What's Going On?

I'll give you a few seconds to get that song by the 4Non Blondes out of your head. Go ahead, sing loudly. I'll wait. Finished? Ok, let's continue.

May was the month that just wouldn't end. My calendar looked like one big black ink mess. At one point, I was ready to unplug my alarm clock, turn off my phone and just stay in bed...for days. Each day, it seemed like the things to do were so many, that I didn't even know where to start. I didn't feel like I was able to really enjoy many things because my mind was so wrapped up in what was coming next. I didn't feel like myself, but more like I was on auto-pilot...no emotions about anything (I didn't have time for that), do this, go there, buy this, check this off this list, wear this, yada yada yada. And I didn't like it.

So, what's been going on around here? Let me tell ya...

We spent some good quality time with these dear people...

Eli and me

Bella, she's 6

Eden, she's 4

Caleb, he's 2

They live far enough away that we don't get to see them as often as we'd like. But, we were thrilled to have them visit us for a weekend!

I've also been working on some new things for my Whatta Cute Baby collection. I'm trying out a few new designs (thankfully, I have a cute little model!) that I hope to launch on the website in the next few months. Here's a little ruffle butt onesie. TOO cute!


Thanks to one amazing sister-in-law, I got a last minute ticket to my fav-o-rite Broadway show...WICKED!! We were able to see it in Charlotte with Brooke and some friends who were seeing it for the first time! It doesn't matter if you've seen it once (like them) or 4 or 5 times (like us), it's so exciting and amazing every single time!! This was the best cast I'd ever seen and it was so great to share that with such great friends!

At the end of the month, we spent about a week here...

Seaside Beach, FL. We traveled to the gulf coast for our annual Memorial Day trip. The weather was GREAT and the time with friends was GREATER! We had some good times, amazing food and got lots of rest.

And last but definitely not least, I've been spending all kinds of time with this sweet little thing :)
My brother got a job (other than the job of stay-at-home-dad) so I've been keeping Reagan 1-2 days a week. She's almost 8 months old now and SO MUCH FUN! She's rolling around, starting to crawl, learning to clap and pull up. And she laughs...at herself, at other people, at the tv, at the dog...and it's so darn cute!! She loves music and watching shows on Nick Jr. She likes bath time and meal time, but not so much bedtime. Being an aunt is one of the best things in the world!! Every time I see her, I just can't even believe how blessed I am just to have that little girl in my life. She's growing so fast and it's exciting to think about her getting older and coming over for slumber parties with Auntie Sarai and playing dress up. But then she falls asleep in my arms and I get to looks at her and pray over her and love on her and I'm reminded that she's still so small and I should cherish every single moment with her at every single stage because it won't be like this for long!

And so, here's to June. We have less than a month until we head off to summer camp, so it's gonna be a busy one. But with some free weekends here and there and some days at home to curl up with a book or a movie, I'll hopefully be restored to my normal (is there such a thing?) self before long.

Proud Auntie Moment

If you're not up for hearing me gush over my sweet little Reagan, then I suggest you go ahead and close this window. Gushing WILL take place in this post!

Earlier in the week, I stopped by my brother's house for a quick visit. When I walked in, I could hear Reagan in the bedroom crying. Staci was trying to console her during a meltdown. A few minutes later, Staci came into the living room and I, of course, ran to shower Reagan with kisses. As soon as I walked up to her, something amazing happened.

She. Reached. For. Me.

My heart nearly melted into a pile of goo. My brother said that was the first time she had ever done that, which sent me into an Auntie high! It was a moment that made me realize just how much I love that little girl. She could have asked for a pony at that very moment and I would have given her one. She might have me wrapped around her little finger. Just maybe.

And because her cuteness cannot be contained, I thought it only appropriate to have her as a model for my Whatta Cute Baby website. If this doesn't make people want to buy onesies, I don't know what will!


My heart=melted.

Christmas Carnival

Yeah, I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but I had to give you guys the heads up on a giveaway extravaganza that will feature my at-home business, Whatta Cute Baby. Gina, over at The Shabby Chic Cottage is hosting one heck of a party at her blog on Saturday, November 28th. It's her first ever Christmas Carnival and I am thrilled to be teaming up with her!


Here's the scoop: she's partnering with 24 owners of online shops and hosting a giveaway an hour for a whole day!! Anyone can enter...and you can enter for one giveaway or for them all! You're sure to find some awesome items up for grabs and can maybe even find a few Christmas gifts along the way! Whatta Cute Baby! will kick off the giveaways at midnight, so be sure to stop by to check it out and enter to win this. Even if you don't win, you can find a discount code on her post for a Whatta Cute Baby! purchase.

