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Economics, School, Work, Camp, Etc.

Nichole — Sat, 09 May 2009 16:55:22 +0000

Its been so long since I last posted! I miss you blog. School, work, life and camp have been just crazy and have not left me time to really blog. School is finishing up this week though so I am super excited to get back to doing things I love. The camp season is coming up fast and we are busy getting ready. Spring is here and summer is fast approaching. I love this time of year! I’m also really excited that I am at the point in my college classes of finishing the final assignments. It is so nice to have things crossed off your list.

This weekends plans:
- Write research paper
- Finish Economics class (check!)
- Take Child Dev. Final Quiz
- Celebrate Mother’s Day
- Enjoy dinner with family friends tonight.
- Work on something for camp

It should be a productive weekend. Hope you enjoy yours as well! BTW… if you are interested, read my review for my Economics book I just finished. I’m not going to post book reviews in my blog anymore, you can find them in the Library section or linked in posts.

Photo Via: We Heart It

Quilt No. Five

Nichole — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:14:12 +0000

I finished this quilt last month and never got around to writing a post about it. It was a gift for a friend’s new baby girl. It is made out of flannel so it is really soft. All the colored flannel I bought at Walmart and the white flannel is from another project that I took apart. The front is twelve 9-square blocks and the back is white with a stripe of leftover blocks. I love how it turned out. This is my fifth completed quilt.

Better Men

Nichole — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:06:42 +0000

April Rain Snow

Nichole — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:54:58 +0000

How can we be having a snow storm in April? Craziness! Yesterday I was outside under a beautiful blue sky without a jacket on. Today we have at least four inches of snow. My only consolation is at least it is actually a good storm. If it is going to be cold it might as well be worth it. The picture above is of Nemo watching the snow fall.

This weekend is a pretty quiet weekend for me. We have a Jr. High Retreat out at the camp this weekend so the rest of my family is involved with that and the house is quiet. I am getting a lot done. Today I cleaner my room, organized the pile of paper, books, and receipts on my desk, printed my kids activities portfolio and put it in a nice folder, did schoolwork, took a nap, read a book in the tub, and answered a few emails. Tomorrow should be just as productive. Hope you are all having a great weekend as well.

Mostly Blogs

Nichole — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:30:11 +0000

1. Oh, Fransson! This blog has excellent quilting tutorials as well as quilt-a-longs and other great craft projects. I especially love the Paintbox Quilt pictured above.

2. ReFabulous has tons of great ideas for refashioning old items into fabulous new ones. I love this bag inspired by an outfit. Her kids are super cute as well.

3. Assorted Notions. The DIY style of this blog is so inspiring. She does an awesome job of making handmade look high fashion in a totally doable way.

4. Darling Dexter. The pictures on this blog are eye candy. I could just look at the pictures. They range from fashion to decor to inspiring photos. It is definitely worth checking out.

5. Midwest Modern Girl. Another blog with a design sharing focus. I love these kind of blogs because the great photos make a quick but memorable read.

All these blogs have been added to my Google Reader and the blog list below.

Wardrobe 911

Nichole — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 03:21:43 +0000

After work today I did a quick wardrobe emergency call. I wore this cardigan today to work and realized the reason why I do not wear it very often. This cardigan likes to gap between the buttons. So when I got home I carefully took off the buttons and sewed a straight stitch along the edge. After I sewed the cardigan closed I put the buttons back on. Now I can’t button and unbutton it and have to pull it on over my head… but no gaps! It is going back in my closet to be a regularly worn item.

Money and Me

Nichole — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:49:24 +0000

It was sometime last year that I started reading this book. Last summer maybe? I had gotten to the second to last chapter of the book and then just forgot about it. As it was sitting on my shelf I got the mistaken impression that I had already finished it. Later when I took it off my shelf I was surprised to see that it wasn’t quite done. Since I finished the book in 2009 it can count towards my 52 books in 52 weeks goal.

The book itself was very educational. Some of the stuff didn’t apply to me at this life stage but it is good to be informed for the future. The book is written from a God-honoring financial perspective - to be a faithful steward of what God has given you.

Two of the things that I have been challenged with in regard to my finances are: Living within my means and keeping a budget. I read in a blog post recently that if you want to have the option of staying home with your kids then you need to practice drastically living below your income. In order to stay at home as a family you need to be able to live on one income. A budget helps you track if you are living within your means and what areas you can better manage.

The Jewel of Greshem Green

Nichole — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:39:29 +0000

Do not pick up this book to read if you have not read certain other books by Lawana Blackwell. I picked up this book from the library because I thought that it was a stand alone book. There are two sets of books - two series - that come before this book. Because of that I spent half of this book trying to figure out who everyone was and keep them straight. Even though I have read both of the previous series it was long enough ago that the stories didn’t really come back to me. My recommendation is to pick up the previous series before you would read this book. Don’t make the mistake I did and think this book stands alone.

Once I got everyone figured out I really enjoyed this book. It is not a real sugary romance, more like a weaving together of stories. The main romance was between the brother who loved his wife but she loved someone else. Books that show some of the struggle of marriage and not just the passion before the wedding are great in my opinion. I would like to see more books grappling with the sacrificial love a marriage takes.

52 Books In 52 Weeks

Nichole — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:49:52 +0000

One of my goals for 2009 was to read 52 books in 52 weeks. Here’s how I’ve done so far.

1. Priced to Move (Jan. 4-10)
2. Set Apart Femininity (Jan. 11-17)
3. Persuasion (Jan. 18-24)
4. Stepping Heavenward (Jan. 25-31)
5. Charade (Feb. 1-7)
6. Do Hard Things (Feb. 8-14)

I am about 4 weeks behind. Time to do some extra reading.

Image Via: We Heart It

Do Hard Things

Nichole — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:37:20 +0000

I’ve read most of the books by Joshua Harris and have been challenged by them all. Do Hard Things is a book by his two younger twin brothers and is just as excellent. It doesn’t pull any punches as it challenges teens to rise above the culture’s low expectations and pursue godly excellence by doing hard things.

While I am a little older than their main audience - teenagers - this was just as challenging to me. Have I gotten comfortable in the status quo? As I was reading this book I was convicted by some of the choices that I made as a teenager. I am challended to make different choices now. How do I do this?

Some of the action steps I want to being are: 1) Joining and participating in the Rebelution forums. I need to be challenged on a regular basis as well as make some new friends. 2) Make a list of current responsibilities and hard things I have been challenged by. 3) Create action items to accomplish some of those hard things. 4) Continue to use my time more and more wisely to accomplish God’s design for my life. 5) Pray!