I "Blue" It! (Confession Time!) Blue Monday

Welcome to Blue Monday! Today I'm linking up with Smiling Sally (it's been awhile!) Thanks for hosting Sally! Readers, please visit Smiling Sally for more Blue Monday!




















So ho ho....confession time. I blew it! Like just about every other person on this planet, I was going merrily along on my happy little diet when BAM! Temptation came along and knocked me off course!

After having baby #7 in mid-May, I immediately began working on losing the baby weight, plus some, so I wouldn't be too walrus-like whenever #8 decided to come along! Around the first of July, I proudly proclaimed that I was nearing a 30 pound loss since having Liam (yes, actually having Liam is included in that 30 pounds! :)

The night of July 4th, we had some friends over to set off fireworks and my friend Megan showed up in a cute top and skirt. Feeling frumpy and dumpy in my too-big jeans (the only pair of jeans I own--I had put them on just to show Jamie that they were too big), I hurried into the bedroom to change into something cuter. On a whim, I took out this blue skirt from my closet---a yard sale find that had always been too small...I was saving it for a skinny day. I was so thrilled to find that it slipped on easily and looked so cute!

I wore the skirt several more times over that next couple weeks and every time I couldn't help but comment to my husband how amazed I was that I was finally into that cute skirt and how much I loved it! When we headed home to Oregon for a week long visit in mid-July, I packed it with the intention of wearing it to the baby shower my mom was holding for me.

I spent the next 5 days pigging out on whatever I wanted! I was on vacation, after all! As you can imagine, by the time my baby shower rolled around, my skirt did not fit anymore! It looked horrible...so I took it off and put it back into my bag, defeated.

I've spent the last week or so since we've been home feeling defeated still. I'm frustrated with myself for my lack of self-control and I'm feeling like I just don't want to try again.

However, there's this cute blue skirt hanging in my closet reminding me that I was small enough to wear it just a few weeks ago. How long could it possibly take to get back into it?

I'm challenging myself to feature the blue skirt again on Blue Monday two weeks from now. However, instead of dressing it up with pretties like I did above, I'll be wearing it---comfortably. Pray for me, if you think of it, as food addiction is a difficult thing to overcome. I'm determined though---just gotta keep those positive thoughts at the forefront of my mind!

In the meantime, feel free to check out the rest of my blog, as well as Sally's list of Blue Monday participants!

Happy Blue Monday!

Pyrex, Strawberries and a Mystery! Vintage Thingie Thursday

Wow! It's been a really long time since I've done a Vintage Thingie Thursday post! What a busy summer! When you're finished reading mine, head over to Coloradolady's blog to find more participants in Vintage Thingie Thursday!

Today I'm featuring a little mix of things I've acquired over the past few weeks. First of all, I'd like to show off a gift from my Mom (remember, I told you how great she is in this post). My mom has been excited about building her collection of vintage Pyrex bowls for awhile now so I know this was a special gift for her to give me. When I came home to visit last week, she picked out one of each of her best bowls and gave them to me so I'd have a set! Is that awesome or what??!!



I love you Mom! Thank you!!!




Next up are a couple more additions to my strawberry collection! You might remember, I featured my slow-growing collection in this post. Well, I've found two more great pieces...

While we were home visiting Oregon, I found this cute strawberry teapot at a yard sale for a dollar! It WAS in perfect condition...but some dingbat (named ME) didn't wrap it up safely and it fell and got chipped up. It's still cute though!

Secondly, I found this little Avon bottle at my neighbor's place (I live next door to the thrift store!) It originally held bath foam and is meaningful to me, 1. because it goes with my collection and 2. because my mom sold Avon when I was really little and she has happy memories of her time as the Avon lady.

Lastly is a little mystery item! My mom gave me a bunch of knick knack thingies out of her gift shop while I was down visiting and the item below is one of them. I've got a pretty good idea as to what I think it is but I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what exactly it is or can offer some ideas on how to use it! It is very heavy (crystal, I think) and has three places molded into it where it seems one would stick something in them to use it as a stand or holder of some sort.

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday, everyone! Hope this is a great day for each of you!

Hope

Hope sits still and serene at the edge of a melodious river, dangling one bare foot into the warm, blue water. Her lovely blonde ringlets reflect the light of the afternoon sun and form a shimmering halo around her young head. Though she can’t help but raise her eyes every so often to the far-off hills, He has told her to wait patiently and so she will. “I’ve got a surprise for you,” He’d promised. If she has learned anything from past experience, she’s learned that time is relative no matter where one is. Even in this youthful body, she knows that the time it takes to endure is well worth the rewards that fortitude brings.

Since patience seems to be coming much more easily than normal this day, she begins to take inventory of her new appearance. Strangely, she can not see her reflection in the water in front of her. From the moment she arrived here in this glorious place, she’s wondered about herself. There isn’t much she can learn about what’s inside; about her dreams, wishes and longings. She’s treasured all of these, along with many thoughts and questions, since the day she was conceived. It’s her outside that is so new and clean and unfamiliar.

With a little shake of her head, she can see that her hair is golden and beautiful. She reaches for a curl and lets the silky strand slide around her fingers and over the back of her hand. As she moves to examine the hand more closely, she spies a simple white butterfly hovering near her knee. She watches with innocent interest for just a moment before it flutters over to a nearby snapdragon and gracefully lands beside it in the grass.

Lifting the small, delicate hand up to eye-level seems so simple now and she marvels at the lightness of it; both in skin tone and in weight. Turning this hand right-side up, she examines the lines upon her tiny palm. Amazing, she thinks, and so real.

Her eyes follow the motion as she slowly places the hand back in her lap. Fixing her gaze on the arm for just a moment, she changes her mind about resting it and, using her newly-nimbled fingers, explores the length of the opposite arm. Leisurely, she runs her fingers up and back down. Tickles, she says to herself, as even now the new word tickles her tongue.

A slippery smoothness is caressing the bottom of her one wet foot. Her brown eyes settle on a long and shiny creature gliding through the water. Father loves fish, she thinks to herself. But just as quick as it caught her attention, the creature is gone and her mind becomes occupied elsewhere.

“She’s here,” the butterfly whispers up to the snapdragon. The flower shivers with a sudden air of excitement and replies, “So soon? I didn’t realize we’d get to see her so perfectly formed so early!” The butterfly sighs. “Yes, she’s a beauty, isn’t she? She’s just the image of perfection!” She flurries up to give the snapdragon a butterfly kiss and then takes off back into the sky in search of a honeysuckle treat.

The snapdragon proudly pulls herself up to her full height--six inches at last measurement. As she stretches her lush leaves against the warm sun’s rays, a tiny yawn escapes from her delicate, pink lips. Lifting her head to peer over the sleeping marigolds, she stands upon the tips of her toes (which are firmly rooted in the ground, of course) and sees, just over the nearest hillside, exactly what she is looking for.

“Come children, come quickly”, the Man says as he ascends the last mound of lush, emerald hilltop. He takes care not to hurry the young family, most of them less than five years old. The Man turns to face this great group of children, His very presence commanding their complete attention. He smiles warmly and lovingly, sits down on a nearby rock and takes a young Asian boy on his lap. “Children”, he says, “I want you to remember back to the first time you realized you were in Hope’s place. Be patient, be kind. Be gentle and show her love. Come. Let’s go down to the river.”

The friendly party makes their way across the honey-scented meadow. “Look”, cries the Man, “there by the water!” He stops the children and they all stand still, amazed at the way the sunlight bounces off her flaxen hair. “She looks like my Angel”, says a little Irish red-headed girl, “only my Angel is a lot bigger than that!”

“Come”, says the Man, “Let’s take some time to offer our welcome wishes to this newest reflection of me. There’s a new child in Heaven today.”