To Be Thankful

I've been so impressed by the outpour of gratitude this Thanksgiving season. I've seen countless Facebook posts where people have offered a daily or weekly list of things they're thankful for. I've seen posts on Etsy. I've seen blog posts. I love it!

Thanksgiving time has always been one of my favorites. Of course, a lot of it has to do with my birthday being in November. I'm also in love with the changing leaves, the smell of coming cold in the air, and sweet little reminders of my childhood.

My mom has these adorable little figurines--some are actually salt & pepper shakers. I remember lining them up time and time again as a child. Now my children are enjoying them at Grandma & Grandpa's house.

As my daughter and my mom pulled out the holiday decorations, I recalled walks next door to my own grandma's house. I used to take this small pumpkin with me and she'd fill it with candy.

I have a very blessed life. I've had a lot of different experiences in my young life. Some have been difficult, but I'm glad for what I've learned. I don't usually consider myself a very religious person... I'm sure anyone who meets me thinks I am, though. We go to church every week, we read scriptures nightly with the children after a story, we pray as a family... It's just such a part of my life that I don't focus on it. I hope God knows how grateful I am for my life and all in it even if I don't express it vocally. I'd imagine He can gather from my actions... at least I hope so.

I'll leave you with this scripture I made a million years ago that we usually display on our fridge this time of year. (You can click on it to make it large enough to read.) Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

A few more holiday designs...

(The Harris comes in a few different colors. I LOVE this one because you can add as many or as few photos as you'd like.)

I said I would and here are a few more holiday designs. I always have so many more ideas than I have time to complete them, so I suppose you'll have a few to look forward to next year. :)

(I officially want a dog after doing this card for a lovely customer of mine. Thank you very much!! ha!)

The big question is going to be which one WE send out this year!
Remember to enter code BitsyBlog when you shop at www.BitsyCreations.com for 10% off!

(The Fowler also comes in a lovely green argyle pattern--The Jefferson--in case you're interested.)

Really Target, Really?

So many weeks ago I was in Target. I don't usually shop for clothes when we do our Target runs... it usually involves having both of the kids with me and we're in to get something uber-exciting like toothpaste.

BUT I just happened to see some adorable cargo pants, tried them on, fit like a dream, so I purchased them. I wore them about three times that week and fell in love, so I thought I'd go back for the other colors. Of course, they didn't have them in my size, so I ordered them online.

Weeks passed. Yes, weeks. I repeatedly looked online to see when Target would ship the pants & they had given me a window of about a week for when I could expect them.

It's REALLY hard to find pants that fit me, so I was thrilled to have found some so wonderful. I went out to the mail every day to look for them even though I knew they hadn't shipped yet.

Until... yesterday when I got an e-mail from Target saying THEY COULDN'T FIND MY PANTS! Come on!! Why did you let me order them online if you didn't actually have any?! Grrr! Rar!!! Snarl.

If you're a size 0 or 18, you should go get these pants. Apparently those are the only sizes they have left. Boo.

(Too bad I'm so in love with Target that even something like this won't cost them my business...)

(AND you absolutely get extra points if you are laughing at my blog title. Does it drive anyone else crazy when words are repeated like that to supposedly make a point?? "Does it, Bitsy? Does it?)

Happiness Is...

Happiness is...
Playing with your sister's collections while she's at school...
and dumping them all over the floor while Mama has her back turned.

(Sorry I disappeared! We've all passed a nasty cold around this week. I'll be back! Happy Weekend!)

Birthday Favorites Post 2

(There's a new giveaway this week--hop on over to Gifted Giveaways)
In honor of my upcoming birthday, I thought I'd share some of my favorite things--not necessarily things I WANT for my birthday, but just things I enjoy. :)

Today brings my latest media crazes! I love to read, I love music, and I love t.v.! I'd say my interests are pretty wide-spread... though I do lean a little more toward the 'geeky' side of things. :)

Books first? I shared awhile back about reading a blurb in Real Simple by A.J. Jacobs. It's the first time I'd heard of him & I seriously felt I'd been living under a rock! He's amazing! I love all his work I've read so far & believe me--I've been on hyper drive getting my paws on his books.

(image from Amazon.com)

I highly recommend The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment where Jacobs literally turns his life into experiments. LOVE it. (Oh and just as a note--I know some people who read this would like to know that YES there are swear words.)

Music... Ah, music. I used to be one of those people who constantly had music playing. I always knew what was new. I knew the obscure. (Of course, that being said, I cannot stand when people have their ipods on non-stop. Seriously... when do you have time to think or, oh I don't know, communicate with other human beings!?)

But my kids changed my music listening habits & I feel old and out of touch. Still, I have hung on to some favorites and gobbled up the new albums. My latest favorite is Imogen Heap's Ellipse. LONG time fan of Imogen Heap & this album did not disappoint. It hasn't come out of the car since we bought it. :)

And t.v.? Oh gosh, if you have Netflix, grab a good friend and watch The I.T. Crowd. You can watch it instantly on Netflix, but I'm sure you can rent it elsewhere--It's a British Series so there are only 6 episodes each year. Mr. Bitsy & I have never laughed so much. We have an odd sense of humor, but I bet a lot of people out there would like this show who have never heard of it. Actually, I need to look it up again, but apparently they're trying to start a U.S. version now--Richard Ayoade from the U.K. version is even supposed to be in it. He is 100% hilarious. I hope it's okay.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you all have fun! I'm a little sad that we are in a very rural area right now... unless the cows decide to go door-to-door, we won't have trick-or-treaters this year!
The great news is that I just dropped Bitsy #1 off at her Preschool party & got to enjoy lots of adorable little costumes on some of the sweetest little people I've ever met.
We also have plans to go to our church "trunk-or-treat" this evening. Seriously, whoever thought of this idea should get some sort of award. We have a big potluck (usually I'm 100% frightened of potlucks but this one is a chili cook-off--yay!!) and a few indoor games. Then some families decorate their car trunks and the kids walk from car to car. SO nice for the little ones who get tuckered out from walking around neighborhoods.
If the kids make it through all of that I think we'll stop by our old neighborhood to say hello to old neighbors.
Wish us luck!!

A Halloween from a few years ago--My little Piglet & Me.

Birthday Favorites Post 1

Well, my birthday is coming up. Another year gone by! I've decided to have a little fun this year and share some of my favorite things. Since I spend much of my time on Etsy, I figured I'd focus mostly on some favorites I have there.

These aren't all things I WANT for my birthday (I plan on sharing some of my favorite children's items); they're just some of my favorites.

Today I'll share a few jewelry faves:

I love the simple beauty of this adorable Silver Blossom necklace from Edor. They're having a sale right now--You should stop by. :)

Next, I'll show my fun side. I always said I wouldn't be one of those moms who embarrassed her children with what she chose to wear... What do you think, would this be too much? I am in love with this Biohazard Cuff from RunzwithScissors. She actually doesn't seem to be offering it right now, but I think I may have to request one.

But of course, I have a love for delicate, too, like these lovely aqua & black earrings from FoxyMonster. (I know, my taste is all over the place.)

And of course, so I don't leave the guys out of this one... I am absolutely in love with the shop robandlean. These rings make me want to buy a new wedding band for my husband. Seriously! I chose titanium for my husband when we got married because he works with his hands a lot and I wanted something 'sturdy'. :)

But then I saw these rings with beautiful wood accents. This titanium and wood inlay is one of my favorites: