Over the past couple of years we have adopted two shelter dogs. With a shelter dog with often come interesting quirks.
For example- when we first got Annie she wouldn't eat unless one of us sat in the floor with her because she was afraid we would leave her and never come back.
Both of our dogs have progressed so much , but they still have some difficult days. Bandit has the most bad days. In order to help our walks around the neighborhood go as smoothly as possible we tie a piece of yellow fabric to Bandit's leash so people understand to give her some extra space.
Learn more about the yellow dog project in my video.
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Friday, June 1, 2012
Weekend at Silver Dollar City
I've mentioned many, many times that I LOVE Silver Dollar City. It is as near and dear to me as a second home or childhood friend! Last month I got to take Jeremiah to SDC for his first time and we had a blast. Here is a video showing some of the things we got to see and experience :)
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Memories...
The traffic outside my office sounds a lot like rain. It got me busy thinking back to chilly rainy days when I was younger. I remember coming home from school on chilly, rainy days and finding my mom in the kitchen baking cookies. In my mind it happened almost every time it rained. *In actuality this probably only happened a few times but it's just something I remember. (BTW I don't even eat cookies that much). Even though I'm older, married, and have my own house when I think of comfort I think of mom in the kitchen baking cookies while I sit on a kitchen stool talking to her snuggled up in a sweatshirt. Good times :)
I hope when I have kids I can create similar comforting memories with them!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
-Joy-
Today was the first time in a year that I've sang in a Sunday church service! It was wonderful.
Right at one year ago I quit the praise team at my old church to finish planning our wedding. Jeremiah and I got married and spent the summer here, there and everywhere. Then we moved to a new area.
On September 26th we walked into our new church. From that very day we could tell it was a special place. HCC is like no other church we've been in before. About a month in we attended a new members class and fellowship. We played a finish the lyrics type game. The music minister, Alan, heard Jeremiah sing a line and that's how he found out we sing. Anyway, long story short we finally got past the holidays and started attending some practices and sang a Wednesday service and Saturday event.
Which brings me to today...Jeremiah was working media (another ministry he's getting involved in) and I sang. I was nervous at first because I had to leave last week's practice early, but once we got started it just felt right! I love being able to worship God and use the talents that He gave me to draw others to Him. Also while singing I could see Jeremiah up in the balcony singing and it put a smile on my face :)
For the entire rest of the day Jeremiah and I have (as Lawrence would say) kept a song in our hearts. We've been humming and even sang 'It's a New Season' as we walked down the grocery aisle in Wal-Mart!
All day today I've felt such a sense of joy. Not the jump up and down, huge smile on my face kind of joy...the subtle type of joy that just causes you to breath easy and feel as though you are exactly where God wants/needs you to be. It's a really nice feeling...I recommend it.
**Side note- I was also thinking today about when I first started church choir ten years ago. I have a neat story about how incredible God's timing is. Someone leave a comment reminding me 'Friday football- choir practice' and I'll try to post it soon.**
Right at one year ago I quit the praise team at my old church to finish planning our wedding. Jeremiah and I got married and spent the summer here, there and everywhere. Then we moved to a new area.
On September 26th we walked into our new church. From that very day we could tell it was a special place. HCC is like no other church we've been in before. About a month in we attended a new members class and fellowship. We played a finish the lyrics type game. The music minister, Alan, heard Jeremiah sing a line and that's how he found out we sing. Anyway, long story short we finally got past the holidays and started attending some practices and sang a Wednesday service and Saturday event.
Which brings me to today...Jeremiah was working media (another ministry he's getting involved in) and I sang. I was nervous at first because I had to leave last week's practice early, but once we got started it just felt right! I love being able to worship God and use the talents that He gave me to draw others to Him. Also while singing I could see Jeremiah up in the balcony singing and it put a smile on my face :)
For the entire rest of the day Jeremiah and I have (as Lawrence would say) kept a song in our hearts. We've been humming and even sang 'It's a New Season' as we walked down the grocery aisle in Wal-Mart!
All day today I've felt such a sense of joy. Not the jump up and down, huge smile on my face kind of joy...the subtle type of joy that just causes you to breath easy and feel as though you are exactly where God wants/needs you to be. It's a really nice feeling...I recommend it.
