Focus Friday!!!

Another week is gone!  It is kinda weird, it seems like time moves so slowly...but then once the week is gone it was like that didn't seem like that long! ; )

Grandma and Grandpa S. had this idea and offered to come over and the watching the kids, and then Mom taking just one of us kids by our self and going to do something special!  So the past several weeks, every friday they have come over and Mom has taken one of the kids and went and did something with them that they wanted to do!  Sooo...yesterday was my day!  I wanted to go antique shopping so we ending up having Grandma with us and we went to Salina to one that they had been to....they have been to pretty much all of the antique stores around. ; )....they have had SO much fun!  I had a chiropractor appointment that morning too at 10:10, so we planned it that would leave early at 9:00, and go to Orschein first.  I wanted to look at belts and cowboy boots!  I think it would be fun to get a pair!  So, that's what we did and the belts were pretty expensive and not really what I wanted or good quality, so I think I may just order one from the place online where Dad, Jonathan and Grandpa G. got theirs.  So as we were leaving...I think I saw on the end of a couple isles they had some soft blankets for 10 dollars.  So I went over to look at them...I just love soft stuff!  And 10 dollars isn't a bad price!  The blankets were really soft and Mom looked at them too thinking maybe she should get one so we wouldn't always be fighting over the nice soft blanket that we have on the couch!  There was two different purple ones....I thought I could put in on bed, and I could get rid of that old green blanket that I use when I need another layer.  Right now I have my quilt that Grandma S. made me, and the extra blanket that I fold up on the end of my bed that I usually use for another layer, Grandma G. crocheted for me one Christmas!!!!  I think that is neat that I have something that both Grandmas made! <3  Anyway I usually use the green blanket too if I need it, so getting this blanket might be perfect for that!  I decided to get the plain light purple one, and not the other one that had a flowery patter on it, because it made the top not as soft! : )  The back side of the blanket has the texture of sheep wool and is sooo fuzzy soft!
So, then we headed over to my chiropractor appointment and then headed north...Evy had said something about a thrift store in Linsborg that was pretty nice, so we stopped there on the way to Salina.  There was a couple very little antique stores and an art gallery that smelled like cinnamon rolls! I think they were bakeing some sweedish thing...Lindsborg is sweedish town. We wend into a little gift shop too...and the lady was nice but she couldn't hardly figure out the change for Grandma!  (she bought some little potato chips with sugar on them)

We went to the big antique store in downtown Salina, and it was huge!  We were in there looking for around an hour and a half or two hours!  There was the huge main floor with little rooms off of in, a partial upstairs and some downstairs!!!  When we were about done, Grandma said if we were looking for shelves, (we want to do something above Mom and Dad's bed) that we should go in the basement.  I was like there's a basement too! ; )  There was a ton of stuff to look at with all kinds of nooks and little rooms where they had stuff!

So, my picture for this week was all of the stuff I bought on our, "girls shopping day!"  I got really good deals and I love what I got! First I found this little watering can that was made of pottery and made to be used as a vase or planter.  It was marked down to one dollar, I was said, that is almost to good to pass up!"  So went and picked it up and said, I guess I'll just carry it for now...and you know what that means! ; )  I was looking for a mirror to put in my room...I have a display above my dresser with a shelf high on the wall, then below that in the center I have a photo canvas that has a ballet picture of me from my senior pictures, and then on the left of that I have my pointe shoes in a little wood shelf that they fit perfectly in...and I think Grandma said that my Great Uncle Mark, made that shelf and another one that the kids have in the closet for there "house" stuff.  So I needed to put something on the other side to complete the display and I couldn't figure out what to put there...then I thought of a mirror, so that I was going to look for one when we went shopping!
I found one towards of the beginning of shopping it was pretty much want I wanted although we would have had to fix the wire hanger on the back so it would hang up and down. It was I think $21.  So, we kept looking and if I could't find anything else I could come back later.  Now back to when we were going to go to the basement...we didn't really find anything that would work, and Mom remembered that we were going to just use on that we had so we went ahead and looked around in the basement.  I found this mirror that looked like a window, but had a mirror behind it!  I remember standing in front of it and saying out loud, it's perfect!!!  Then I remembered there was a lady in the other room across the hall! ; )  I always thought those were cool...and this mirror was only 9 something!!!  Then by the mirror was a table with some stuff on it and on of the boxes that was there was a little Lane cedar chest!  Grandma said that it was a sample.  She said that all the girls that graduated form high school would get one, or get a card and they could go to the company and get a small sample for free...probably trying to get then into the store to buy a, "hope chest."  How things have changed!!!  The only thing they get in the mail now are college invites and  cellphone advertisements! : (  The box and a lot of scratches on the front and the bottom had splits, but the stamp on the inside of the lid was so cool, it was only 4 dollars!!!  There was another one in much better shape and like 8 or 9 dollars, it still had the lock on it, but the hinge didn't work and good and I liked the stamp on the first one a lot better..and Grandma like the first one too! ; ) So, I got that and got the mirror of the wall and we headed out!  So I ended up paying 16 dollars for EVERYTHING that I got and that was still less then the first mirror that I found!!!  Love the basement!  So glad we went down there!!!!!  We then ate lunch in the car, stopped at got pizza...yep FRIDAY NIGHT, and drove home...we had so much fun!

