Nap time is my favorite time

Its been a little while since my last post, and that is probably because I have been treading water in this whole full-time student thing that I am attempting to do. It has been a learning experience of time management, as I failed miserably last night while procrastinating a paper I needed to write for Art History. I hate that whenever I try to sit down and write a paper for academic reasons, nothing comes out! I get frustrated with myself, and then end up going to bed late then wake up cranky the next morning. Its a vicious cycle, but I can't seem to figure out a way to change it.

Frankly, I am surprised that I am not taking a nap at this very moment.

I don't know the purpose of this post. Possibly to confirm to myself later that I actually struggled through school, and that it wasn't just a period of time that I breezed through. Studying is rough. I don't know how I can fit so many subjects in my head at the same time. I don't know how I did it in high school. It seems inhumane. Whatever. I will just keep on keepin' on.

Also, that poor Dalton having to work a full time job and take night classes full time is really starting to get to him as well. Its not easy for him to spend so many evenings away from home. Not nearly as bad as when he was working up in North Dakota, but its getting there. At least he can come home and sleep in his own bed, and cuddle with me. That's a plus. I am so glad that he was taught to have such a good work ethic. He works so hard for our family, and I am proud of him for that.

Here is my salute to naps. All hail the mighty nap.

Until Next time, Cheers from the Checketts!

Cha Cha Cha Changes....................................Again.

"The only constant in life is change."

My husband said that the other day, and I wanted to smack him. Oh, how I LOATH that statement. Seriously I hate it so much. I hate change! I don't like going out of my comfort zone, it just makes me feel uneasy. I get a huge knot in my stomach even before a change happens, but I know its coming. Its the worst.

Well this time, I think I can be ok with change. Remember this post? Dalton went up to North Dakota like we planned and worked for his brother for a few months. It was horrible...for me. Dalton didn't have much of a problem, but I could not function. I mean, I had been sad about things in the past, but nothing compared to the misery I felt everyday that he was gone. I hardly ate, I was constantly sleeping, and when I wasn't sleeping, I was thinking about the couch and how much I wanted to sleep. If I could have I probably would have slept for 3 weeks straight until the next time my best friend got home. I mean, how pathetic, right? But hey, it was my life.

The problem was, I still had to care for another living human. Fish are pretty low maintenance, the lizards would get food when they needed it, and if I had had a dog, I probably would have left the whole bag of food out so they could eat whenever they needed to, and had them cuddle with me on the couch when I was lonely. But no, life could not be that simple. I had a bigger responsibility. Jason was my motivation to get out of bed. And even then, it was like pulling teeth. I struggled. Every day. He would even cuddle with me a lot of the time. I think he knew I was hurting inside. We talked about it occasionally, and about how hard this was for mommy, and he is definitely old enough to understand.

It took a toll on him too, because he could just feel the depression in the air. It was gloomy and yucky, even though the summer sun was shining into the windows. Poor kid. I feel so bad for him looking back! What a crummy summer right before kindergarten.

I remember talking to him one night before bed and it had been a rough day for me. We stayed on the couch the entire day, so we were talking about that and I told him I was sorry that we didn't do anything fun that day. he said, very sincerely and in the cutest way possible, "Its alright mom, I like watching tv with you. That's fun."

This kid. How do I even express my gratitude for him. I thank my Heavenly Father a lot about how glad I am that Jason is my son, and that he is in my life. He is indeed a very special spirit.

But now the summer is over. The good news, and the reason for this post is that Dalton is no longer working in North Dakota! He got his old job back literally 5 days after he called is old boss and said he was done up there, wanting to know if they could use him. How incredibly grateful we are for that blessing. We did not have to deal with trying to find other work, nor stress about a gap in paychecks.

Jason has also started kindergarten, and we are fortunate enough to live close to his school that we can walk! I don't have to deal with cranky drivers dropping off/picking up their kids and crazy traffic. I just walk up to the school, wait for his class to come out, and take him home. No fuss, no muss. Sometimes we even decide to ride our bikes! Jason is doing full time kinder this year, so he is gone for a long time during the day. The very first day of school when I picked him up, we were walking home and I was trying to get him to talk about what he did and how he liked school. All he kept saying was "It was the longest day EVVVVVEEEERRRRR!" He has been in school for about a week now, and he seems to be a little better. I just have to remember to bring some water for him to drink for the walk home. Its HOT!

So now with Jason in school, and me not working, I have a lot of free time on my hands. And I mean a LOT! I decided to continue going to school, but not anything too crazy. I am taking a Math class that will go towards my required classes, and another painting class. Painting is seriously my outlet. Once  a week for 5 hours I get to sit and paint with no interruptions. It is so freeing, and harbors so much creativity. I will be sad when I can no longer take that class and have to fit it into my schedule at home. Its a lot harder!