**Side note- I was also thinking today about when I first started church choir ten years ago. I have a neat story about how incredible God's timing is. Someone leave a comment reminding me 'Friday football- choir practice' and I'll try to post it soon.**
Thursday, March 31, 2011
You Don't Know if You Don't Ask
This has seperate paragraphes but blogger is messing the formating up...so anytime you see [---] that means new paragraph :) --- I've been reminded several times lately of the old saying 'you won't know unless you ask/you won't know if you don't ask'. It is so true! I used to never ask for 'extras' or 'specials' but I'm starting to learn that it really doesn't hurt to ask. I know this is sounding rather vague, but here are a couple of examples. --- A couple of weeks ago I was watching an old Threadbanger episode where Corinne used Threadless shirts for a project and she mentioned that they were damaged tees Threadless had given to TB. So I started thinking...I know TB is much larger and more known then Whitney Sews, but I decided to ask Threadless anyway- because remember, it doesn't hurt. I contacted Threadless and explained my show, that T-shirt recons are my most popular projects, included a link and asked it they had any damaged shirts I could use. By the next day I was contacted back and they said it sounded great, just make sure to mention Threadless sent them, and some shirts were headed my way...just because I wasn't afraid to ask. --- Two days ago Jeremiah and I were looking at a house and decided to put in an offer. The walls of the house were decorated, there was a couple of cases, and curtains on all the windows. We liked the decorations so we wrote into the offer that all those items would be included (along with the brand new appliances)...and it was accepted! Just because we bothered to ask we get to keep some really beautiful items. --- Don't be afraid to ask when situations arise. I'm not saying to be annoying- be respectful and ask politely. Of the answer is no, then just accept it and don't whine, but I think you'll notice the answer is yes more often then not.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Taking Care
Let me start by saying I have an addiction...and no this isn't an online AA meeting.
My addiction is to Wal-greens brand cherry Chap-Aid. Anyone who knows me in real life probably already knows this. So now that that is out of the way, on to the real point to this post.
I've been thinking a lot lately, reminiscing a little. (I blame being able to think straight for the first time in a year...but that's a different story.)
While cooking dinner just now I was thinking about preparing for our wedding. I was going through books and looking at the recommended To-Do lists. One list stated that 6-8 months before the wedding the bride and groom were to pick out there gifts to each other o.O I told this to Jeremiah and we agreed that getting married was gift enough for us. So when Jeremiah handed me a gift bag at the end of our wedding rehearsal I was a bit surprised. He told me that he know we agree to not do gifts for each other, but this was just something he really wanted to get me.
I opened the bag and inside was 25 chapsticks! Jeremiah said he wanted to give them to me to show that he would always be there and take care of everything I need. I thought that was really cute and sweet!
So here we are more then 10 months later and I am still using those 25 chapsticks and Jeremiah is taking wonderful care of me :)
My addiction is to Wal-greens brand cherry Chap-Aid. Anyone who knows me in real life probably already knows this. So now that that is out of the way, on to the real point to this post.
I've been thinking a lot lately, reminiscing a little. (I blame being able to think straight for the first time in a year...but that's a different story.)
While cooking dinner just now I was thinking about preparing for our wedding. I was going through books and looking at the recommended To-Do lists. One list stated that 6-8 months before the wedding the bride and groom were to pick out there gifts to each other o.O I told this to Jeremiah and we agreed that getting married was gift enough for us. So when Jeremiah handed me a gift bag at the end of our wedding rehearsal I was a bit surprised. He told me that he know we agree to not do gifts for each other, but this was just something he really wanted to get me.
I opened the bag and inside was 25 chapsticks! Jeremiah said he wanted to give them to me to show that he would always be there and take care of everything I need. I thought that was really cute and sweet!
So here we are more then 10 months later and I am still using those 25 chapsticks and Jeremiah is taking wonderful care of me :)
Thursday, March 17, 2011
God WILL Provide
I was in the shower just a few moments ago thinking about what has happened recently because I wanted to do a blog update (because I'm challenging myself to blog at least once a week). As I was pondering I began to see a trend...God has been so incredible in providing for us as we are faithful to Him.
For the past month or so Jeremiah and I have needed a couple more bookcases. However we kept putting off buying any new ones. One day last week Jeremiah came in from work and said there was two bookcases sitting next to the dumpster. We walk down and took a look and there was two five foot bookcases in great condition! So we carried them back to the apartment...they are exactly what we needed. I know that's not a huge thing to most people, but to us the two bookcases were a big deal.
I haven't mentioned it on here (except in a video), but we are in the process of buying a house. Monday we went in with a contractor to get an estimate on some work and found out that the house had been broken into. The dead bolt was gone, the copper pipes under the kitchen sink was stolen, the cabinet doors in the laundry room were ripped off, and every wire going to the fuse box was cut. At the time it hit me hard emotionally, but now that I've had a few days it doesn't seem as bad...because the same day we found out there was a mistake and our original bid price was accepted. This saves us $3,557 from what we were expecting to pay! Repairing the damage from the break in will be less then $3,557...and who knows, maybe there was some bad wiring and having the box rewired may be preventing something worse that could have happened. So even though something bad happened to the house, God took care of us financially.
This is just two situations where God has provided for us recently, but there are so many more I could share! What has God done for you?
For the past month or so Jeremiah and I have needed a couple more bookcases. However we kept putting off buying any new ones. One day last week Jeremiah came in from work and said there was two bookcases sitting next to the dumpster. We walk down and took a look and there was two five foot bookcases in great condition! So we carried them back to the apartment...they are exactly what we needed. I know that's not a huge thing to most people, but to us the two bookcases were a big deal.