I had fun taking these picture too!  They turned out great!...it was all natural light coming from the windows on the left!!!

*Remember you can click to enlarge them!!!

Until next Friday...or Sat, or Sunday...whenever I get the post done! ; )

~ Sarah Jane

Focus Friday!

Here is what I decided to take a picture of today for Focus Friday!!!

*Click to see bigger and clearer! (is that a word? ; )

The picture didn't quite turn out the way that I wanted, but with a little editing it got a

little closer to it! ; )  This is the center piece that I came up with one day to put on our dinning room table.  (I think it will be fun to buy stuff and decorate when I have a house of my own!!! ; )

So...this was my second week of working four days and it went fine!  I'm not ready to go back next week yet...but maybe by Monday I'll be rested up! : )  Today Robert wanted to play basketball with me so I went out and shot baskets with him.  It was actually fun!!!  Robert said, "let's play pig!" I didn't really want to cause I figured he could shoot better and farther than I could and I would loose.  But...we did play pig and....he won the first game then I won the second game!  During that game that I won, I had the lead shot and it was P-P.  I shot from the spot by the fence that is not to far away from the basket, and at like a 45 degree angle...I made it....Robert made it...I made it...he made it...I don't know how many times we both made it but it was a lot!  I was trying to put the presser on and make him miss! : )  And it was kinda to fun to stop, I was like let's see who misses first!! ; ) I can't believe that we made that many...just right after the other! : D  I was the first one to miss though.  But then a little bit later Robert missed so I had the lead shot again, so I went back to that spot. ; )  AND, I ended up getting the point at that same spot...just a little latter! ; ) I was like, "I had to earn that one! 

Then Robert won the next game (the third and final game)...he said lets play one more since we had both won a game, and that person will be like the champion.  "Ok," I said, "I'll go with that!"  "At least I won one game!!!"  I was thrilled when I won that game! ; )  I threw the ball up in the air! : D

Then this afternoon, Jonathan was wanting to sew a number seven onto one of his t-shirts to make a jersey.  I didn't realize what he was doing at first, but he was cutting out the number from one of Dad's old t-shirts and laying out pieces on his shirt to make the number.  I was wanting to fix the hem on one of the shirts that Robert didn't want and I had gotten, so I went ahead and got my sewing machine out!  One of those creative adventures that sounded kinda fun...I didn't know if my sewing machine would even do the zig-zag for the edge of the number, because one time I thought I tried to do some of the fancy stitches and I couldn't get it to work.  But, it did work!  I did my shirt first because there was the dark blue thread still on from when I made my skirt...the one with the ruffle and lace around the bottom!!!  Then once I got that done, I worked on Jonathan's shirt.  Mom said that we could just sew around the number first with just a straight stitch, then go back around and do the zig-zag around the edge.  So, I did that and me and Jonathan decided that maybe we would just leave it that way, but then I did the zig-zag across the number, in this one place where the number over lapped, and we thought it looked so cool that maybe we COULD do it all the way around!!! ; )  So, I did and it turned out pretty good!  We had fun...I wasn't eve sure if we would be able to do it.  I didn't know if you would be able to sew up there on the shirt, and not have problems.  But, you could!  <3 Jonathan would hold the thread and bobbin thread while I got the shirt all pushed under the foot and positioned...and keep holding it till I started sewing! ; D  I thought that taking a picture of MY sewing machine would be fun, sooo that might be next week's, "Focus Friday" picture! ; )

That's all for now!.....it took long enough! ; )  But, it's always fun to go back and read what you journaled...so it's worth it! : )

~ Sarah

Focus Friday!!!

