it's a book... it's a shelf... it's a BOOK-shelf

you know of my obsession with pintrest.  i love it.  lurve.  it's a way to make me feel artistic and creative, and doesn't actually make me have to produce anything.

yeah, i know, i'm a quandary, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a big ole blanket of wtf.

one thing i loved on pintrest was the floating book shelf.  it was pinned originally from here .  and is just all kinds of awesome that i can't even begin to describe it.

so i just did it.

start out with your supplies.  a hard cover book (that you don't ever plan on reading again), 2 L brackets, and 8 screws, a pen, a drill with both a small drill bit and a screw bit

place the brackets flush with the 'raw' edge of the book, and mark the holes with the pen.

drill the holes.  try not to cry because you just DRILLED INTO A BOOK!!!!! 

(yes, i know, special level of hell for book destroyers, yada yada)

once the holes are drilled, screw in the brackets.

place the book where you want it (tip: use a level.  trust me), mark the holes, drill and attach with screws

not bad, huh? 

floating book shelf.  awesome.

according to hubby, it's very "me"

letter to littles - nov

This month I'm going to do it a little different.  This is a letter to both of you. 

My dear babies...  I promise to:

Have a shoulder to cry on when your heart gets stomped on. 

Chase the monsters out from under your bed.

Teach you right from wrong.

Let you decide which is which.

Tell you when you have on too much make up.

Remind you to be a gentleman.

Never stop kissing you.

Always check that you're still breathing at night. (Yes, Princess, even you)

Embarass you if I have to. 

Love you unconditionaly.

Make you eat your veggies.

Teach you responsibility.

Give you respect.

Expect it in return.

Make you laugh when you don't want to smile.

Make you smile when you want to cry.

Let you cry when you need to.

Stand up to the bullies.

Sit and listen.

Hold you.

Love you.

Like you.

Let you be you.

Mommy

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.1

ok, so i've been absent

i skipped out on the last days of NaBloWriMo.  there's no other word for it.  my brain just said 'no more'.  i still love it, it's still a great excercise, and i'm going to do it again next year.  between the Omaha Witch Walk, starting the VinLand Foundation, and the fact that someone figured out the laundry chute...  my brain just said....  done.

and this just hasn't been a good week.  (i mentioned the laundry chute, right?)  this is the last week that hubby and i will be on the same shift.  at least for a while.  sometimes what works best for the family, isn't what mommy wants.  i'll deal.  it's just going to be a change in the morning/work time routine.  i like working with hubby.  i love it.  but he isn't happy working days.  he's a night guy.  and it works best for everyone because this will leave someone at home if there are any unexpected child-care issues.  we've been damn lucky so far, and i'm not expecting that luck to hold.

in other news, i've decided i'm going to hand make as much of my yule list as i can.  i know, it's already november, so i've gotten a late start.  i'm not expecting to get everything made, but i've already started on my moms gift (no mom, i'm not telling you).  for bubby, i've found a pattern on ravelry for a knit t-rex.  i'm going to do it in orange and teal, just like buddy from dinosaur train.

now if you'll excuse me, i'm going to put a padlock on the laundry chute.  

Nine Noble Virtues - Dicipline

i woke up yesterday knowing i wasn't going to blog.  i gave myself permission from the very beginning to not blog.  it was my anniversary.  the witch walk was the day before.  i had a lot to do, and a desperate need to decompress.  not a great example of discipline, i know.  but the other things HAD to be done, and honestly, blogging is not the highest priority.

but all the things that HAD to get done, got done.

so i guess it's a pretty good example after all

Nine Noble Virtues - Courage.

i'm writing this now, because i know i won't have time later today.  the Omaha Witch Walk is at 7 (meeting at 6:30) and pretty much from a 1/2 hour from now on, i'm going to be like a chicken with it's head cut off.  no matter what happens today at the walk, i'm considering it a win.  on the website alone we raised over $400, and that's not counting the raffle tickets that we sold in person.  that is amazing to me.  which is where today's noble virtue comes in.   courage.

this is scary.  to spearhead this walk, to start this non-profit....  i'm shaking in my pointy shoes.  not because of the 'mission' of the non-profit, but because no matter how 'out of the broom closet' i am, this puts me out there on a whole new level.  this isn't anymore 'hay heather, you know her'.  it's now 'who is this witch, and why does she want my money?'

but it's something i have to do.

there's no rhyme or reason to it, other than i want to help people.  that's why i got started in my job.  but honestly, i don't really help people there.  oh, i get them the help they need.  but it's not me helping them.  (and to be perfectly honest, the help they need usually isn't the help they want, that's the sad sad reality of 911)  so this is a way that i can really help people that really need it.

so no matter how much i am afraid.  no matter how much i obsess about what will happen when i fail (not if, when.  my brain works that way.).  no matter how much scarier the prospect of succeeding is....  i'm doing this.

and that is courage.  

Nine Noble Virtues : Hospitality

i'm running out of blog fodder.  my last few days of blogs have been just a paragraph or two.  nothing to....  write home about.  so i thought i'd revisit something i wrote earlier in the month.  i'm going to take a noble virtue  and write about it every day.  today is hospitality.

here's what i wrote at the beginning of the month:
Hospitality.  Act within the best interests of everyone.  Make the world a better place. Make everyone feel welcome.  This are just a couple of examples of hospitality.  And yes, I know, you're never going to be able to act in EVERYONES best interests, but even just trying to come up with a way to do so, helps.  Its the whole "manifestation of thought " principal.  (I had a $20 phrase, I had to use it)


all of that still holds true (of course it's only been a couple of days, of COURSE it still holds true).  but one phrase in that "make everyone feel welcome" is key.  not everyone feels welcome in the world.  these are tough times.  more so for some than others (insert OWS soap box here, i'm not going to).  and a lot of people could use help, they just don't know how to ask for it.  I mean, there's Catholic Charities, Lutheran Family Services, Salvation Army...  all wonderful organizations that help a multitude of people, but....  noticing a theme here?

where can an openly Pagan person turn if they need assistance?  i know that each and every one of these organizations would help out a Pagan in need.  but would a Pagan feel comfortable enough to ask one of these places?  i can't say that i would be.

now, this is something that, at the moment, is near and dear to my heart.  i'm not sure if you follow me on twitter or facebook (and to lesser extent google plus),  but i've begun the process to start a non-profit.  it's not going to be anything big to start out, i know, but it's going to be somewhere that Pagans can turn to for warm coats, maybe a gift certificate to help with the mortgage, or a hot meal on a Sabbat.

i'm doing this with my friend Jen, another openly Pagan wonder-mom here, and we're starting small (we're just at the beginning, haven't even really picked out a name yet).  really small.  like, one family at a time as we hear about them.  i've already got a little list going from some of my Pagan blog-buddies that i know are going through hard times, and we'll start there.

but in the interest of hospitality, one of the nine noble virtues, will you help?  if you know of a Pagan family (or even non pagan, just someone that needs assistance), let me know.  

i missed yesterday

with everything that's been going on with my foot, with the witch walk, with starting up a non profit (which is a lot trickier than i thought it would be)...  i blanked out yesterday on blogging altogether.  yeah, i'm a horrible blogger.  call me names, i'm up for it.  i'll write two blogs today to make up for it (and yes, this totally counts as one of them).  that way i'll still hit my 31 blogs, though not technically in the spirit of the challenge.

and least i didn't do a 'look a bunny' post...