I haven't mentioned it on here (except in a video), but we are in the process of buying a house. Monday we went in with a contractor to get an estimate on some work and found out that the house had been broken into. The dead bolt was gone, the copper pipes under the kitchen sink was stolen, the cabinet doors in the laundry room were ripped off, and every wire going to the fuse box was cut. At the time it hit me hard emotionally, but now that I've had a few days it doesn't seem as bad...because the same day we found out there was a mistake and our original bid price was accepted. This saves us $3,557 from what we were expecting to pay! Repairing the damage from the break in will be less then $3,557...and who knows, maybe there was some bad wiring and having the box rewired may be preventing something worse that could have happened. So even though something bad happened to the house, God took care of us financially.
This is just two situations where God has provided for us recently, but there are so many more I could share! What has God done for you?
Sunday, March 6, 2011
One of Those Days...
Today was 'one of those days.' Not the bad kind...the kind of day where things click into place and everything is great!
It started when I woke up this morning. Most mornings I don't like getting out of bed; I want to stay there for that extra 5-10 minutes. Today I got up early and even had time to sit down and eat breakfast.
Then Jeremiah and I head off to church and it was an awesome service! The praise and worship was amazing and everything said just made sense. At the end of the service we were both in tears- mine was a happy cry just think about how wonderful God is and thanking Him for His goodness.
We came home for a quick lunch of leftovers and headed back to church for our first praise and worship practice. We are so excited about getting involved and getting back to singing! The practice went really well. I liked how we started practice with some general info and announcements and then we played a taboo type game which got everyone involved and having a good time, and then we got down to business.
Right now I'm sitting on the couch catching up with emails and things and Jeremiah is back at the church getting started with helping on the media team.
Jeremiah and I have talked a few times over the past week or so about how much we love our church (Heartland Community Church- HCC) and how it's really the first time that we've 100% clicked with a church.
HCC is doing servolutions in the community like adopting a school- we donated coats for the kids, took food for the teachers, and this coming weekend we will be repainting and working outside to make the school look better. We love how involved the church is with the community and there is the right balance of serving outside the church while still ministering to the needs of the people within the church.
Anyway, just felt like sharing that I'm having 'one of those days' that puts a smile on my face and a song in my heart.
*Here's the chorus of the song that was sang at the end of service today and it popped into my head again this afternoon.
It started when I woke up this morning. Most mornings I don't like getting out of bed; I want to stay there for that extra 5-10 minutes. Today I got up early and even had time to sit down and eat breakfast.
Then Jeremiah and I head off to church and it was an awesome service! The praise and worship was amazing and everything said just made sense. At the end of the service we were both in tears- mine was a happy cry just think about how wonderful God is and thanking Him for His goodness.
We came home for a quick lunch of leftovers and headed back to church for our first praise and worship practice. We are so excited about getting involved and getting back to singing! The practice went really well. I liked how we started practice with some general info and announcements and then we played a taboo type game which got everyone involved and having a good time, and then we got down to business.
Right now I'm sitting on the couch catching up with emails and things and Jeremiah is back at the church getting started with helping on the media team.
Jeremiah and I have talked a few times over the past week or so about how much we love our church (Heartland Community Church- HCC) and how it's really the first time that we've 100% clicked with a church.
HCC is doing servolutions in the community like adopting a school- we donated coats for the kids, took food for the teachers, and this coming weekend we will be repainting and working outside to make the school look better. We love how involved the church is with the community and there is the right balance of serving outside the church while still ministering to the needs of the people within the church.
Anyway, just felt like sharing that I'm having 'one of those days' that puts a smile on my face and a song in my heart.
*Here's the chorus of the song that was sang at the end of service today and it popped into my head again this afternoon.
I'm not going back, I'm moving ahead.
Here to declare to You my past is over in You
All things are made new, surrendered my life to Christ
I'm moving, moving forward.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Random Ramblings
I never claim to be a religious blogger…in fact religion is one of those things I tend to avoid discussing like I do politics. However there has been one topic I really kept thinking about this evening.
This past Sunday Pastor preached on tithing. Not too popular a topic is it? However he made some great points. Pastor talked about how it’s important to tithe both your time and your finances.
Some people feel that when money gets tight they can just go to tithing their time and not worry about tithing financially. On the flip side there are people who don’t want to give of their time so they will only tithe financially. If you live by one of these two ideas how do you draw the line? When does money get too tight or time too busy? Can you honestly make that judgment call and will you recall it when things get better?
Ok…I’m going to leave the tithing of time at that because my point today is really about finances.
I have faithfully tithed financially since Day 1 of receiving an allowance…so a really long time. Now that I run my own business it’s a little harder to tithe because I have to do my bookkeeping. I have to calculate cost of supplies, fees, etc. to know how much I net.
Sometimes I get behind on my bookkeeping…usually when business slows down a little. When you aren’t bringing in as much money you don’t feel like reminding yourself of how much you’ve spent. So I may go a month without looking at my books. Then I will finally just sit down and get caught up. I write my tithes check (wish it wasn’t so small…small tithes means less money went in the bank) and go on with my life. Every time I get behind and force myself to sit down and face the numbers I make a big sale…usually by the next day.