I was sitting at my computer today and I all of a sudden realized that it was Friday again! ; )  OH, no, I have to post a picture today! ; )
This week I started working four days a week...I had been working just Monday and Tuesday, now I am going to work Monday through Thursday!  I could tell I was more tired the last two days when I got up then I normally am, but it wasn't too bad during the day and everything!  Last night though I was really tired and I was sitting on the couch watching TV and I was just kinda like zoned out...Mom said she could tell I was tired!  It was weird because I think I was registering what they were saying on the tv but I still felt tired!  : )   Work really is going good!  I am feeling like I am getting more and more used to it, and I am understanding how everything works when they explain it to me.  Now just to remember it all!  I hope that when I mess up I can handle it ok, and don't just start crying! ...I don't like messing up, making other people upset with me and letting them down. : )  One day I had hot chocolate at 2:00 break and I really liked that, it tasted so good!  Mom got some more at Dollar Tree today so I can have some more while I'm at work..yeah just one dollar for a whole box! : D

OK!!!  Here is the picture that I did today!  The rings are my Mom and Dad's rings, the Bible is mine, and the light purple flowers is close to the the color that was their actual wedding color!!!  I set it up in my room: I had my ceiling light on, then I used my night stand lamp and set it right beside and to the left of the Bible, I also set the lamp on a few books to get more of the light onto the Bible and the rings.  There is just a "bunch" of fake flowers set behind the Bible that I used to decorate Mom and Dad's room! (I cleaned up the top of there dressers and did a little decorating in their room just for fun..and for Mom...and it turned out awesome and Mom loves it!) : )
Mom though it would be cool to get a print of this picture and hang it in their room!  She wants to do something above their bed because it is bare with nothing on that wall, so maybe this would be something we could use for that!!!  I think it would look best to get a larger print then an 8x10!

If you click on the picture you can see it a whole lot better!!!

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

Proverbs 24:3-4 

When I read this verse awhile ago I wrote it down in my little horse notebook, I wrote a little note that this would be a perfect verse to use in a display for a couple in their house...you know like with a wedding or engagement picture with the verse in some sort of a frame...a picture/decoration you could hang on your wall.  Maybe you could even put the date of your wedding on this too...I saw a friend do this for her engagement day, she used a frame with a mat that had several spaces that she put her engagement pictures in, then she did a little scrap booking and put letters and numbers on the mat with the date of their engagement!!!  I love this idea!!! I think it would be so special!!! : )  So MAYBE, you could do a little combination of these two ideas...wedding or engagement pictures, the perfect verse and the date of that special day!!!

Well, I guess that's it for now until....probably next friday...if I survive another week at work! ; )

~ Sarah...Plain and Tall

Introducing ~ Focus Friday!!!

Wow, what a few months!!!  It's been so much fun since we helped move G&G S., having them so close to stop for lunch, have them over for dinner and lots of other things!  I started my first job...which is going well, and I start 4 days next week!  ; )  I am not looking forward to having to get up and 5 every morning, but I am excited to have a challenge and be earning double what I was since I am doubling my days!!!  I am so blessed and I know God worked this job out for me!  It is so close...it is just about as perfect as it could get! ; )  Sooo...I WILL have friday's off, and I had this idea that I could post a picture every FRIDAY!  I know that I thought I could try and do that every day and that never happened, and now it will working I KNOW that won't be happening. ; )  Working just takes a lot of time away with getting up early, being tired after you get home.  I am realizing what it is like to work, and that I don't really like it!  I don't think I will ever like going to work, I guess because I have been home all my life I just like that so much better...I was so blessed!  So, back to this morning I then thought of what I could call these picture posts, and I thought of Fabulous Friday, Fantastic Friday.  Then I though of Focus Friday!  Maybe partly because my boss, Evy wrote on her blog about being focused on Christ and her family...I really liked that post!  But any way I thought it was perfect, focus is a photography term and I am going to be posting pictures that I took that week!  I decided on that name so here goes the first...and hopefully not the last...; )

Focus Friday!!!

