Good morning! I hope you are well today. I am feeling a bit sluggish. I believe it’s because I stayed up watching football. I ended up pulling out my colored pencils and coloring book during the Patriot’s game to alleviate some of the stress. I am going to try to complete coloring a page a week so that I can actually finish a coloring book!
I have included a few photos from my fall fairy garden. I first bought one for my father-in-law a few years ago so I decided to buy one for myself about a year ago. Three of the plants lasted from last year (I tend to neglect my garden between seasons) so I just added the flowers to the landscape. I would like to make a walkway for the little pumpkin house. But that’s it because I can go overboard. I have it on my deck right now but as it gets frosty out, I will bring it in for the winter.
Last week was very productive at work and with my genealogy research. I am still at what I call the beginning stages and continue to find inspiration and learn new information from the wealth of Youtube channels dedicated to family history research. My sister is even getting the bug and called me last week to tell me she is sending me a document she found at our family home regarding one of my uncles. Finding Your Roots with Dr. Henry Louis Gates has begun a new season and I just love watching them help people discover more about their family history.
On the health side of things, I hurt my knee working out last week and so I have been trying creative ways to keep my fitness program on track. Injuries seem to occur easier the older I become — grrrr. Today is my Meatless Monday and I am proud to say that I have been able to keep this up for several months now.
Yesterday it was fun watching Apollo and Leao working on some sort of circuit/computer set that Apollo had received on his last birthday. They get all into it and I love seeing them working together. I wish I had things like that when I was growing up. Very cool.
Well, I must go, I have a short work day today because I have to bring Nick to the dentist so off I go.
Have a blessed day my friends!
Belinda
Time with my boys has evolved over the years. As their interests change and their independence increases the amount of quality time together decreases. But I continually try to find ways to connect. Lately, that is with books and gaming. You all know I am a bookworm so that one is easy. Gaming, on the other hand, is a bit more challenging because I am so terrible at it. But I have been making it a point to try. This weekend, we have blocked out time for gaming and I even have scheduled additional time for it today since they have the day off from school. So I will be playing Minecraft with Apollo and Super Smash brothers with Nick later today. I hope that I can continue to find ways to keep our connections as we enter new phases in their young lives.
Good Monday Morning! I think I have tried to keep it real with you all when sharing on this blog. It is my intent to connect with you and provide sneak peeks “behind the curtain” of Belinda’s Crafts from time to time. It is also my hope to eventually feature new products and announce specials for new products going into my shop. But in addition to that, I want you, as reader and customers to understand more about my business through this blog by learning more about me and my interests as well as share the ups and downs of running my own business. That said, I would like to share my recent challenges and possible solutions.
Here’s what I know doesn’t work for me:
Good morning my friends! It’s been a while! I have been rather busy and frankly full of deep thoughts throughout the past few weeks. But today I am in high spirits and welcome this new day. So much so that the photos I am including in this post were taken this morning after dropping off my boys to their schools. This first photo is such a beauty. I like that you can see all the detail including little imperfections. The color is amazing – it looks like someone painted a yellow flower with red. This one I grew from seed and since the weather is still going strong, they keep on blooming.
Apollo’s birthday was a success and I will share a few photos later this week. Now I am preparing for Nick’s birthday which is this Friday and he is turning 14!! What? How did that happen? I mean really, I don’t believe it. Top that off with the fact that he will be my height in a minute! So no big party plans but a nice intimate dinner out and maybe we will catch a movie as a family to celebrate.
The Celebration of Life service for my cousin, Frank Buntin was amazing. For a wonderful man whose life was cut short, there was so much love in the room you could feel it. People from all over flew in to share stories and photos about my cousin Frank. I saw my mother’s brother (Frank’s dad) who is the last living Buntin of that generation. Although many of my family could not make it, I did catch up with some cousins I haven’t seen in years.
Despite the sadness, we all cherished the opportunity to catch up with each other and reconnect. I know that my cousin smiled on that day watching us all gather together. Especially since my generation has been awful about family reunions. So I am hoping we can all aim to change that now that we have been given another chance.
This last photo is of Frank’s younger brothers. I remember them when they were babies and now I felt so small standing there with them. My renewed interest and work in genealogy only made this day more precious.
Dalhia’s…can’t get enough of them and love that they are still blooming in my garden.