Passion on Twitter

I've been thinking lately about if I want get on Twitter. I read a lot of your Twitters. I just don't know if I should Twitter -- I mean I have a Blog and Facebook. Is Twitter necessary?

But John Chandler has come up with a really cool idea…

He created a Twitter account called @passionweek. Beginning this Sunday — Palm Sunday — you can follow along with the events of Jesus’ final week. Throughout the week, the @passionweek twitter account will post a brief glimpse of what Jesus experienced at the time he would of experienced it. You can read more about it on John’s blog, here. I think that sounds pretty cool!

Now can I count reading Twitter updates as my daily devotional? {hehe}


Do you think this is creative use of technology? Or do you think its hokey? Or blasphemous? I love to hear dissenting opinions.


Since we're talking about Easter... I'm actually doing something pretty cool for Easter this year. I'm really excited about and promise to post about it soon. What are you doing for Easter?

DIY Wall Art

Recently I've seen some pretty cool DIY wall art projects -- notably from Lis Loves and Kelly's Korner. So I thought I'd share one of my own DIY wall art projects from our guest bathroom.

Our guest bathroom is "under the sea" themed (I'm sure you already know, I love the ocean!) -- it's all sea-glass blues and chocolate brown with chic starfish and sand dollars:


To get the starfish on the wall I first hammerd a nail into the wall to make a hole. Then I pulled the nail out and hot glued it to the back on an 8" starfish like this:


Then I let it dry and gently pushed the nail on the back on the starfish into the pre-hammered hole:



I did that a few times and "tah-dah", a wall of starfish!


It was inexpensive, simple, and easily changable!

What fun DIY wall art have you done?

Post about it on your blog and leave a link in the "comments" of this post!

Sew What?

You mat remember my earlier post about wanting a sewing machine for Christmas and then the next post about getting one, but not having used the sewing machine yet.

Well friends, today I finally used my new sewing machine! I watched the instructional DVD that came with it and learned all about how to thread the needle and do the stitches! I did break one needle in the process (oops!), but overall it was awesome!

Here are some of my practice stitches:


Ugly, I know. But hey, I'm learning!

The machine I ended up getting is the Singer Tradition Sewing Machine. I had debated about getting an expensive one to start with or starting on a simple one and then upgrading. I went for the cheapy option and will upgrade later. Here's my little guy:


So far it does all I want it to!

So my next question is: how do I get better at sewing? I don't have anyone to teach me. Should I take a class? Does anyone know of any good instructional DVDs I could pick up?

Sitting at O'Hare Airport

I'm waiting for plane to board here at O'Hare to take me back to LA. Right now the Blue Oyster Cult song "Don't Fear the Reaper" is playing, which I think is highly inappropriate to play as people are boarding planes. Agree? Anyway...

I had a great week at training! Learned some good stuff and met lots of cool people. Here is me with my table group at training:

Countries represented in this photo: United States, Belgium, France, and Malaysia. That's one thing that I love about our corporate training -- they send people to training from all of our global offices, so I really get to hear what the company and life is like around the world.

I saw my wonderful Grandma who fed me all kinds of delicious food. We got in several rounds of our favorite game, Upwords (like Scrabble, but vertical as well). So fun!

Now I'm heading back to LA for another crazy week at work. To be honest with you, I'm getting a bit burnt out from my job. But I guess working hard beats the alternative (not working at all)!

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Sneaking in a Post from Illinois to Pray

Hi everyone!

I know I said I wasn't going to post while at training, and I should be sleeping now, but I had a chance to catch up a few of my favorite blogs tonight...

And my heart is so heavy from reading about the struggles that some of my favorite bloggers are going through, all involving babies or pregnancy.

I'm not a Mom, nor am I yet trying to become one, but my soul just aches for these amazing women. Sometimes I wonder if could ever be as strong as them? Could I deal with heartbreak, loss, and trauma like they are?

The amazing Kelly (mom of miracle baby Harper) started a prayer blog and a special side-bar just for women trying to concieve or families in need of prayer here. I'm not going to do that, but I am going to share the stories of three of my favorite bloggers who are in need of your prayer.

Trying to conceive:
- Mrs. Newlywed. I adore her. She's so honest and fun. And she is a fantastic writer (she doesn't skip words in posts like I do because I type/edit too fast). She recently found out that her chances of conceiving are very low. Please read her story and pray for her.

- Meagan. If I was half as pretty and had half as much style this fellow LA blogger, I'd be a very very happy girl. She also is trying to have a baby. Please check her out and send some love/prayers her way.


Infant Illness:

- I know many of you know the story of MckMama's baby Stellan. He is truly a miracle on earth. He is now in the hospital, sick with a heart problem. Please pray for sweet Stellan. MckMama has recently penned some awesome posts about God and prayer. Not only do I pray for her and her many small childen, but I pray that I can have her same posture when faced with life's hardships.

Off to the Windy City!

Sorry again for the lack of posts this week. I've been working 13 hours days! Crazy!

On Saturday I'm heading to out Chicago for a week!

Why? I have my annual corporate training outside of Chicago all week next week. The training is usually a bit dry, but the networking is a blast and it's good to learn how to improve job skills.

But the best part is that on both ends of my training I'm going to see my amazing Grandmother who lives in Chicago:


This is her on her 90th Birthday last year at her house before her big party!

My grandma is seriously one of the coolest people I know...

• She's 90 and lives on her own
• She lives in a historic home (built in 1880)
• She's super smart and always learning (she seriously knows more words than anyone I know)
• She's a total sweetheart
• She knows more about current events and politics than I do
• She's Swedish and still speaks Swedish
• She has great stories -- think of how much change she has seen in 90 years?!
• And she drinks 5+ cups of coffee a day (like me... which is why I know coffee is good for me)

Between hanging with Grandma (who does not have internet) and being busy with training and training events, I won't be posting for over a week!

I promise to catch up with you all then and bring great pics of my adventures in Chicago.

Until then, here's a pic of me and Grandma at my wedding:

xoxo!

Is your "Stainless Steel" not so "Stainless"?

The Mr. I just did some Spring cleaning this morning. And I just have to tell you all that I LOVE Bar Keepers Friend.

No, they didn't pay me to write this. I just love the product!

I got it a few months ago as a sample with my pots and pans set and now I use it for EVERYTHING. I don't know how we could deal with cleaning all of the modern stainless steel appliances in our condo without it.

Price: About $3

Where to buy it: Grocery Store, BedBath&Beyond, or online

Where we use it: On stainless steel faucets/ sinks to get out water spots, on pots and pans to remove burn marks, on shower doors to remove residue, and (BEST of all) on our stainless steel fridge that always seems to get water marks and finger prints on it.

Why it's awesome: I even showed my MIL (who's been a homemaker for 30 years) how to clean her stainless steel refrigerator with it. She was FLOORED at how clean it was -- she kept saying the fridge looked like new!

Don't believe me? Check out the review on Apartment Therapy.

How to use it: Use a damp cloth and make a paste with the powder. Rub the paste over the object that you want cleaned. Wipe the paste off with a wet cloth and dry the object. Repeat for stubborn stains.

What are your "must have" Spring Cleaing products?