Yesterday I was at work, and it rained pretty good in the morning and was an overcast day.  I saw outside the window at work that the bush had all these water drops all over the branches!  I thought it would be fun to try and take some cool pictures of them, so I called my Mom at break and when she came to pick me up after work, she brought my camera and I took some pictures!  It was a kinda hard to get it in focus with the branches being so small....but what an amazing picture happens when it is in FOCUS!!! ....it's the same way with our life as well!!!!  When our life is focused on Jesus, our life is a BEAUTIFUL picture!

This year, since God provided me with a perfect job and I have been blessed with a small income.  The Lord pressed it on my heart to give some of that away!  I'm like, I have so much, even if it doesn't seem like to much, but compared to what a lot of people have...the least I can do is help some people who REALLY need help.  I picked out of a couple of "gift catalogs," where you donate money to go towards, feeding children, buying blankets, providing clean water, mosquito nets...and much bigger things like animals and building homes and stuff.  It really is fun to think of the lives you are touching!  Again it is hard to realize just how much you are helping...it might not feel like much, but you know it is, it is just hard to picture just how much.  And I want to do more...but then there would be no end! ; )

So I donated through two places, Compassion and Samaritan's Purse.  At the end of the transaction for Compassion, there was this video at the bottom of the page.  I'm glad I didn't miss it!  The kids are all saying thank you!  And it makes you realize, those kids aren't any different then us! : ) So cute!
They are thanking me! : )

I this on posted on FaceBook after giving:  It's a lot harder to part with money when you are spending it...then when you are giving it! : D
I was thinking as I was picking out the things to give...I would have a hard time spending this much money on just something I wanted.  But when I was giving it to people who really needed it...it was a LOT different....you kinda didn't want to stop! : )

Today is the last day of 2012!  I hope that I will follow God's will for my life this next year, and I can only imagine what He has in store for me!

~Sarah

No Electricity...my Camera still worked...and the stars were bright...night photography! ; )

One night, our electricity to the whole town went out during a storm.  There were about 25 polls down between here and Mcpherson!  Anyway, the next night, probably since the lights in town weren't on, you could really see the stars!  So, I did some night photography!!  Here were the results! 

 I actually cropped this one of the moon...I can't get this zoomed in with my 50mm lens.

Wow, Huh!  God's World!

The electricity came on shortly after this that night.  It was crazy that it only took them just over 24 hours to replace that many polls!  Dad hooked up our generator up to the furnace, and the fridge and freezer the morning after it went out.  Then at one point that morning for something to do, Mom unplugged the furnace and plugged in the tv to watch a movie. Then after that the generator wasn't working...that shouldn't of happened but it did.  Dad came home from work, and he found that there was not very much electricity coming out of the generator at all.  The motor was working fine but the out put of elec. was not.  Dad was sick out it...it isn't that old and has very few hours. : (  So, Dad borrowed a generator from work, and brought it when he came home from work.  Then, after he got home, we all went to Wichita to buy a new one, and get something to eat.  We stopped in newton on the way home and ate at Arby's!   Once we got home, Dad got the generator from work, going. and got the new one out.  So while he...and Robert were outside working on that, I was taking pictures!...with the loud generator going!  Then, I was inside and the lights came back on...I wasn't quite sure what happened, it took me a minute! : )  How did those lights get turned on? : D  After all that we didn't need that generator!  But now we have one that works...for the next time!

P.S.  With no lights on in the town...no street lights either...it looked weird out!  Like blue and dusky...: )

Pure Actions for Photographers Giveaway!

I saw on FB that Pure Actions for Photographers is doing a giveaway, and if I share it I can get another point, I think...  The giveaway is an ExpoDisc.  It is for achieving a custom white balance in your camera, so you don't have to do so much in editing!

Here is a link to their blog post where they explain how the ExpoDisc works and how to enter if you want...and they have two pictures for examples!  It Looks cool!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fpurephotoshopactions.com%2F%3Fp%3D1437&h=8AQGwgPnNAQF3hvWh9ogDbAufCBhoTf2insLmOfG0fAhayA&enc=AZNm1NdEF_LW2VdqNZzaID08Ew-Ff8w1o3rSJJiLkpxJhRr4yN7FhMOuAvqhhmyKOT05oBAYGBdDXk0KS9w5ygSH

Ok...I do have two blog post too that I need to get done!  Maybe by the end of the week!

~ Sarah