Jenn Tries...

I'm going to keep things short and sweet tonight. Mainly because I have no idea what 'to write about, but also because its late and I really need to get to bed. So here we go... There are not enough words to express how good it feels to start crafting again. I got so busy over those two weeks, that I just didn't have time to find a project I liked let alone start one. And it wasn't a terrible two weeks, but I hate how that slothly feeling takes over so quickly. And it makes it that much harder to get back to doing anything. So I'm happy to be back to crafting and back to be looking for new crafts. And I'm also happy to be posting again!  (And I'm also happy to be posting again! And I think I might be on the right track with the past couple of blog posts. I'm starting to write the backstory to how I ended up with the project I did. Which apparently is necessary on ever other blog I read. I guess its good because then you get to know me and my t...

Happy Monday All! Apparently I missed the memo and instead of telling you my resolutions for 2017, I instead was supposed to pick a word to inspire me for the next year! So here we go... Photo from Kenspeckle Letterpress All right, I just learned that word and thought it would be fun throw it in there... (But it actually is a really useful word for my life... if it wasn't so strange and funny sounding that is) Actually my one word is: photo from Penned By Bren 2017 is the year that I turn 30, Mike turns 40, Blue starts preschool in the fall, and Lyon will finally get to experience what life is like as an only child. I will also be switching to a new restaurant by the end of the month. So overall as a family we'll be having a lot of adventures And the blog itself is in for an adventure over the next 12 months. Things are already starting to change and I'm hoping to get things up and fully running by March. (I want to say February, but...

And here we are in 2017! To kick off 2017 I thought I would share my new year's resolution: I actually started this resolution somewhere in the middle of 2016. (That was when I decided to stop being afraid of breaking all my expensive machinery and to start actually learning how to use it properly!) And if I could add to this list, it would be to actually learn how to take care of my finances! (I'm a spender and not a saver! Its terrible! So with my 30th birthday looming, I really need to learn to be better with my finances and start saving for retirement and start paying down all my debt!) So this year along with setting up my new planner (I found this really nice one at Target that took care of all my bullet points I wanted from my bullet journal. So yes I'm back to a planner for 2017), I decided to get a blank notebook so I can track my spending in it. I spent a little bit of last night setting both of them up! So they should be ready for the new yea...

Well its certainly been a whirlwind of a week! And yes I know last week I said I would keep up with the blog, but now I realize that's not going to happen. I very much want to keep up with it, but its just not going to happen. And that's okay. It gives me a little time to step back from the blog and figure out how to get it ready for the launch. So with that being said expect some changes to be happening around the blog! Anyway, since this is the last Monday Free Write of 2016 (and probably my last post of the year too!) I decided use it as a year in review. Let's see... 2016 was... interesting to say the least... especially around here on the blog! This was the year that I (finally!) decided to reclaim my life and start learning to do stuff I should have learned a long time ago. So this year I (finally!) learned to use my sewing machine and my stand mixer! Both of which were a lot easier to use than I thought they would be. (And I definitely put my crock pot to good...

There's officially less than a week until Christmas! And less than two weeks left in 2016! Its crazy how fast the year goes isn't it? It feels like it was just June and I was worrying about running the blog and getting it ready for the big launch. Well its almost time for that. I'm hoping that will be sometime in January. I know I was hoping for the new year, but there's still so much work to do on the blog. All right that might be an overstatement. I just want to update the banner and the color scheme. And do a little touch up work along the way.  The problem is that I just (finally!) started training for a new restaurant. So for the next couple of weeks I'm going to be super busy with that and still maintaining my normal work schedule. So I'll do my best to keep up with the blog. Its just more than likely that some of posts are going to be a day or two delayed. I'm not going to lie, it's very disheartening. But I know in the end it'll be for t...

Happy Monday All! This week I stumbled upon an old Maya Angelou quote: full article at  Maya Angelou On The Dangerous Power Of Racist Words And while the article itself is important read (especially about the power of racist, hateful, words have on people), I particularly liked the quote above. I've had a long held the beliefs that thoughts too have a particular energy. And whether you're making something or just doing your household choirs, the energy for those is transferred. So when I'm crafting, I try to keep my thoughts positive. Or at the very least, I try to use my crafting time to work out any issues I'm having. (Yes I'm one of those people who talks to herself while crafting... well when I'm working on things after hours and all my boys are sleeping that is!). Strangely enough, that even after I've long finished a project, I can still remember what I was thinking about. (And sometimes that determines how I feel about the project, too). ...