I don’t think that is a coincidence in any way. I believe that God truly does reward those who are diligent to him. Who knows…if I had stopped being lazy earlier business would probably have picked up sooner.
The way I look at it is this- my business prospers when I’m faithful to God. Therefore I’m always going to make sure I show my thanks to Him through my tithing. Then it turns into a giant circle. When I do my part God blesses me so I can give more which he blesses even more and I can give more…you get the picture. These days I honestly believe that I can’t afford not to tithe.
So guess my only question for you is do you tithe when you can or because you can’t afford not to?
This past Sunday Pastor preached on tithing. Not too popular a topic is it? However he made some great points. Pastor talked about how it’s important to tithe both your time and your finances.
Some people feel that when money gets tight they can just go to tithing their time and not worry about tithing financially. On the flip side there are people who don’t want to give of their time so they will only tithe financially. If you live by one of these two ideas how do you draw the line? When does money get too tight or time too busy? Can you honestly make that judgment call and will you recall it when things get better?
Ok…I’m going to leave the tithing of time at that because my point today is really about finances.
I have faithfully tithed financially since Day 1 of receiving an allowance…so a really long time. Now that I run my own business it’s a little harder to tithe because I have to do my bookkeeping. I have to calculate cost of supplies, fees, etc. to know how much I net.
Sometimes I get behind on my bookkeeping…usually when business slows down a little. When you aren’t bringing in as much money you don’t feel like reminding yourself of how much you’ve spent. So I may go a month without looking at my books. Then I will finally just sit down and get caught up. I write my tithes check (wish it wasn’t so small…small tithes means less money went in the bank) and go on with my life. Every time I get behind and force myself to sit down and face the numbers I make a big sale…usually by the next day.
I don’t think that is a coincidence in any way. I believe that God truly does reward those who are diligent to him. Who knows…if I had stopped being lazy earlier business would probably have picked up sooner.
The way I look at it is this- my business prospers when I’m faithful to God. Therefore I’m always going to make sure I show my thanks to Him through my tithing. Then it turns into a giant circle. When I do my part God blesses me so I can give more which he blesses even more and I can give more…you get the picture. These days I honestly believe that I can’t afford not to tithe.
So guess my only question for you is do you tithe when you can or because you can’t afford not to?
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
First Love
My whole life I've heard people talk about their 'first love.' People ask others who it was or where they are now and other questions like that. I've always tried to figure out who my first love was...and I can honestly say that I didn't know. Until today. Tonight I realized my first love. It just so happens to not be a person, but a place.
Silver Dollar City.
My first love was Silver Dollar City. Just ask anyone who knew me growing up after the age of 10. For 13 of the past 14 years my family and I have visited SDC several times a year. I can truly say that I consider SDC to be a second home to me.
This year is the 50th anniversary for Silver Dollar City. Which is a big deal. It was going to be an even bigger deal to me. This year SDC was going to go from being my second home to my actual home. I was at a point in my life where nothing was holding me to any single place. One phone call to set up an interview away from becoming a 'citizen' of SDC. Then something in my life drastically changed.
After an interesting turn of events I fell in love with my best friend. We started dating on our shared birthday of January 5th. Before the end of that same month we knew we're going to be together forever.
I was no longer in that point in life where nothing was holding me to a single place. Jeremiah understands my love for SDC and told me he's willing to wait for me to have my year working at SDC...and I was going to do it. However I realized that putting my life on hold like that is crazy.
So Jeremiah and I are getting married May 15, 2010. We are excited to be starting our new life together and I go weeks at a time without thinking of Silver Dollar City (which is kind of a big deal for me) but some days I can't stop thinking about it. Jeremiah knows this and has offered to take me to SDC this summer. I turned him down. I know that we'll be busy settling into a new place and money will be tight.
So like with all first loves you eventually have to move on...at least for a year or two :)
Silver Dollar City.
My first love was Silver Dollar City. Just ask anyone who knew me growing up after the age of 10. For 13 of the past 14 years my family and I have visited SDC several times a year. I can truly say that I consider SDC to be a second home to me.
This year is the 50th anniversary for Silver Dollar City. Which is a big deal. It was going to be an even bigger deal to me. This year SDC was going to go from being my second home to my actual home. I was at a point in my life where nothing was holding me to any single place. One phone call to set up an interview away from becoming a 'citizen' of SDC. Then something in my life drastically changed.
After an interesting turn of events I fell in love with my best friend. We started dating on our shared birthday of January 5th. Before the end of that same month we knew we're going to be together forever.
I was no longer in that point in life where nothing was holding me to a single place. Jeremiah understands my love for SDC and told me he's willing to wait for me to have my year working at SDC...and I was going to do it. However I realized that putting my life on hold like that is crazy.
