My Poor Abandoned Blog!

I have neglected my little blog! I'm so sorry! I've been working at CVS and I've been working a lot and definitely staying busy with that and keeping up with Madi! :)

Well, since my last post, Jason got a new job working for Hertz! I stay home part time with Madi, which I love but naturally still wish it was more! I try to make time for my sewing but it never works out that way! I need to since some of my Christmas presents will be sewn!! I've been trying to focus more on making my mark.! I recently met my regional manager, my local mentor and one of the top sellers in OKC (I was the other, which still surprises me lol). Well, we went to dinner and it was very motivating! If I didn't love mark. products enough already I loved mark. even more after that!! It is an incredible company to 'work' for!! I absolutely have always wanted to be able to stay home more and be my own boss and I know mark. offers that and more! Plus what girl doesn't love to play with make up and fashion?! It's pretty exciting! Ultimately I'd love to stay home raising our kids doing mark. and sewing!! I am slowing trying to make that happen!

Anyway, enough about me! :) So, Madison recently reached two and a half! I cannot believe she is so close to being three and preschool age, etc! She is so smart and I forget it sometimes and we'll be out and about and people will ask how old she is and surprised how well she talks and how smart she is for her age! Of course, I wish she knew a little more; mainly sign language, I really wanted to teach her more, but she says what she wants so much it gets lost! She knows a lot! She will say something and I have to stop for a minute because I can't believe she knew that! She remembers things from days ago and about certain people, it's funny! Right now she has been on this kick that if she knows a toy or something came from someone in particular, she asks for that toy that so and so got her! Like her little magna-doodle type thing she got last Christmas is her 'color game Grammy bought me'! Every time! She is funny! She asks when we pull up to CVS or I put on my shirt that I'm going to work! She can count to 10 and knows the numbers up to 20, they aren't always in order from 11 to 20, but she knows them! She was able to identify her ABC's a year ago, and now she can sing the song...she learned it a little backwards, but she knows it! She also likes to ask what everyone's name is! Most people love it and are very friendly, but sometimes it get be annoying....only when I'm already annoyed by something else; actually stuff like that cheers me up. :) She is getting too big! When shopping for her this Christmas it's amazed me, it seems like yesterday we were buying for a 6 month old or even the baby to be! Where did the time go?! Part of me (ok all of me) is ready for another baby, but I'm worried that with Madison being almost 3 I'll miss the small things with the 2nd one and that one will be 3 and Madison will be 6 or 7 before I even blink!! My oldest niece is already 9!! Just the other day she was Madi's age! It is crazy! Time is an amazing thing in every aspect!

Anyway, I've rambled on enough! Plus it's late and I need to get to sleep!! Have a great weekend and I will try to post again soon! I have a mark. party tomorrow, so hopefully I can let you know how it goes!! I'm donating a portion of my proceeds to March of Dimes and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation! So, if you'd like to help with those let me know or donate before the years out (for tax purposes) :) They are both great causes, and I do have a personal link to both!

Take care!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!

Update of Sorts!

Sorry I haven't posted much in way of life updates. Things have been pretty good here. Madi gets too big everyday! I can't believe how fast she is growing! She learns new words all the time! We're still working on potty training. She's sat on the potty a lot lately with nothing to celebrate. I think she might be anxious about it or something because she will either potty in her diaper directly before or after but not while sitting on the potty. It's just funny too because she really wants to sit on the potty but never does anything. Her potty is in the bathroom with us, so she sees what we do, so I don't know, maybe I'm trying too hard. I am a little anxious of her being trained because so many kids in her class are trained or close to it. I just keep reminding myself to step back and just let it be her time. I think part of it too is that I'll think she's ready so I'll try and work with her and it fails. It will come, I'm just trying to be patient. :) She also had her Curious George phase and still likes him but right now her favorite is Dora! We introduced her the toys first, but we recently got netflix so we've been watching the episodes. She still goes crazy for Caillou too! She is a fun little one! She is also at that age where she really fights to get her way. She tells me no a lot and has to almost be bribed just to do something! It can be frustrating, but she loves to play with Mommy and Daddy (and frankly anyone) so that's been fun too!
I did go visit my friend who had her 2nd baby and it definitely helped me see what I'd be in for if we were to have baby #2 any time soon. Although on the flip side seeing that baby and my best friend's baby, it's also giving me the fever! It will come in time. :) It's definitely great to see these little babies! It's also great to see their parents enjoying and loving on them! :) We are also having a good time at Mother's Day Out! They plan things for everyday during the summer to keep it fun! It's great! Last week we had water day and make your own Sundae, next week we have bike day. It's pretty fun, even though Madi's age group and the kids I watch can't get as involved as the older kids, they still loved having ice cream! It definitely keeps Madi and I busy and that's a good thing! :)
So, update on my 'businesses' I haven't plugged them as much as I'd like, but I am planning a mark. party in a couple of weeks to let people become familiar with the product, etc. I'm pretty excited about it. I haven't pushed my sewing too much I guess because I'm afraid if I get too busy with it, it will become more of a task than a fun hobby. I don't know, I'm still thinking about it, so we'll see. :)
Anyway, that's pretty much what I have for now. Thanks for reading! :)

