"Brown paper packages tied up with string..."

List making, reflecting, goal setting, journaling, and letters.

These are just some of my favorite things.

And this is a bit of what I've been up to the past few weeks.

At Christmas, I got a gift in a really pretty blue and brown box- the box was almost just as lovely as the gift. I brought it home and tried to think what good purpose I could use the box for. Well- at the same time, I was doing some cleaning of piles in closets that never gets dealt with. I came across multiple shoe boxes of cards and letters- from birthdays, Christmases, dozens of notes from my mom, letters from my grandmas when I went off to college, and special encouraging notes from dear friends. What to do with them all?
Ah hah! The beautiful blue and brown box!





I got some cream and brown cotton crochet thread from the craft room and started the glorious task of re-reading all these notes and cards and bundling them into stacks, with cute little tags tied on to label them. Oh, it was so fun! It made me realize the importance my words can have- if the sweet words of a girl from youth group sent to me in a card when I first moved away from home to college STILL bring a smile to my face 7 years later, I really should be more intentional with writing encouragement to others.



I also got a nice little spiral bound journal in my stocking at Christmas. Now, I have journals and notebooks going for everything: Prayer list notebook, prayers written out journal, regular life journal, various trip and travel journals, marriage notes and ideas journal, church serman notebook, interpreting experiences journal, Christmas gift ideas notebook, and a plain old notebook just to make lists in. So, what should this one be for?


Ah hah! A new idea! I need a "books I have read" book!
I started making a list of all the books I read as I finished them about a year and a half ago (in my normal list-making notebook, of course). So I copied that list into this new book, and then started 2012 with a page devoted to each book as I finish it. I put the title and author, give it my own star rating (from 1 star "didn't hold my interest at all" to 4 stars "I'll give it away as gifts and probably read it again in my lifetime") and write a one page review of it. So far, I've finished 4 books in 3 weeks and have had a ball writing about them!



Lastly, Cody and I have been busy working on our Year End Review and Goal Setting. We still aren't done with it- it takes a while, but it is fun and has been a blessing. I came up with 11 categories - anything from Life Highlights, Finances, Challenges, Mission, to Hobbies/Fun, and Time Management and more- and together we reflect on the past year in that category and make goals for the new year. I love the thought of having these written out for each year of our marriage to be able to look back on in 50 years and see what goals we set in 2012 and what our greatest struggle was in 2026 and what life highlights stood out in 2034.

Homemade Gifts

Just a short post to show you the things I made for Christmas this year.
If you don't know, I am big on homemade gifts. To me, giving a homemade gift shows my love for someone way more than a store bought gift, no matter the value. I just can't usually find a store bought gift that means the same.
I have given handmade gifts since I can remember- like age 3 or 4 probably. Now, my handmade gifts were pretty crummy up until, probably, high school or so. But now, I think I have definatly improved :) I also have unfortunately had to stop giving handmade gifts to about 7 family members ans 4 or 5 friends a year and narrow it down to just 2 or 3 people a year. Life is too busy right now to make much more. But, nonetheless, here's what I've done so far.


A simple, quick scarf for Cody's little sister, Echo. She is 8 now- and I thought a fluffy, soft, pink and purple scarf would be perfect. Made this one up in one night while watching a TV show on the laptop with Cody.

Thick and chunky, perfect for a cold Wisconsin winter. For Cody's Mom, Kristi. Vertical stripes in an irregular pattern.


One of my most beautiful crocheted creations to date! A scallop-y, lacy scarf for my beautiful friend, Celia. It was a fun, new pattern for me to figure out, started with a chain which ends up being in the middle, then you work down one side, building the scallops until you flip it and build the other side. Let me know if you want the pattern- it was easy to follow and quick to work up for being so complicated looking. I modified the pattern just a bit to make it longer and wider.

Doesn't she look like a perfect little doll? That is Evera, Celia's niece. In the car on the way to IKEA I decided to try to make a hat for her with some scrap yarn I had. It turned out a bit big, but she'll grow into it. Wish you could see the flower close up- its really nice!


Map Coasters- for Celia and Felix. I have never tried anything like this before, but thanks to Pintrest, I found this fun idea! Just use ceramic tiles from Home Depot, make color copies of maps from atlases checked out from the library, Modge Podge them on, and glue cork to the bottom. The 6 maps I used were of where Celia grew up, map of the college area they met at, where Felix grew up in Brazil, where they got married at, their first home/jobs, and their current home/jobs. The coasters turned out really nice- definatly will be making more of those!


Well- that's it for now. I have 2 days so I'm hoping some more homemade gifts will be happening!