So Jeremiah and I are getting married May 15, 2010. We are excited to be starting our new life together and I go weeks at a time without thinking of Silver Dollar City (which is kind of a big deal for me) but some days I can't stop thinking about it. Jeremiah knows this and has offered to take me to SDC this summer. I turned him down. I know that we'll be busy settling into a new place and money will be tight.
So like with all first loves you eventually have to move on...at least for a year or two :)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Have you ever noticed that it's easier to be polite in the first place then to have to eat your words later? Or am I the only person who thinks this way?
Often I see where people jump right into an argument without thinking things through...then when all the facts are laid out and the person's point is proven wrong or was wrongly concluded the person is left trying to fumble for a comeback.
I have encountered multiple situations lately where it would have been easy (and to be honest more desirable in that moment) to send messages to some specific companies containing several explanation marks and accusing words. But I kept my cool and played it safe...thank goodness. One situation was about how my videos were being used on a website. It appeared to be that someone pretending to be me and posting my videos...sounds illegal right? After contacting the website manager it was explained that it is legal...blah blah blah. *Blogged about on Whitney Sews if you want to know more* Throughout the entire process I used nice words and said things like 'thank you for your time' because I know I will get a better response and more respect...and it's just safer because having to send that one last email after you know you've made a complete fool of yourself with everything you said isn't fun.
Another recent situation was with a purchase through Amazon.com. I ordered a CF card for my camera and received something different then what was in the listing picture. I emailed the company but was very polite about everything. It would have been easy to get very angry about receiving something other then what the listing showed and fly off the handle in my email. But it would have resulted in me having to eat my own words and feeling stupid. After a response email and a quick call to Sandisk it was confirmed that I did in fact receive the correct product, just a newer version with a new label.
So I guess my point is that I go into every contact I make, whether with a business or just a person, with respect. I keep things nice and friendly, even if I'm having to make a complaint. It's a lot easier to earn respect in the first place then to have to try and regain someones respect afterward.
*Now for some ranting...*
The same is true on youTube. I'm appalled sometimes by the horrible comments I see left on videos I watch. People will complain about unimportant things or pick fights over nothing (usually with really crappy grammar/spelling!) Whenever I leave a 'controversial' comment on youTube I make sure I research it and have my facts right (like the percentage comment I blogged about a while back). I do this because I see every youTube comment, email, facebook wall post, etc. as a reflection of me. People can trace me back and judge me and my character based on the things I wrote. I don't want to be judged by comments like 'this vido is crapp !' or 'you're produt was the wrong 1!' and why the heck would anyone else want to be known by that??
So the point of my late night, can't sleep, ramblings is maybe we should try to have a little more respect in our daily communication. Instead of jumping on people wait and hear it out...maybe everything really is the same underneath that new label. And while we're at it why not carry that same respect into the rest of our lives...like how we communicate with family, friends, coworkers... Ok, now that is another topic entirely...see what happens when I can't sleep and decide to blog?!?
**Side note...for those of you with a facebook who are job hunting. I hope you realize that potential employers have ways of looking at your facebook (no matter how secure you think your settings are) so if you have anything on there you wouldn't want your boss, grandma, etc. seeing then you better take it off. It could stand between you and the job you want. -Will now get off my lecture soapbox and stop repeating what I heard my professors say so many times-**
Often I see where people jump right into an argument without thinking things through...then when all the facts are laid out and the person's point is proven wrong or was wrongly concluded the person is left trying to fumble for a comeback.
I have encountered multiple situations lately where it would have been easy (and to be honest more desirable in that moment) to send messages to some specific companies containing several explanation marks and accusing words. But I kept my cool and played it safe...thank goodness. One situation was about how my videos were being used on a website. It appeared to be that someone pretending to be me and posting my videos...sounds illegal right? After contacting the website manager it was explained that it is legal...blah blah blah. *Blogged about on Whitney Sews if you want to know more* Throughout the entire process I used nice words and said things like 'thank you for your time' because I know I will get a better response and more respect...and it's just safer because having to send that one last email after you know you've made a complete fool of yourself with everything you said isn't fun.
Another recent situation was with a purchase through Amazon.com. I ordered a CF card for my camera and received something different then what was in the listing picture. I emailed the company but was very polite about everything. It would have been easy to get very angry about receiving something other then what the listing showed and fly off the handle in my email. But it would have resulted in me having to eat my own words and feeling stupid. After a response email and a quick call to Sandisk it was confirmed that I did in fact receive the correct product, just a newer version with a new label.
So I guess my point is that I go into every contact I make, whether with a business or just a person, with respect. I keep things nice and friendly, even if I'm having to make a complaint. It's a lot easier to earn respect in the first place then to have to try and regain someones respect afterward.