Well its the first Monday in December, so you know what that means right? Its time for my Monthly Review! So where do I begin with November?  (As I always say) Novemeber was probably my most successful month on the blog. I pushed myself a little bit further with the amount of projects. (Almost one a day!) and I've tried to set up my posting that after I'm done posting, that I go back through that section of the blog and update it. I know it seems obvious that's how I should do it, but I'm just so bad at remember to do it. So I definitely need to work on that more in December. (After all I'm hoping to make my big launch in January! So I definitely need to get this entire thing under control by the end of December) And you know towards the middle of November I loosened the strings on the instagram account. I started posting more pictures of projects in the works and had a little more fun with my captions. And I've actually got some more followers thi...

All right, I'll admit it. I've been dreading this post all week. It seems that while I was off playing with pumpkins and getting Santa Alf ready for Christmas, I forgot to take the time to think out a topic for today. So instead of a long free write, I thought I would just share something that made me happy this week. To end October, I shared an easy way to start upcycling was to start reusing food containers.  And this week while my mom came to help me with the Blue and Lion, she brought some left over chicken chili stored in left over ice cream containers! (Which I plan to use as cupcake cup storage after I'm done with it) I know it may not seem like much, but it means somebody's listening (even if it is just my mom) and its a start. And that's how revolutions start. One person at a time.

If I actually titled my free writes I would call this one Mike's Master Class On Using A Drill. Yup that's right. I finally decided to learn to use a drill. And Mike was more than happy to show and tell me everything he knows. (Even if I didn't need to know that much!) So here's basically how it went. (And yes we went outside because Lion was sleeping and because that's just where we ended up). So lesson 1 was that the two stands make up a horse. He had to clarify that it was not a horse you ride on (and I added not a pommel horse to do gymnastics on either! He didn't think that was funny or he just wasn't paying attention. So I let him know I knew what I saw horse was!) Next he put up a spare piece of wood to show how to do some test holes in. And really there is nothing to drilling a hole. All you have to do is pick the right size bit for your hole, pick the right speed (the higher the speed the faster it routes, so slower speeds are u...

To say this has been a long hard week, would be an understatement at this point. The election results were a cold bitter pill to swallow. And it just felt that everything we, as a country, were working towards with Obama (equal pay, more rights for LBGT+, fighting climate change; etc), are now getting put in reverse. Its disheartening to say the least. And throughout this week, I have asked myself a millions times where do I go from here? And the answer is clear.    The only way to keep moving progress forward is through education and enlightenment.  So, I keep fighting the good fight on this blog. I keep making stuff and learning fun ways to upcycle and most importantly I keep sharing them. Because I may not be able to stop the drilling of oil or wrecking nature to get coal (and no I'm not sure how they really get coal. Other than through coal mines), but I can at least stop filling the landfills with so much trash. And yes I'll be fighting the ...

And here it is. Monday again. The last Monday before the election insanity ends and we go back to just bitching about everything the president does (or doesn't do) and how awful the next president will be. But I'll get to all that on Wednesday (hopefully!). So for now I wanted to look back at October and look ahead at the rest of November. So October is already gone. And boy did that go by quickly! (And I can't believe we're already in November!). And I know I say this every month, but I think October was my most successful month. (Other than that brief week when my WiFi was on the fritz!). I definitely tried a lot of things and it definitely made me try a lot more things. Overall I like all the added projects I added in and I want to follow that trend coming up here in November. (And eventually I'll get to the point where I'm writing something for the blog every day, but that probably won't happen until February or March or later.) And I do...

Well normally I just post my Monday Free Write on Mondays, but since October is a special month and ends on a Monday, I thought that it would be fun to combine the two. In a sort of special tale about why I love upcycling and probably the easiest (and probably one of the best!) upcycling projects, I've come across yet! So here we go. I guess by now its no secret that I love upcycling. I'm not sure how I first learned about it or how I officially got started. It probably was while I was watching home improvement shows on tv or probably during my first ventures on Pinterest. And that was all it really took I was hooked. I just fell in love with idea of turning trash into useful items. (And yes you can make artwork too, I just haven't gotten an inspiration for that yet) I think I really love upcycling most of all because it makes me feel like I'm doing something to help the environment. Whether you want to believe in climate change or not (that's your choice...

