that description as I have followed my husband around various places in reference to his career at the time)

Thus The Adventures of a Barefoot Bohemian, my life and times barefoot and running around playing life my own way by my own rules and the sometimes hilarity that follows but have no fear at times heartbreak runs amok as well.

Sun, Shade & Blow away yarn

Well, went to my bff’s yesterday and we did a farmer’s market sale with our handmade items.

It was great to get to hang out with her all day for a change but omg it must have been 1000 degrees outside!!! Luckily we had a canopy that she has for the shade/sun but goodness the heat index had to have been 150!  There was a nice breeze that kept us moving as well, as all my lightweight goodies kept blowing away….we chased more of my items than sold them..LOL!

We both made a little bit, which is better for me than last time, my items just didn’t move last time.

I’m getting real tired of hearing “oh how cute” as people pick up my creations, fondle the crap out of them and then walk off. If you’re gonna cop a feel at least buy it???? Just sayin…

I guess I’m going to have to take a long hard look now at what moves and what isn’t; but of course we’re also fixing to come into the changing of the seasons (which is Texas is somewhat of an oxymoron) and think about what’s currently moving (even if slowly) and what will move with fall/winter headed this way.

I really want my little business to be successful; even tho I know I’m not going to get rich off it, I still would like to know that I create things that people like and want to have. I guess I’ll have to do some more serious soul-searching on that one.

Hope everyone has a fabulous week & Happy Hooking!

 

Moving on…

Ok so yes I was over at blogger and moved over here…

Why I don’t know call it a wild hare/hair whichever you prefer.  Just time to make a change I suppose, like rearranging the furniture in the living room every six months.

Well I’ve been working on small projects these days, little things that make me feel accomplished. I’ve made several necklaces of varying media, rings, and currently working on coupon pouches as I have recently decided that it would be in my families best interest if I started toting my coupons to the store and actually using them.

Couponing for me, for some reason, seems very intimidating. Luckily, I have a good friend who is willing to go with me and show me the ropes so to speak before I go and make a total fool out of myself. If you’re not familiar with it, there are several wonderful sites online that you can find information and even coupons to print or to place on cards or even your smart phone! It’s not your mama’s couponing folks.

A great place to start is

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she has wonderful information about where to go, how to begin and any and everything you’ll need to get started saving money. Another great site is

http://queenbeecoupons.com/

again all sorts of coupons, links to freebies, etc that you can access to help you and your family save a little. Every little bit counts doesn’t it?

Ok I suppose that’s it for my sharing for this morning..back to work before it’s time to go home.

 

Granny Square Fixation…..

I make it a regular habit to browse the net looking for new and improved crochet ideas and patterns for me to continue to learn and experiment with my crochet love. Soo as I’ve been wondering around of course you see all the various patterns and variety of Granny Squares. I personally LOVE them!!! They are so sweet and with all the different colors and varieties…they make wonderful eye candy!

Having said that I found a wonderful site that I refer to on a regular basis that has very easy to follow patterns, especially for my newest fixation.

http://carinascraftblog.wardi.dk/2009/06/granny-square-tutorial.html

I have decided that much like Carina did; I will make a commitment over the next 30 days to do at least 2 granny squares each day. If I manage more, all the merrier but on my busy days at least 2! I will post here as per the progress made with the hopes of having a wonderful granny square afgan to cover my bed with. 

Today’s 2 squres thus far:

(and officially the very first two squares i’ve ever crocheted)