June Friday Night Sew In

So, sorry I've been slacking when it comes to my blog. Friday was June's Friday Night Sew In. I got a new book that showed some little or no sew bag patterns and I didn't have any of the material to make anything and even looked to see if there was a way to use the fabric I had to make the bags but nothing stood out at me. So, instead I looked through my fabric and tried to find something I could make. I have this almost canvas material I bought trying to figure what I wanted to make I knew I wanted to make a tote of some kind but could never nail it down and actually still have some left over that I still can. :) Anyway, ultimately it worked out b/c I had some ribbon I've been trying to figure out what to do with it. So, I actually used the same pattern I used for the zebra bag I did a couple of sew ins ago. I love how this one turned out. So, here are the pictures! Sorry it's practically Sunday morning, but here they are!

Happy Father's Day!!!

I'll try to post something soon about everything else going on. :)

Friday Night Sewing

So, Friday night passed, and I got some stuff done; not enough considering my list and I tried working on some today but didn't get much done today either b/c Madison was a little cranky! :) I am almost done with one of my catalog bags and am so glad, because through the whole process I've had a hard time deciding how I wanted to do it. I hope the final project is everything I wanted and my cousin's want! I'm especially happy that I'm almost done with the first one b/c the second one will be a lot easier! :) I have not done my make up bags that I need done for Monday, so I'll have to work on those probably tomorrow, unless I have time tonight. :) So, without further ado, here are the 3 pics I have of my unfinished bag. :)

Front of the catalog bag and one of the sides

back and the other side of the bag

inside the bag, yes that's the table not the bottom,

that's b/c it's unfinished LOL! :)

Kristi, if you see this, hope you like it so far. :)

Sew In, Mark. and Babies......

So, tonight is our May Friday Night Sew In! I literally almost forgot! May apparently has been a crazy month! The second weekend of course with the carnival, Madi's bday, etc. and ever since then just trying to catch up! :) I still need to finish my cousins' catalog bags, they are almost done, just need to be put together. Those are just the start of my sewing list right now. :) I had a few ladies from Jason's work order some mark. stuff and Jason had mentioned getting a handmade make up bag with your first order; which I had technically only planned on doing for my online party weekend, but I don't mind! :) I also have been carrying a mark. purse I'd recently purchased, but am wanting a change for a while, so I'm dying to make me a new purse, but it's at the bottom of my list, b/c everything else I need to make is for everyone else! :) Naturally I don't mind at all! I also had said I was going to make the gifts for my nieces teachers esp since one of their teachers likes to recycle so I am actually excited to make her a reusable shopping bag and some reusable snack bags. I am not quite sure what to make for the other teacher, but I'll think of something! I want to get as much done this weekend as possible! I'm really hoping I can knock of most if not all of the things on my list by Monday at the latest!
BABIES! :) Not on our end, yet; but I have two friends that had their due dates literally a week apart! My best friend's due date is the first week of June and our friend who was due to have her 2nd next week actually gave birth to her little girl yesterday!! We have not had a chance to go see her yet, but I'm pretty excited! Their first son is 2 1/2 months older than Madison, I call him her little boyfriend. LOL. I'm constantly hoping mostly for my best friend that she'll have her first baby any day now! I know how much fun it is not the last month let alone the last couple of weeks! Just an fyi we are talking about #2 but nothing is certain right now. ;) We'd talked about having another sometime after Madi turned 2 or around 3. Since that is where we are we'd be ok if it was from now until then. :)
Speaking of Madison, she's doing great! She's grasping some of the potty stuff! She sat on the potty at Mother's Day Out the other day and I had her sit on the potty for quite a while the next day and she actually pooped! It may seem silly to those who don't have kids yet, but it was a big deal!  She has also gotten a lot better about going into her class at Mother's Day Out! This past week she didn't cry at all! I also learned it helps to let her walk in, maybe help carry her bags in! So, that was probably most of it! She also knows everyone's name (she hasn't told me them all, but her teacher said she knows everyone). She loves it and I love that she loves it! I also love my little class too! They are such a hoot to watch and play with! They are younger than Madi, so that's fun to see the difference! :)
As far as my mark. business, I'm still working on it! I probably don't market myself as much as I should, but I do have lots of ideas, so at some point I'll put those into practice. :) I have read a lot on the forums and have talked to my mentor (a new program that mark. has that I love!) and will be having a mini party soon! Mark. doesn't have an upline or downline like most of those companies (like Mary Kay, Party Lite, Pampered Chef, etc), so they started the mentor program, which I like b/c it's someone there to help you build your business, answer questions, and give you ideas without you feeling like they are just telling you these things to help their pocket too! Although, I think the mentors do make something off of being a mentor but it is not directly related to your sales! It is funny b/c ever since I have been in mark. I love it more everyday! It just seems like a great bunch of ladies to be included with (for the most part). I have taken part in some of those independent rep companies and haven't really felt that way, although Premier is pretty close, it was just harder for me to sell (just because I don't think I had the customers for it) so I couldn't enjoy it as much. I love the people in Premier, just wish I could enjoy them more. :)
Anyway, so tonight is the sew in so stay tuned tomorrow, for the results, and if I remember I'll try to post more about what I accomplish this weekend in general. :) Don't forget to check out my Etsy page, and my mark. page!