Hope to see you there! Happy Thanksgiving!

the Whatta Cute Baby! collection

After many months, I'm finally ready to launch my new website for "the Whatta Cute Baby! collection"! It's still in the beginning stages, so I'm welcoming any suggestions for making it better. My hope is that, as I get more people viewing and ordering from it, that I'll be able to make it prettier and easier to use.

www.whattacutebaby.blogspot.com

So, check it out (you can click on the link above or use the link on the right side of the page) then come back here to let me know what you think!

Totally Random

I feel like I have about 15 different projects going on right now and my mind is going a mile and minute and this post will reflect just that.

*I'm slightly addicted to Google Reader. This handy Google application allows me to have every single blog that I read in a list and it updates very frequently with new posts. I read TONS of blogs (especially craft blogs) every day, 70 of them, to be exact. This keeps me from spending hours clicking on sites that have no new posts. It also keeps my mind racing with projects I want to try. Which is good for our house. And not so good for my sleeping pattern.

*We've been hounded for years about our lack of interest in "The Office". We watched the pilot episode, weren't really all that impressed and never watched again. After MANY, almost daily, comments about how awesome the show was and how we were pretty much inept members of society for not partaking in the love of "The Office" we decided to give it a shot. We started the first season on July 17th. We will probably finish the 3rd season tonight. It's awkward and weird and makes the viewer slightly uncomfortable a times, but it's so stinkin' funny. Jim is our favorite :) We might be addicted to that too.

*If you haven't been over to the Three Simple Girls blog, you should stop reading this post right now and check it out (but please come back and finish reading here :) ). We're getting readers from all over the world, literally, and are really excited about sharing information with our readers! Check it out on a regular basis as we are posting new stuff like crazy! And be sure to leave a comment and let us know you were there!

*I'm in the process of re-launching my home-based business: the Whatta Cute Baby! collection. I started this business (known then as Whatta Cute Bag!) about 4 years ago. It boomed for a while, I did some craft shows, and then it died along with our economy. I still get e-mails pretty regularly from friends and family requesting burp cloths and bibs and blankets and they all want to know when I'm going to get a website up and running. Well, the last thing I'm going to ask my computer savvy husband to do when he gets home from his computer infested workday is to create and perform the up keep for a website. And that's where my good friends a Blogger come in. I'm able to post items, maintain the site myself and it's FREE!! I'll be launching that site (hopefully) by the end of the month and I'll let you all know when it's up and running. If you've purchased sets from me before, you'll want to check it out...I've got some new items available and they are pretty darn cute (maybe I'm a little biased)!

*My brother and his wife are having a little girl (due around the first of November). She shall be called Reagan Marie and I LOVE being able to make cute little things for her. Can't wait to see her sweet little face!

And there you have it. Totally random thoughts. It took me about 10 minutes to type all that, yet all those things run through my mind in about 2.5 seconds. No wonder I feel like I'm going crazy.

Learning to Breathe Again

I was talking with a friend the other day at Ladies' Bible Study. She asked me what kind of things I was into these days, and I responded "A little bit of everything...May seems to have been such a busy month!" And then I realized that I can't remember a month in the past year where I HAVEN'T been busy as all get out!! It seems like every time I have almost gotten ahead, I've had to take 3 steps back. What's kept me so busy? Well, there have been things that haven't taken a lot of time: Joseph coming home from Afghanistan; keeping Bella for a week; friends getting married-which means lots of showers; vacations weekends to Inman, SC, Atl for Wicked (still loving every minute of that show!!), Seagrove Beach FL with the Brasstown Crew, girls' weekend in Pigeon Forge, etc, etc, etc. But the thing that is consuming my every waking, and sometimes sleeping, moment, has been the Mountain Homecoming Craft Festival at Haywood Community College on June 3rd.

Most of you know that about a year and a half ago, I started organizing people's homes for a job. Well, I quickly found out that it's not such a booming business. Most people need to have their homes organized, but they don't have the time/money/energy/want to for it. So after about 13 months, and only 5 jobs, I decided it was time to give it up. I didn't feel passionate about it, as I once had. I REALLY like organizing my home, and it's always gonna be here and always need organizing modifications, so I'll just stick with it!!