You know I don't normally hate Mondays. Normally because they are my Sundays or because I feel like they are the start to my week and I'm just excited to get the week started again. But yesterday my normal happy go lucky Monday was anything but. So I present to you what I wrote yesterday after a very frustrating morning. (In which I went out to Panera to get some blog post posted and couldn't get the internet to work. When it rains it pours, I guess) I had so much to say today, but once again I learned that Mondays (which are my Sundays) are not my day. I usually work late on Saturday and get up with the kids on Sunday. And most Sundays my mom comes over to help me with the kids. This Sunday however she was in North Carolina visitng my sister. And I had to get up with the kids from Thursday through Sunday this week. (and each night I had to close.) So I thought maybe Mike might think about me and get up with Lyon on Monday morning. No such luck. And yes I get th...

I'm sorry for getting this up late. We're having difficulties with the internet lately and I've had to sneak out to get this posted. (Hopefully that will all be resolved by the end of the week) Anyway I wasn't going to write this, I really wasn't, but then I heard Michelle Obama give a speech about this and I knew that I too had to say something about it. That's right I'm talking about what Donald Trump said 10 years ago and more importantly how he treats women today and most importantly how everybody can easily dismiss it as 'locker room talk' or 'boys will be boys'.  Obviously as a woman I'm disappointed and disgusted by what he said. It was rude and vulger, but it was ten years ago. And people over a decade should change, so I can forgive him and Blly Bush for having a past. I'm not perfect and things I say to other people or about other people aren't fair to them. And I'm thankful that nothing I've said is rec...

After ("dangerously") deciding to run through the hurricane on Thursday afternoon (I maintain it was just feeder bands before any of the real wind or rain had hit us, so it really wasn't anymore dangerous than running in any ran storm), I realized that I have this adventurous spirit in me and its no wonder that I am the mother of two boys. I read somewhere that having boys shortens a mother's lifespan. I can't seem the article now (everytime I try to find it all I end up with is scientific research that might not be all that accurate), but in the article it talked about how mother's of boys often do crazier things and have bigger adventure than mother's of girls. I'm not sure how accurate those findings are either. I just assumed that I always had an adventurous spirit lurking inside of me and once I had Blue I lost a lot of my silly fears. Actually, that's a lie. I'm still scared of a lot, but I try to pretend like I'm not so that may...

Well, I wasn't really planning on posting anything today, but after being stuck inside for about a day and a half waiting for Hurricane Matthew to get to us and pass by us, I decided it might be nice to have a free write about what its like being on the outer edge of a hurricane. So before I begin I want to say that I was very fortunate that this storm didn't decide to go across Florida, but other countries were not that lucky. So if you want to donate to a relief fund, but you don't know where to start  Bustle  has a list of six organizations for you to chose from. (Although the best way to donate is to put your money into their economy or pay their workers to rebuild their homes instead of sending missionaries over to do it for them.) All right I'll get off my high horse... for now... and I just want to state one more thing. I grew up in Florida. So reading hurricane tracking maps are like second nature to me. I feel like the  National Hurricame Center  tracking...

So apparently its October now! And I guess I've officially made it to the year mark. I'm not sure exactly when I started blogging. Sometime in September or October. (I guess I should look that up?), but I really didn't hit my stride in the blog until April and then got things into full swing by July. So even though its been around a year now, I still feel like I've only been blogging for a couple months now. But I'm still proud of all the progress I've made. All right onto the fun stuff! I had a really good September. I've figured out a schedule that works for me and for the blog. And I was finally able to spread out my projects enough to cover most of the month. I did have one week that I was a little short on posts (which apparently caused my viewership to plummet). So now I have to get it back in October. (And make sure that I don't have another week like that). Overall I'm very happy with September and I would like to continue most of what I...

I'm a regular reader of parenting articles and interesting posts from all over the web. (A lot of them from Huffington Post, Pop Sugar moms, etc.) So I was a little taken back when I found an article from The Financial Diet  titled 'Stop Taking Pride In Not Knowing How To Do Basic Shit'. I only skimmed it at first and I knew that her statements were exactly why I was doing this blog.  Sure I make it sound cute, 'Jenn tries It (so you don't have too)', but what's hidden underneath is that I'm trying pins so that I'll eventually gain all the adult skills that I'm lacking. I'll be 30 in a little over 5 months, I have two kids and I still feel like I'm pretending to be an adult. (And I believe Mike has it worse than I do and he'll be 40 next year! But I ). Its not cute and I take no pride in not knowing how to do basic shit. I hate it. But I'm working on it.  And just have to keep reminding myself, that it doesn't alw...