*Now for some ranting...*
The same is true on youTube. I'm appalled sometimes by the horrible comments I see left on videos I watch. People will complain about unimportant things or pick fights over nothing (usually with really crappy grammar/spelling!) Whenever I leave a 'controversial' comment on youTube I make sure I research it and have my facts right (like the percentage comment I blogged about a while back). I do this because I see every youTube comment, email, facebook wall post, etc. as a reflection of me. People can trace me back and judge me and my character based on the things I wrote. I don't want to be judged by comments like 'this vido is crapp !' or 'you're produt was the wrong 1!' and why the heck would anyone else want to be known by that??
So the point of my late night, can't sleep, ramblings is maybe we should try to have a little more respect in our daily communication. Instead of jumping on people wait and hear it out...maybe everything really is the same underneath that new label. And while we're at it why not carry that same respect into the rest of our lives...like how we communicate with family, friends, coworkers... Ok, now that is another topic entirely...see what happens when I can't sleep and decide to blog?!?
**Side note...for those of you with a facebook who are job hunting. I hope you realize that potential employers have ways of looking at your facebook (no matter how secure you think your settings are) so if you have anything on there you wouldn't want your boss, grandma, etc. seeing then you better take it off. It could stand between you and the job you want. -Will now get off my lecture soapbox and stop repeating what I heard my professors say so many times-**
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Blogging...ok more like ranting...
My first actual blog type post in a long time...
So you know what really bugs me...? People's lack of understanding of how percentages work. I am by no means an expert, but I do understand that 50% off a $1 item is as good of a deal as 50% off a $10 item.
So earlier today I was watching a video where a girl was telling how she would spend money if she won the lottery. She said she would give about 10% to a charity. Someone left this comment as a response,
"I often think about what I would do with a large sum of money. First things first, 20% to charity. You're supposed to give 10% of all your income to charity anyway, if you're rich, it's supposed to be 20%."
To which I responded,
"I'm just wondering...is the 10% to charity based on the Bible concept of tithing? Because I understand, and do, that but am wondering where you got the 20% for the rich part. Because that's what's fabulous about percentages...a percentage is fair to everyone no matter their total money. 10% to a less fortunate person is technically the same overall equivalence as 10% for a rich person 10% of $100 is $10 and 10% of $1,000,000 is $100,000 sounds fair to me."
*Please take note that I normally don't leave comments like this on youTube because I know it will probably lead to a one-sided argument where the person who left the first comment will rant and rant but never take into consideration the other points being presented. However I just couldn't pass this one up*
The 10% discussion went back and forth (I only left the one comment because I felt like I got my point across with it- although I never did get an answer on where she got the rich should donate 20% part...) even with all the discussion some of the commenters still argued that a round percentage that covered all incomes isn't a fair way to 'charge' people.
So this brings me to my next point...taxes. *This is by no means a political post...because I hate politics and refuse to debate/discuss them.* However, taxes make a good example. Some people believe that the richer someone is the higher percentage of taxes that person should pay. That is beyond unfair. Lets say I make $200 a month and taxes are 10% (just humor me a little with my numbers). That means I pay $20 in taxes per month. Now lets say you make $3000 a month and also pay 10% taxes. That comes to $300. To someone who didn't know our incomes these numbers might seem unfair, but we actually have the same percentage of our income left over to use however we please.
However, if we go by the 'rich make more so they pay more percentage' theory and bump your taxes up to 20%, because lets face it you make a lot more then I do. You now pay $600 a month in taxes. This means you have 10% less take home money because you're dubbed as 'rich.' People who want to play percentages by income make me never want to have any money.
Anyway, I hope I got my point across...this is really only a rant about some peoples lack of knowledge about how percents work. Combine my rant with inability to sleep tonight and here we are...
On an unrelated topic- a friend of mine sold plasma yesterday for grocery money. I was actually joking two nights ago about selling plasma so I could have gas money, but wasn't actually going to do it. But I guess kudos for her for finding a way to feed her family...
So you know what really bugs me...? People's lack of understanding of how percentages work. I am by no means an expert, but I do understand that 50% off a $1 item is as good of a deal as 50% off a $10 item.
So earlier today I was watching a video where a girl was telling how she would spend money if she won the lottery. She said she would give about 10% to a charity. Someone left this comment as a response,
"I often think about what I would do with a large sum of money. First things first, 20% to charity. You're supposed to give 10% of all your income to charity anyway, if you're rich, it's supposed to be 20%."
To which I responded,
"I'm just wondering...is the 10% to charity based on the Bible concept of tithing? Because I understand, and do, that but am wondering where you got the 20% for the rich part. Because that's what's fabulous about percentages...a percentage is fair to everyone no matter their total money. 10% to a less fortunate person is technically the same overall equivalence as 10% for a rich person 10% of $100 is $10 and 10% of $1,000,000 is $100,000 sounds fair to me."
*Please take note that I normally don't leave comments like this on youTube because I know it will probably lead to a one-sided argument where the person who left the first comment will rant and rant but never take into consideration the other points being presented. However I just couldn't pass this one up*
The 10% discussion went back and forth (I only left the one comment because I felt like I got my point across with it- although I never did get an answer on where she got the rich should donate 20% part...) even with all the discussion some of the commenters still argued that a round percentage that covered all incomes isn't a fair way to 'charge' people.
