Photo & Prompt Challenge: Day 2

            The person (or people) that make your world go around

These are the ones that make my world go around. Hubby and the kids. I would go crazy without them, I'm sure of it. 

This picture was taken at the very end of our incredible camping trip to Cumberland Island. It was a magical place to be, and we all enjoyed the time we spent together there talking and laughing and playing together.

31 Day Photo & Prompt Challenge-- Day 1

A photo of yourself with 10 facts

1. I want to spend more time with my children, just playing and having fun.

2. When I am out in public meeting hubby somewhere, and I am there first, I still feel giddy when he walks into the room.

3. I kept my head shaved for a couple of years-- on purpose.

4. I like to touch things. In the store I touch anything that looks soft or like it may have an interesting feel, and I notice that Sid (my daughter) does this as well.

5. When I was a teenager, I had a whole room full of reptiles.. several snakes, lizards, iguanas, and a tarantula.

6. I have a forearm fetish, and coincidentally my man has the most incredible forearms ever.

7. I have never flown in a plane, just haven't had the opportunity.

8. When I hear a newborn baby cry, my breasts hurt and throb.

9. I know all the words to the entire “Sound of Music” soundtrack because my cousins and I used to dance and sing to the 8-track.

10. I love to go camping.



If you would like to participate in the 31 day Photo & Prompt Challenge, go here for the scoop!

Twitter: Are you doing it wrong?

Twitter. We've all heard of it. Many of us have tried it. Many of us are doing it wrong.

Eager to promote my new shop, I set up a Twitter account. I'd read that I should tweet my listings on a regular basis, so I started tweeting like a madman. I looked at forum posts in crafting communities, and happily followed every Twitter account listed. (Oooh, more people to see my listings!) At first, I was excited because I appeared to be getting views. Until I

realized that the 15 views in 10 seconds were indeed bots.

It did not take long before I became very discouraged with Twitter. Everyone I was following was doing the same obnoxious thing that I was doing! It was like deliberately logging on to a spam-a-thon! My news feed filled up rapidly with everybody's new listings, everybody's friends' new listings, website after website trying to sell me things. Like a crowded room with everyone in it shouting "Buy my carp!" This was not a place I wanted to be. In fact, I wanted to
run from it, screaming.

Then, of all things, I read an Etsy newsletter. There was a link to a really wonderful forum post by Chrisof Copper Leaf Studios. I read the post and it was as if I'd seen the light.

She suggested that we use Twitter in a social way, to make friends and have conversations. No spamming. Nobody likes spam. So I re-visited my Twitter account and removed all of the well-meaning but spammy accounts that I was following. Then I set to making my own tweets right. I posted about my cat, I posted interesting articles. I posted funny things. I added people that were not crafters, as well as some crafters who kept link-posting to a minimum and also posted interesting things from their own lives. I added other moms. I replied to posts about cool recipes.. Occasionally I do post about my work, but not repeatedly all day and not in a spammy way. Anybody who gets to know me can easily check out my website, and they probably will, if they think I am interesting. They will want to know "What is HonkusGrogana?" I'm meeting new and interesting people and sometimes, checking out their websites. And best of all, I am enjoying my Twitter account.

Check out Chris' post about Tweeting HERE. You'll be glad that you did. I've just barely touched on what she says, and she says it much better than I. I hope you will be inspired by her post, as I was.

And if you want to give her method a try, I'd sure love to have a new Twitter friend. ME

A New (to me) Nightie, Thrift Store Style

Since my post a few weeks ago where I vowed to shake off the frumpies and glam it up a bit in my every day life, I've had my eye out for a decent nightie.

For many years, my typical sleepwear has been a big, old, faded, raggedy, and sometimes even holey tee-shirt. (sexy, huh?) It is the polar opposite of what Movie Star Me would wear.

I've got a few super-slinky things that I might wear to bed now and again, when the children are not home. Those are fun, and hubby enjoys them, but they aren't so conducive to an evening at home with the family, or running around making breakfast and getting kids ready for school.

I was looking for something comfortable, cute, and fun. Maybe a cute cut, long enough and thick enough to cover myself should I choose to run to the mailbox, and short enough that I'm not drowning in it at night. I didn't want a cutesy cartoon character on it, and no loud, bright prints.

I found just what I was looking for at the Last Chance Thrift Store. It's pale blue with blue-gray polka dots. (Polka dots are fun!) It hangs mid-calf, and has a slightly gathered seam at the bust where the long part attaches to the top. The fabric is a light terry cloth. Some of my sewing friends could no doubt describe the cut more clearly and accurately than I just did, but hey, I'm no seamstress. I'm just happy to have found something to wear to bed!

Oh-- Hubby is not impressed. He says it looks like a hospital gown in the picture (which he was kind enough to take for me) and a "granny gown"  in person.  Maybe I will keep looking, but for now, I'm loving this one and it stays. Surely it's an improvement over the holey tee-shirts!

