On my Prayer quilt from my grandma

I went to visit my grandma yesterday after running around for most of the morning. I'd just dropped Mike off at Luna practice (hes learning to skate so he can ref for us!) and was feeling a bit down because I wasn't able to stay and skate (the original plan was that I'd run home with the kids and work on some homework. I realize on my way to drop him off that I wouldn't have time to get home and do anything worthwhile before having to go back and get him). The kids were also driving me insane and my grandma had been asking me to come by because she had something for me.

Not sure why this picture turned but I couldn't figure out how to rotate it back. Blogger fail.

What she had waiting for me was this beautiful prayer quilt that she and my mom had made for me. I'm assuming it was a belated birthday present although she didn't say it was. She's made a bunch of these quilts with the ladies from the church, but this one was just for me, made all by herself with some help from my mom.

Little knots.

The meaning behind the prayer quilt is that its made with love, and covered with a bunch of little pieces of string. Each person takes a piece of string, says a prayer for the person receiving the quilt, and ties a knot. Effectively tying their prayers to the quilt and covering the person receiving it. While I am agnostic at best, it really means a lot to me that she and my mom sat and thought good things for me as they tied the knots. They also left three strings untied, one for each of the boys and one for Mike.

Owls! and one of the knots that were left untied.

I always treasure the things that my grandma makes for me. Shes always been my crafty inspiration (and also my go-to when I'm stuck on a project!) and I know how much time and effort she put into this (the woman is 82 years old for gods sake). I also love the fact that she found really cute owl fabric (I adore little retro owls) and that its obnoxiously bright colors.

My grandma= The coolest lady ever

Thanks grandma and mom!!

On turning 30

Yep, you totally read that right. I've hit the big 3-0 and started a new decade of my life.

Yes, that is a birthday cake with bacon letters

On my birthday, I found myself waking up in a lovely little condo that we rented from AirBnB (if you haven't used their service before, I highly recommend it. We got to stay in said amazing condo for less than a Days Inn) in Austin, Tx. My wonderful man had planned a trip to the San Antonio Seaworld to do a penguin experience with two of our good friends. After Seaworld we drove to River Walk and saw the Alamo. Overall a pretty amazing experience and one that I'm hoping sets the tone for the next 10 years.

Yes, I look a little scary and I'm wearing a fanny pack.
 Sleep deprivation will do that to you. Also, the penguins name is Jordan.

On the hour drive to San Antonio I found myself looking back at the last 10 years of my life and honestly, I'm amazed that I made it to 30 with some semblance of sanity.

During my 20s I had two kids, got married, got divorced, moved 10 times (no joke), changed jobs 3 times, got my AA degree and started working towards my bachelors, had surgery for staph and had my gallbladder removed (within 3 months of each other), my step-dad died from cancer, reconnected with my first love and bought a house... I could keep going. To say its been an eventful 10 years would be a serious understatement.

One of my favorite pictures. Edward was 4 and I was pregnant with Zach. Circa 2008.

While I hope my 30s are a bit more calm than my 20s were, I've already started making plans to do some awesome things. I want to start my own business and be able to work from home. I want to travel as much as possible (with and without the kids). I want to become an A level skater with derby. I want to lose 30 lbs.

I know lots of people talk about goals, very few achieve them. Thankfully I have an amazing support system that I know will help me through all the rough patches and help me celebrate my achievements (just like they've always done).

So, thank you 20s, its been real, but the 30s and I are ready to party!

Random Ramblings

I know, Ive been way too absent for far too long, and i apologize!

Frankly, I've been feeling a little random lately, and haven't really been able to string two words together, much less come up with a cohesive, well written blog post.

so, in the spirit of all of the randomness going on in my brain, i decided to make a pretty random post!

Here are some of the goings on in my brain and life lately:

• I've been devoting a lot of my time and energy to decluttering our house, and following the FLYlady's instructions for a clean home. I've had a shiny sink now for over a week! and we have a garage i can actually park in!

Those two little blurs? yeah, those are the kids.

I actually believe Mike thinks I've completely lost my mind. I've been tossing all kinds of things!

• I've also been reading "4 hour workweek" (visit Timothy Ferriss' blog here), and got all kinds of interesting ideas.
• I've been doing a lot of school work with this round of classes (I take 2 classes at a time, for 9 weeks), so that's been taking up a lot of time, but I'm still getting A's!
• My Brother is here visiting from China! We haven't seen him in about 2 years, so its really nice to have him home for a bit.
• I've also been trying to get ideas on what I can make for my little shop that I'm planning on opening via Etsy. The problem is, you have to have a product before you can open a shop, and I just cant decide what to make. I don't want to do everything and end up with a weird jumbled mess. I'm looking for some kind of consistency.
• Along the same lines, I also need to get back into the swing of the "One a day challenge". Lately my nights have been filled with homework and decluttering, so I haven't been creating as much as I should. And now I am totally embarrassed because Mike is doing the same on his blog and is totally kicking my butt with it!
• Something that has been bugging me for some reason: the negative image that crafters and handmade gifts have gotten in the media. Now, this isn't something that I've seen recently (on TV anyways), but I've noticed that people tend to look at me like I've said i could sprout wings and fly away when i tell them that i craft and sew. IDK, it just irks me.

Is this what the word "crafter" makes you think of?! Image via
• and last but not least, my lovely Geisha tattoo is FINALLY FINISHED! Mikes dad is a tattoo artist here in Orlando, so he does all my work, but I try to leave him time for his non-related customers lol!

Here's my beautiful lady. Shes on my upper thigh on my left leg. Doesn't she look just like the little ceramic Geisha I found a week or two ago?!

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL week! Keep up your "365 pics" and your "One a days"!

~~Love~~

~~GG~~

P.S.- anything you want me to review? do a tutorial on? ramble about at length?! email me or comment on my most recent post! I'll have my elves pass along the message...