So this brings me to my next point...taxes. *This is by no means a political post...because I hate politics and refuse to debate/discuss them.* However, taxes make a good example. Some people believe that the richer someone is the higher percentage of taxes that person should pay. That is beyond unfair. Lets say I make $200 a month and taxes are 10% (just humor me a little with my numbers). That means I pay $20 in taxes per month. Now lets say you make $3000 a month and also pay 10% taxes. That comes to $300. To someone who didn't know our incomes these numbers might seem unfair, but we actually have the same percentage of our income left over to use however we please.
However, if we go by the 'rich make more so they pay more percentage' theory and bump your taxes up to 20%, because lets face it you make a lot more then I do. You now pay $600 a month in taxes. This means you have 10% less take home money because you're dubbed as 'rich.' People who want to play percentages by income make me never want to have any money.
Anyway, I hope I got my point across...this is really only a rant about some peoples lack of knowledge about how percents work. Combine my rant with inability to sleep tonight and here we are...
On an unrelated topic- a friend of mine sold plasma yesterday for grocery money. I was actually joking two nights ago about selling plasma so I could have gas money, but wasn't actually going to do it. But I guess kudos for her for finding a way to feed her family...
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
I'm Hacked!
No I don't mean my account has been hacked...but I'm hacked. I'm really, really hacked off with youTube. Ok not so much with youTube as with GoDigital Media Group.
I received an email earlier today (Tuesday) that said my latest video "may have content that is owned or licensed by GoDigital Media Group." May have content?!? The video had me talking and a waltz from Chopin! Any copywrite there ever was on Chopin has long since expired...and I downloaded it from freeplaymusic.com...which means it's legal to use in any way I choose. So if GoDigital decides to pursue this and have the audio removed from my video I will be filing a dispute claim.
What really chaps my hide (forgive the saying...I am from Oklahoma) is that they choose that particular video. The one that is just me showing pictures of my life. There are a number of videos on my youTube channel that could probably get called on for copywrite infringement because they were made for educational use and the copywrite laws apply differently to that. But instead they go after my tag video...which BTW I was going to use the Martina McBride song Anyway as the soundtrack, but didn't because I was afraid of using a copywrited song...see where that got me...
So yeah...I'm mad right now and wanted to rant about it. I will be less angry in the morning and a new episode will be up. Which was another aggravation. Project 1- fail. Sewing machine- stopped working. I look- bad.
But even with all the annoyances the day was still good! I took the first step toward reaching a dream I've had for many, many years...and that's all the details I'm giving on it for now.
I received an email earlier today (Tuesday) that said my latest video "may have content that is owned or licensed by GoDigital Media Group." May have content?!? The video had me talking and a waltz from Chopin! Any copywrite there ever was on Chopin has long since expired...and I downloaded it from freeplaymusic.com...which means it's legal to use in any way I choose. So if GoDigital decides to pursue this and have the audio removed from my video I will be filing a dispute claim.
What really chaps my hide (forgive the saying...I am from Oklahoma) is that they choose that particular video. The one that is just me showing pictures of my life. There are a number of videos on my youTube channel that could probably get called on for copywrite infringement because they were made for educational use and the copywrite laws apply differently to that. But instead they go after my tag video...which BTW I was going to use the Martina McBride song Anyway as the soundtrack, but didn't because I was afraid of using a copywrited song...see where that got me...
So yeah...I'm mad right now and wanted to rant about it. I will be less angry in the morning and a new episode will be up. Which was another aggravation. Project 1- fail. Sewing machine- stopped working. I look- bad.
But even with all the annoyances the day was still good! I took the first step toward reaching a dream I've had for many, many years...and that's all the details I'm giving on it for now.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Memories
This video is a clip from the East Central University Centennial Celebration- A Day in the Life. The production went through the history of ECU’s first 100 years and included things such as the elephant buried on campus, the streaker (which actually happened on campus in the 70s), and lots of other fun things. I didn’t attend the actual event (because I was in Branson!!) but thanks to youTube I got to watch the whole thing- even the proposal that went down in the middle of it.
This clip is from when the school fight song became official. Nothing like a bunch of band kids running in front of the camera for a good time :)
Random tidbits-
-If I was still in school I would be in the section right in front of the camera
-The deep voice you hear saying “E-C-U” the first two times is my ex-boyfriend
-I am unable to listen to the fight song without singing along
-I never really had a lot of school spirit…but I like this because it’s nostalgic
*Video is a bit loud so you might want to turn your volume down a little
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Uhhg...I'm so bad at blogging...
My whole point of even signing in to blogger was to say...I get to go to the post office tomorrow! I love mailing things and I get to mail out two things and check the shipping cost for another. To a lot of people going to the post office is a chore, but for me it's a chance to get out of the house. I think mom and I are going thrifting too which should be a lot of fun :)
I have been watching youTube videos almost nonstop this past week. I discovered the five awesome girls! I started back at their very first video and have now almost watched them all. Through them I discovered the five awesome gays...I've only watched three of their videos so far, but it's funny.