Horsin' Around

Here in Georgia, springtime has arrived in full force! HonkusGrogana and crew decided to spend a beautiful Sunday at the parents' house, outside in the sunny pasture, playing with the horses. I thought I'd share a few pictures with you.

My daddy is giving 5-year old Sarah (a family friend) a few words of instruction.

Sidney is in love with her new horse, Choopachee.

Hubby and I with Becky.

Eli is flying by on Kate

                Mom and the kiddos. We got Eli's hair cut when we left there!



All of this horse time inspired me to make a new piece of jewelry, a horse pendant sculpted from wire. I am going to make one to give to my beautiful model, Sid, below. She obviously has seen it and even tried it on, but she doesn't know that she is going to get one of her very own for her upcoming birthday!

Click to see horse pendant in my shop!

I'm so thrilled with the changing of the season, and looking forward to all of the inspiration that springtime brings. Can't wait to spend many more beautiful weekends enjoying the outdoors with my family and friends!

What would Glamorous-Film-Star-Me look like?

We've all heard it said that we feel better when we *look* our best. I've been trying something new for the last 5 days or so that makes me believe that what they say is true. I was inspired to try on a new attitude by something I read in a blog post, and the results so far are so positive that I wanted to share.

I have been guilty many, many times of sleeping just as late as possible, throwing on some clothes-- whatever is clean and not *too* wrinkly, brushing teeth and hair and running out the door for work, or for whatever I am doing that day. I'm not smelly and dirty, but I'm sure not turning any heads.

I have been experimenting with a whole new way of thinking. Whatever my activity for the day is, be it going to work, going shopping, staying home and cleaning house, going to a function at the kids' school, I ask myself one question. What would Movie Star Me look like when doing this? What would she wear? How would she carry herself? What would her hair and makeup look like? Would Audrey Hepburn run off to work half-asleep with wrinkly slacks, no makeup, no jewelry, and frizzy hair? She wouldn't dream of it. Would Film Star Me be cooking dinner for the family in paint-splattered sweatpants 2 sizes too big and a holey t-shirt? Nope, she's way too classy for that.

Since I have been masquerading as Film Star Me, my mood is better and my confidence is better. And this is the amazing part: Even though I am getting up on time instead of sleeping in until last minute, I have more energy. I am coming home from work and getting things done instead of napping in my chair. I am eating better, more healthy. (Would FSM really gobble up a whole bag of potato chips?!) The whole thing is quite refreshing.

I've been doing the same for my 11 year old daughter, Sid. Instead of doing the minimum to get her off to school, I've been fixing her hair in fun and funky ways, making sure she has fun matching jewelry and hair accessories to wear with her school uniform, helping her to look her best. I really feel that it is affecting her in a positive way, too. How can you feel bad when you look like a million dollars?

Only time will tell if I keep up this new outlook or if I will go back to doing the bare minimum necessary in order to be clothed and presentable. I hope I do keep at it, though.

It's almost my bedtime as I write this. Some new sleepwear is in order... Film Star Me feels a bit grungy in an oversized men's t-shirt.

Honkus Grogana featured in a blog!

Yay! I am excited, humbled, and grateful. Lauren at Orange Raspberry Lemonade featured some of my handmade jewelry in her blog!

I invite you to check it out, and show Orange Raspberry Lemonade some love. Lots of good reading there. I was thrilled to find an article about menstrual cups. I feel that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread, and can't believe more women don't know about them!

Hairstyles-- a different kind of art

I practiced a different kind of art today! I woke up bright & early, grabbed the brush and the hair do-ees, & informed my daughter, Sid, that she was getting an extra-special hairstyle today. And after that, a special hairdo for myself!

I came upon a really fun blog called Babes in Hairland,  all about cute and different styles for little girls' hair! Here I found the bobby pin secret, as well as inspiration to fix up Sid's hair. Lots of good, quick videos there to show you how to do it.
I ended up with an updo with no back combing, and I have to say it looked fantastic. I got compliments all day. A nice side benefit was that with this classy hairdo, I was compelled to spend some time putting on makeup and accessories. I looked my best, and consequently felt good about life in general.

Sid ended up with THIS look. She was excited to go to school with her new do, and she said she got lots of compliments, too! Two very cool side benefits here: a) It still looked nice when she got home from school, which, if you knew Sid, you'd know is nothing short of a miracle. b) We both really enjoyed the time spent together doing the styling in the morning. It was nice to be close and talk in the morning rather than rushing around to get out the door on time.

I get an F because I didn't take pictures of either one of us. Tomorrow, I will attempt to do it again, or maybe something different, and at least get a picture of Sid, if not me.

 

 This picture was taken the day after I posted this blog.. not exactly the same style as yesterday. I forgot to "pull through" the little ponytails and I pulled the one in the back through the wrong way. My brain doesn't function so well at 6am. I do still like how it turned out, though.

In case you were wondering: The bobby pin secret, complete with pictures and videos. I can vouch for it's greatness. My updo stayed firmly up all day!