About a year into my organization business saga, I realized the income flow wasn't cutting it. So, I heard that Tupperware had a service that they were offering to help people use their Modular Mates containers to organize pantries. So, I started in October 2005 as a Tupperware Consultant. It was a lot of fun getting all that set up...making business cards...getting LOTS of free stuff...planning parties...it was fun. It still is fun! It's kinda slow right now because of summer vacations and end of school plans. But that's ok, because summers are (believe it or not) REALLY busy for me. In the beginning, the Tupperware business took off. I couldn't believe how busy I was with it. Then, about 3 months later, the "usual" month occurred...about 4 parties a month...about $1500 in sales...trying my hardest to get more bookings at every party. Now, I am NOT one to beg people to do something that they may or may not want to do. So, begging people to buy something or have a party was NOT my idea of a good time. Even without begging, I have been the top seller in WNC/East TN for 7 months straight, and now the only person ahead of me is my recruit! So, Tupperware, while not always booming, is a pretty decent constant. I can pretty much bet that I'll have a few parties a month, and parties = money.
After about 3 months in Tupperware, I realized that it was taking time, but not taking enough time. I felt like I was working until noon every day and then was bored out of my mind until Marty came home at 5. As anyone who has ever breathed knows, being a newlywed is NOT easy, financially. Money ways tight, and I felt like I wasn't doing all I could do to add to our household income. After praying about this, and discussing options with Marty, God sent some very special people into my life...3 ladies from church who were selling their crafts in local WNC stores. I had been making purses off and on since April 2005, and thought that might be a good way to earn a little extra money here and there. So, I immediately began the "let's start a new business" drama for the THIRD TIME IN 15 MONTHS!!!! Thankfully, God gave me the excitement, and AWESOME support from family and friends to get my started. Once I started telling people what I was doing, I started getting contacts at local gift stores and contacts in the Craft Festival Industry. It was like an outpouring that was so great, I couldn't even wrap my mind around it! Those ladies from church were very helpful with ideas to make my products better, and even gave me the idea to start a baby gift line of products, which have turned out to be my best sellers! Once lady, Lanise even spent an entire day taking me to local shops where owners could see my product and place orders of their favorites to sell. I got 2 HUGE orders and several more contacts that were interested. I couldn't believe it! During this time, I had been accepted to the festival at HCC and was busily working to get my stock built up for that. I felt like I was sewing non-stop for about 2 months straight...every day for 4+ hours, I sat at the sewing machine (thank goodness for TiVo-ed Oprah episodes to help me along!) sewing and sewing and sewing to the point where I really didn't even know what I was making anymore. It really surprised me that I didn't get burnt out with it all. But the strangest thing happened. After every product was completed, I immediately fell in love with it and thought that it was the cutest things I had ever made, and then I couldn't wait to make another!! These past few weeks I felt like I was being pushed to the max. I am only one person. I don't have the money to hire someone to help. It was ALL UP TO ME. Yeah, that stressed me out just a little. Throw in a weekend to Atl and a 5 day trip to FL (which were both anti-stressors!!!) and I really thought that I might die from all the work that had to be done. The hardest thing was that I had never done a festival before and didn't know what kind of stuff I would need or how many of each product to make. AND...what if I failed miserably? These were all things that were weighing VERY heavily on my mind...every minute of every day. Then, today came...ahhh...today...when I realized that my to-list would be easily completed, I only had 10 more items to make before my stock was complete, and I could breath. *sigh* The festival still hasn't happened, and I don't know how many products I will be able to sell on Saturday (Please be praying for LOTS of buyers!!!!), but I know that I'm at peace with it all. I feel as though I have reached a place, both in my business progress, and my trusting in God to provide, that I can breath...again.

the Whatta Cute Bag! collection

I wrote, a few days ago, about my love for grosgrain ribbon, and told you all that I would be posting some pics of my creations. Well, wait no longer because here they are! All these items are part of the Whatta Cute Bag! collection, and I LOVE THEM! I love that they are so cute and that people around the world (well maybe not, but a girl's gotta dream!) will be sharing in the cuteness! I also love that every single one is unique. They aren't made by a machine in a factory. They are designed and hand made by me. Therefore, every on is an expression of my creativity. Check them out and let me know what you think!

**These are burp cloth sets (and I am not really sure why half the pic is cut off!) and they come in a set of two with coordinating ribbons. These are just a few examples.
**This is a pic of my original creation, the Whatta Cute Bag!. This is the one I am carrying right now, and I love it because it matches my Petal Pink Vera items that I ordered! It also has my monogram on it, but I couldn't put that in the picture because these are for my flyers.
**These bags are part of the "Mommy & Me" collection. They are matching bags for mommies and little girls. I think they are absolutely adorable, and I love the spring colors!

So, there ya have it-my creations! Be looking for some pics of my newest creation, as of today, fleece blankets with grosgrain ribbon trim. TOO CUTE!!