Last year Monday from the five awesome girls challenged herself to read 50 books in a year. So I started thinking... During my freshman year of college I read 4 plays...ONLY 4 PLAYS and no books...at all. I'm so ashamed and feel like I wasted a lot of time on facebook when I could have been reading. So I consulted my 'Books I've Read' list and I have read 32 books so far this year! So much better then 4. (Some of them were audio books and two were plays, but that totally counts.) So I'm going to see if I can get to 50 books by New Year's Eve. BTW I busted out the ol' graphing calculator and did the math and I am about 7% behind schedule...but I'm still going to try.
Anyway that is a lot of rambling and updating...
Oh and I'm still doing the getting dressed thing, but haven't been taking photos because it's been raining a lot here and it's cloudy all the time...almost feels like I live in Forks, WA! (Some of you will get that reference...most won't.) I had a really cute outfit on today and some new cowboy boots I thrifted but alas no photos...I will try to get some photos taken this week and maybe wear that outfit again because it was a lot of fun.
**Edit**
Photo of the boots!
I have been watching youTube videos almost nonstop this past week. I discovered the five awesome girls! I started back at their very first video and have now almost watched them all. Through them I discovered the five awesome gays...I've only watched three of their videos so far, but it's funny.
Last year Monday from the five awesome girls challenged herself to read 50 books in a year. So I started thinking... During my freshman year of college I read 4 plays...ONLY 4 PLAYS and no books...at all. I'm so ashamed and feel like I wasted a lot of time on facebook when I could have been reading. So I consulted my 'Books I've Read' list and I have read 32 books so far this year! So much better then 4. (Some of them were audio books and two were plays, but that totally counts.) So I'm going to see if I can get to 50 books by New Year's Eve. BTW I busted out the ol' graphing calculator and did the math and I am about 7% behind schedule...but I'm still going to try.
Anyway that is a lot of rambling and updating...
Oh and I'm still doing the getting dressed thing, but haven't been taking photos because it's been raining a lot here and it's cloudy all the time...almost feels like I live in Forks, WA! (Some of you will get that reference...most won't.) I had a really cute outfit on today and some new cowboy boots I thrifted but alas no photos...I will try to get some photos taken this week and maybe wear that outfit again because it was a lot of fun.
**Edit**
Photo of the boots!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
I need help...
I've been thinking about changing the names of the sections in my etsy store for about 2 months. So I need your opinion on it. Right now I have
Vintage
Hats
Jewelry
Custom
Supplies
Bags
I'm thinking about changing it to
For your head
For your feet
For your neck
For your ears
For your home
For your crafts
For your body
For you to organize
I'm wanting to do this because my vintage section is getting a little bit too big and broad. My only concern though is that if I do the 'for your...' method, the vintage hats and my handmade hats will be in the same section. I also am not for sure about the last two sections- they are for clothes and the zipper bags I make- I don't feel like those names really sound right. Anyway, let me know what you think...and I can change it for a little while and see how it goes over and change it back if it doesn't work out.
Vintage
Hats
Jewelry
Custom
Supplies
Bags
I'm thinking about changing it to
For your head
For your feet
For your neck
For your ears
For your home
For your crafts
For your body
For you to organize
I'm wanting to do this because my vintage section is getting a little bit too big and broad. My only concern though is that if I do the 'for your...' method, the vintage hats and my handmade hats will be in the same section. I also am not for sure about the last two sections- they are for clothes and the zipper bags I make- I don't feel like those names really sound right. Anyway, let me know what you think...and I can change it for a little while and see how it goes over and change it back if it doesn't work out.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Makin' Hats
I've had a lot of people ask me why I make hats...and my answer is always "because I'm cheap." I then explain that I wanted a new hat but didn't want to go out and spend a lot of money on a new one. I was at school the weekend I decided that and spent hours on the internet trying to learn how to make a hat, which turned out to be easier then I thought. I finally found a pattern I liked and made it using a corduroy skirt I had that didn't fit. It turned out pretty good, so I adapted the pattern so it was more to my liking and made another...and another...but the end of the week I had made 10 hats!
So I love that style of hats and so did a lot of my friends. I'm proud to say that there are people wearing my hats all the way from California to Oklahoma to the United Kingdom! I'm not trying to brag, but it's so exciting that my boredom and being cheap one weekend turned into something pretty cool!
Eventually I got a little tired of making the same type of hat over and over...so last week I sat down with some graph paper, a calculator, measuring tape and a pencil and made a new hat pattern. I based the new pattern off some of the parts of the newsboy hat and also on the English style riding hats you see in movies and on covers of books like The Saddle Club. The first hat turned out ok, I had to correct a few measurement errors though. I have now gotten the pattern exactly how I want it.
Anyway, I wanted to share that story about how I started making hats before I put up pictures of the new hat.
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