Bethanyism #12

Happy Monday!!! 

It's time to show you my latest Bethanyism. 

For those new readers, you can read this post for the explanation on what a Bethanyism is. I post a new one every Monday with the hope that they will inspire, make you think or spark some creativity, either in myself or others.

As you breathe right now, another person takes his last. So STOP COMPLAINING and learn to live with what you have.

Interesting perspective, isn't it?

I am the type of person who tries to make the best out of what life has given me. My life has had many challenges, many great losses and many things that would make others just want to throw in the towel. Yet, through all the pain and tears and heartache, I can still laugh. I can find joy and beauty in this big beautiful world because I am still alive and breathing. 

So what do you think about this week's quote? 

Are you alive? 

Or just breathing?

This One's For My Peeps!!!

Okay, I know not everybody likes Peeps.

But how can you resist when they're arranged so delightfully? 

Last year I made a Cadbury Chocolate Egg bouquet and this year I revisited the idea, but used Peep Bunnies instead. 

 I painted the terra cotta pot that I purchased from Michaels before I put the bouquet together. 

Then I put a piece of floral foam in the pot and filled it with gift basket filler. 

Then I went to work putting the peeps onto the skewers and inserting the skewers into the foam to make the bouquet. 

I just kept adding skewers with peeps on them until I felt like I had a full bouquet. 

 I think it's adorable!!! 

Hopefully, the recipients will too!

What do you think about Peeps? 

Love 'em or hate 'em? 

Say Hello To My Little Friend!!!

For my birthday, my clever friend Christie gave me a gift basket with a few of my favorite things. One of the most clever of which was to give me a flower and this little guy. 

 

(A Fish Who Likes Flowers, get it?) 

Unfortunately, because he's a beta fish, I can't put him in my fish tank with the rest of my fish, so I had to make him his own little home. I reused the glass vase that I used as a candle holder for our wedding, and added a few decorative glass stones from the dollar store. 

Now comes the tricky part... what should I name him? 

Any suggestions are welcome! 

UPDATE 3/21/13: After many helpful and fun suggestions from family and friends, I decided to name this little guy Allons-y! Other noteable favorite suggestions were Poseidon, Fish Stick and Red. 

Bethanyism #11

Happy Monday!!!

To celebrate, I have another Bethanyism to share with the world. 

For those new readers, you can read this post for the explanation on what a Bethanyism is. I post a new one every Monday with the hope that they will inspire, make you think or spark some creativity, either in myself or others.

"It's impossible," said pride. "It's risky," said experience. "It's pointless," said reason. "Give it a try," said the heart.

The quote for this week has been both a blessing and a challenge for me. I have been having some big dreams lately - some big, scary, life-changing goals that I'm setting for myself. With all the changes in my life lately, with losing Matthew and all the emotional/mental tolls that it has taken on me, it does seem risky to want to move far away from my strong support system. To challenge myself with going back to school. To moving to a big city where I know just a few people. 

But if you know anything about me, I have a tendency, a very strong tendency, to follow my heart. And my heart is telling me to give it a try. 

Have you ever taken a big risk? 

Did it work out? 

Was it a mistake? 

My 30th Year...

source

Have I mentioned recently that today (March 15th) is my birthday? 

And not just any birthday, but the big 3-0! 

I keep having people ask me if I'm freaking out yet. Freaking out? Why would I freak out? 
 

Haven't you seen what my past year has been like?
 

For those of you who are new readers, here's the highlights (or lowlights): 

• I got engaged after waiting for 10+ years for him to ask

• I planned a DIY wedding for 200 people in 6 months

• September 8th, I got married to my best friend 15 years from the day we met

• My husband and I got to have an amazing 10 day honeymoon at Yosemite National Park

•  October 7th, my husband passed away from complications of pancreatic cancer

• Since losing my husband I have visited : Seattle, WA (4 times), Neah Bay, WA, Eugene, OR & the beautiful Oregon Coast

 So here's what I have to say about turning 30.

source

BRING IT ON!!! 
 

Getting older doesn't hurt. It doesn't change anything. It's just a number. I'm still me. I still am living my life, picking up the pieces and putting myself back together. I'm learning new things about myself ALL THE TIME! 

Getting older has never really scared me (yeah, we're not talking about the two week freak out before I turned 25), but the way I see it, if you live your life how you want to live it and appreciate every moment you have on this earth, both the good and the bad, then you will have lived a full life. 

That, my friends, if my goal in life. 

To live it. 

source

It's My Party And I'll Drink...

My Mom & Dad are throwing me a party for my 30th birthday this Saturday. Lots of family and friends over for good food and of course, a few drinks. 

I decided to make myself a special birthday glass for my party using DecoArt glass paint pens. 

I have a small confession to make. I don't draw. I feel like my drawing skills are extremely limited to stick figures and the like. So I decided for this project to make a stencil out of vinyl and use that for the lettering. 

If you follow me on Instagram then you've already seen a sneak me of this project. If not, follow me here.

Now, this is when my craft fail comes into play. I've never used the DecoArt glass paint pens before, but was wanting to give them a try because it's good to try new things. I was surprised at how fast the paint dried, which was a good thing because I had to do a few coats to get it dark enough to make me happy. 

 The problem was that when I peeled the stencil off, most of the paint came off with it. 

Craft Fail!!! 

However, I was determined to make this work. 

Let's try a different tactic. 

I remade the stencil and used etching cream to etch the design into the mug. Once the design was etched in, I used the paint pens to trace over the etched design and give the mug a little bit of color. 

This time success!!! 

The best part is that once I was all finished with this project I realized that I could have just printed out the design and taped it inside the glass to trace it on. Oh well, maybe next time. 

Now my mug is all ready for my party on Saturday night. I'm sure it's gonna be a good one!


 

Bethanyism #10

Happy Monday!

Here's my latest Bethanyism!

For those new readers, you can read this post for the explanation on what a Bethanyism is. I post a new one every Monday with the hope that they will inspire, make you think or spark some creativity, either in myself or others.

I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find you are not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again. - F. Scott Fitzgerald

I love this quote for so many reasons. This week I am coming up on a pretty big birthday, which has made me think back on my life so far and think about what I want for my future. Not that I am not proud of the life I've led so far because I've been very blessed, but I'm at a point in my life where I'm starting over. Not totally from scratch, more like a new chapter of my life. And I'm very curious to see what is going to happen next. 

Have you ever had to start over? 

Have you ever wanted to? 

Bethanyism #9

I'm posting a new Bethanyism, which means that it's probably Monday!

For those new readers, you can read this post for the explanation on what a Bethanyism is. I post a new one every Monday with the hope that they will inspire, make you think or spark some creativity, either in myself or others.

Let us sit here you & I just a little while longer for right at this moment we have all that we will ever need. 

This picture was taken one year ago as of this Thursday, March 7th. It was one year ago on that day that I sat on a freezing cold Oregon beach while my blue eyed best friend asked me to finally be his wife. When I ran across this quote a few weeks ago, this was the picture that came to mind. I don't feel like I need to explain any more then that. 

Have you ever heard a quote and thought of the perfect moment it fit into?