Thanks for reading!
Ashley

Is It Monday yet?

Ha! Never thought you'd hear someone say that! Monday will be like my Saturday! Since I'm working at MDO, they have an annual carnival (which I've mentioned) and it is 'tonight' (in quotes b/c right now it's 2am so to me, it's tomorrow). So, Thurday after working at MDO everyone was to come back to help set up and get stuff ready and Friday come back and work during the morning to finish the set up and make sure everything is ready! Friday night is the carnival in which all the teachers man their stations and work the games, etc. All that is only the half of it for me since I chose to make something for the auction, which of course I waited until this week to finish it! ;) Not to mention Saturday afternoon I have a baby shower to go to (which I still have not officially figured out what I'm going to be giving her!), and pretty quickly after the shower is my baby's 2 year birthday party! I CANNOT believe she's going to be 2!!!! Sunday is Mother's Day and Madi's actual birthday so we will be busy pretty much that whole day as well! I am hoping that at least Sunday morning my sweet hubby will get up with Madi so I can sleep or maybe Madi will cuddle with me since it's 'our' day! ;) Of course being the mother I am, I'd much rather Sunday be all about my baby, but what can you do? So, as of right now I don't plan on doing much on Monday, although I kind of want to do something special like go to one of those bouncey places (has the moonwalks etc) to 'celebrate' my baby's bday! :) We shall see! So, I also wanted to blog to let you know what I made for the auction. I made a cute little fabric basket that I got from an online tutorial, which of course when I was almost done noticed that the girl that posted the tutorial had a note that it should be for your own use only; so I felt bad to auction it, but if it was cute enough, it wouldn't have bothered me much! ;) Well, needless to say, the basket turned out A LOT smaller than I had thought, and did not have a great representation of my work (lots of mistakes...) so I scrambled together a cute little messenger bag! Of course in the auction I included one of the make up bags I made for my Mark. giveaway and of course some Mark. products! So, without further ado, here is what I made!

sorry the pic is blurry and fuzzy, my camera was charging so I used my phone!

front, but the flap flipped back

inside!

my cute 'little' basket!

(the fabric is part of what I won in the FNSI in March!)

inside my basket, the fabric is not supposed to be that bunched/gathered up!

I also opened my Etsy store (like 20 minutes ago!) so you might want to check that out, it doesn't have much right now, but I will add stuff as I can, if you haven't noticed I'm a little busy! I also have some catalog bags I need to make next week that I've already set aside for about a month! I feel horrible b/c they are for family and frankly should have been made a month ago! So, that is my very next task (after my Mothers' Day gifts)! So, hopefully I'll try to update again soon on how my crazy weekend was and how things are going with a 2 year old *sob*!!

Friday Night Sewing........

So, I got started kind of late last night, it was a crazy day yesterday! I didn't get done as much as I wanted but I will be able to work on more tonight. I did get my bags done for anyone that orders from my Mark. page through tomorrow. Any order from $2 to $20! Regardless it was very nice to sew last night! I needed it and am very much looking forward to doing some more today!! So, here are some pics!

I do love how they turned out! I may have to keep one for myself! :) Have a great weekend!