For the love of blogging…

What do you do when life is overwhelming?

Cry and wail?

Get angry and rage at the world?

Become so confused and burdened that the simplest things are “too much”?

Well, in the last couple of months, I’ve done all of those.

It just seemed like we were, as a family, going through a season of hard news and even harder decisions.  Big decisions.

One of the things I did as a result was to avoid blogging.  I retreated and withdrew.

I’ve missed it so much…more than that, I missed the readers who would stop by and comment with kindness.  I let a community of support pass me by and I truly regret that!

Grief is not a quick boo-boo that someone can kiss away.  Sometimes it stays in the background, complacent to let you go about your day in relative normality.  Other times it rushes to the forefront of your mind and heart with a vengeance, delighting in the havoc it is wreaking.  For me it usually commences with the havoc wreaking when I’m stressed about other things….fun, right?  I’m sure some of you know exactly what I’m talking about!

My mom’s birthday is this week.  I still miss her every single day.  I still slip and say things like, “Oh, we’ll have to tell Ammah (what my boys called her) she would like that!”.  She’s not here to tell things to anymore or to laugh with anymore or to give me a dose of her grace and logic-filled wisdom.

Like I said, I miss her.

I hope that this doesn’t come across as whining.  I hate it when I do that….

Having said all of that, I will share with you that I’ve had some much needed wake-up calls.  Reminders of what’s important and necessary and what can be let go of.  Oh, how I’ve needed those reminders!

So, I’m hopeful that I will continue to blog and not withdraw…for the love of blogging and of being a part of such a wonderful community!

Blessings,

Anna K.

Life Happens

Well, it has been quite a while since I’ve been able to do this!  Oh, how I’ve missed blogging but sometimes, life happens.  I’ve been doing the school thing and working towards a degree in Digital Design from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, online division.  Oy, it’s been a lot of work and a lot of fun all at the same time.  It does eat into my family and Hubby time quite a bit, so as soon as I finish my school work the computer is set aside for more important things.

I think I’ve written at least a hundred posts in my head!  Even the Hubs has noticed that I haven’t been able to blog and asked if I was missing it.  That man knows me, y’all!

My favorite class so far has been the Typography course.  Hands down.  The pic below is of a poster we had to do using figure-ground confusion (is the white the background color or is it the blue?) and it was one of my favorite projects.  Families reading together is also very near and dear to my heart.  The quote by Emilie Buchwald is perfect ~”Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” (or aunts, uncles, grandparents…you get the idea!)

I’ve been hopping around the bloggy-verse and checking out what some of y’all have been writing.  I’m telling you, there are a lot of talented, wise, funny and awesome bloggers out there!  You know who you are….

Blessings,

Anna K.

Hearth and Home: Being creative around the house

Sometimes my creative energies turn toward hearth and home.

Well, mantle and home in my case.

We don’t have a fireplace but we do have a “rescued” wooden mantle that we use for display…or just a place to put something out of our toddler’s reach.

Anyway….what was I saying?

Ah, yes.  Mantle and home.

What with the holiday season around the corner and an upcoming visit from the Hubby’s fam around Thanksgiving, I’ve been snagging moments here and there to add some Fall touches around the house.

Pumpkins are my fave way to bring that Fall feeling to life.  The color and the shape bring instant fun and life to any arrangement, porch step or table centerpiece that they’re included in.

Keeping in mind that I have a very curious -and tall- toddler in the house, I set out to make a movable centerpiece of sorts.

Materials included~

{clear glass container}

{bags of dried beans}

{moss}

{mini pumpkins}

~The hardest part of this was cutting open the plastic bags that the dried beans were in.  I used two different colored beans and layered them.

~Once I’d reached the height I wanted with the beans, I layered in some moss that was leftover from another project.

~Topped off with some cheerful mini pumpkins, this project was done.

This only took me a few minutes to do and I’m quite pleased with the results. I like that this is open to variations.  I can see it using strings of beaded garland and glass ball ornaments for Christmas or even Easter candy and some decorative (faux) Easter eggs perched on some paper grass….Oh, the possibilities!

So far, I’ve used it on my entry table, my kitchen table and even as a centerpiece at my Dad’s birthday party.

When I said I wanted a “movable” centerpiece, I meant it!

As for keeping it away from the toddler~

So far, so good.

Blessings,