In a desperate attempt at satisfying my craving I begged a co-worker (who happened to be going to the store over lunch) to please get me a bag of Doritos. And not only did she get me a bag of Doritos, but a full size bag! Yum!!!

After comparing todays picture with the one from October, it doesn’t seem like much has changed. Oh well, I guess the longer it gets the harder it is to see a difference. I’m still struggling to get my shorter layers grown out, but it looks less mulletish.

It is MUCH more fun to look at the comparison between now and when I started:

I’m getting close, just a few more inches. Oh how I miss my ‘bob!’

I was browsing on Pinterest and stumbled on a canvas do-it-yourself project someone had posted. She had found an image of deer silhouettes on istock, printed and cut them out, then spray painted them on a canvas. Josh is always joking that he wanted to put a deer mount above the fireplace, so it was perfect! Still trying to decide if I’ll hang it or keep it resting on the mantle…I’m leaning more and more toward hanging it a bit higher.

The project was very simple and inexpensive. I picked up a 30″ x 40″ canvas at Hobby Lobby for $19 (40% off coupon!), purchased the graphic for $18, and used a sample quart of paint I had on hand.

I printed each silhouette out on a separate sheet of cardstock so that I could arrange them how I wanted. After cutting them out, I used painters tape on the back side to secure to the canvas, then just rolled on 2 coats of paint. I peeled off the cutouts before the paint dried. Easy enough! It’s not perfect, and some of the paint did bleed through a little, but I’m okay with a little imperfection.

One of my takeaways from the presentation was just reaffirming that we should never stop learning and growing ourselves. And learning doesn’t just come from schools and work. It comes from life experiences, friends, colleagues, the community, etc.

Another little tidbit is that we are all be mentors, no matter how old! It’s kinda crazy to think of myself as a mentor, but I’m definitely interested in maybe finding my own mentor. I think it’s great opportunity to learn new things and from someone elses experiences. Maybe I’ve already had mentors and just didn’t realize it..hmmm, food for thought.

I feel like I’m on the right path in life, trying new things, continuing to  learn more, and hopefully sharing my strengths with others.

Just curious…have you had/do you have a mentor? Were you seeking out a mentor or did the connection just happen?

In the spring we will be creating a new planting bed in the front corner of our yard where  it’s a little empty and we just can’t seem to beat the weeds. Michigan Bulbs makes it super easy with their pre-made beds (plans/dimensions included!) depending on what type of garden you are looking for. I love it, it just takes the guesswork out of everything. I wanted something that would look good throughout the year and would do okay in full sun, so we chose the grass garden. Because it will be visible from all sides and not in the corner of our house or up against a fence (as shown in the picture), I did order a few extra plants to round things out.

Bonus: we received $40 promotional discount for spending over $80!

What I love most about ordering plants out of a catalog (my favorites are Michigan Bulb and Spring Hill) is that you can order anytime and they ship them when it’s planting time in your zone (Iowa is Zone 5). And the plants are always in great shape and super healthy.

We received notice this week that our adoption paperwork has been approved by the State of Iowa. Yea!! Now we are just waiting for them to approve our foster care paperwork and we’ll be all set.

This just means that now we are licensed with the state to take steps to adopt a child if the opportunity presents itself. We aren’t really adopting…yet.

Wow, it’s becoming more and more real…

~Anais Nin

WordPress has this nifty new feature…after publishing a new item, they give you a posting goal to reach along with a great quote in the sidebar of the admin portion of Oswald Adventures . Yesterday’s quote was spot on and so true for blogging ideas. Well, really ideas in general!

We are finally going to get our first real snowfall of the season and I’m pretty excited about it. Don’t get me wrong, I have been enjoying the unseasonably warm weather we’ve  been having in Iowa(it’s a high of 45 today!!), but I’d really love some pretty, white, fluffy snow.

So I’ll happily don my snow boots, hat, and warm coat tomorrow morning!