I am also trying another at home business. I have been doing Scentsy for about 6 months, and it has been great! Such an easy company to work for, with lots of people to help when you need them. Not only through customer service through the company itself, but also my mom and her team. I have had many successful orders, and have met a lot of people I would not have normally had the chance to meet if I did not do Scentsy. Now that I have all this free time though, I wanted to start another fun adventure. I am now a consultant for Jamberry! I noticed a few months ago when I was really struggling and I went to a nail salon and got my nails done, that I felt so much better because I could do something for myself. I liked how my fresh nails made me feel just a little bit more put together, and not so much like a slob. It just cost me a bundle to do so. It was a necessity at the time because I really needed it. But I can't afford to go to the salon every time I feel down. So now Jamberry can help me feel good about my appearance in some small way. Jamberry is an affordable alternative to traditional nail polish. It is an adhesive wrap that is heat and pressure activated that applies directly to a finger or toe nail. 300+ designs means I can choose whatever I want to help me get out of a funk. So I can get them for myself  and have cute nails, while trying to make a little money by helping other customers get excited about them too! Check out my Jams website here!

So with all the change happening in our lives, it seems that change is the new constant. How that is, I have no idea. But I guess I will try to go with the flow, and hope that I do better this time around.

~Until next time, Cheers from the Checketts~

Which came first: the movie or the book?

Here is my bookshelf.

 I love it! I love that it spills over and book are stacked on top of each other, like they are bursting to be read and the shelf cannot contain them. 

I have always wondered what it would have been like had I been able to watch the movies of popular books before I had actually read the books. Ex: Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Divergent, mainly a lot of the recent teen drama young reader stuff... The quick reads that take me only a day or two. In most cases, I read the book first (sometimes not knowing there will be a movie) then watch the movie later and am sometimes disappointed because the characters are different than I expected, or the director left out something that I thought was crucial to the plot. There have even been cases where I see a trailer for a movie, and realize its a book, then I buy the book before the movie comes out and read it first. I did that with Divergent, I am doing it right now with The Maze Runner, and really really want to go out and buy the new one about the girl with cancer and she meets a boy who falls in love with her... The title has something about time... I'm not exactly sure. In the movie it's the same actress as the girl in divergent. I saw the book on the shelf a couple weeks ago and was interested, but did not end up buying it. Then not even a week later I was a movie trailer and screamed that I should have bought the book!! Arg.  Anyways..... Sorry bout that. I will remember later... Or just google it.

But then there are the very very tiny handful of movie/book combos where I did not know about the books til the credits of the movie were rolling. Namely Nicholas Sparks. Seriously this guy..... Talk about me being a cry baby! I love (most) of the movies, and I can't bring myself to read the books! I don't know why, and I have a few of them on my bookshelf...

...I just can't get myself to read! It's so weird....

So now my dilemma. I have the opportunity to not read the book first of a very popular series that will shortly be a movie and I don't know what to do. It kills me when people have not read the books of some of my favorites... Especially Harry Potter. Seriously people, just read the book! You have no idea what you are missing!! *cough Dalton cough* 

But now I don't know what to do!! The book is the second of the Divergent series, Insurgent. The reason why I have been able to hold myself back on this one is simply because I bought Divergent after standing in the book section for no joke, less than 3 minutes while Dalton and Jason were looking at kids books for a road trip. I kid you not I read 2 pages and put it in the cart. At the time I had seen the trailer but did not know that I would want the whole series....

So I bought it in paperback. (That is important) Got home and read the book in less than 2 days. I wanted more!!! Of course I did... That's how it always happens! Gah I should have just bought them all...in hardback!!!!!!!!! BUT America does not have the others in paperback yet. They want to get you hooked on the first one of the series, then make you want to shell out a bunch of doe for the hardback because you need another hit! (Wow I sounded like a drug addict right there...interesting) 

So I made Dalton go hunting online for paperback versions of 2&3 (because I am weird like that and don't like having the same series in both paper and hard backs. Seriously I have the first 2 Harry potter in paperback

and sitting them on my bookshelf next to the others is gross. And so unfair to the look of my bookshelf! Look! It's like I try to hide them in shame. I am sorry little books!) , but he could only find #3, Allegiant.

We bought it, for super cheap mind you because it was from the Uk or something like that. And ever since, it has been haunting me because I have not read the second one! I can't find the second one in paperback, so I have tried to forget about it.... And I have for a while until about 23 minutes ago when I couldn't sleep. So now they are making the movie.. And I can't read the book yet, so can I do it?! Can I see the movie then read the book later? I have tried to imagine what it would have been like to do that with Harry potter, and I don't know if I would have been able to pick up the book afterwards. (Movies get to the story a lot faster than books, and if you are not really dedicated, the first chapter of the book would be hard to read after seeing the movie) 

If I can manage, I would not have to worry about being disappointed with the movie living up to what I have imagined in the book. I can enjoy the movie for what it is worth first, then go back to the book and be blown away with how much was left out of the movie. 

But then I have the worrying thought that if I don't read the book and watch the movie first instead, will I not want to read it? The only thing i a am going off of here is my experience with the Nicolas Sparks stuff, and I am not sure if that's enough to base my worry on. Oh why does my brain have to be so complicated?! Ant thoughts on my dilemma? Anyone else had that same thought of what it would have been like to see the movie first? I just keep going back to Harry Potter when I think of that...re-reading those after years of just the movies for a while was a whole new experience..

Oh and I google the other book. "The fault in our stars." I dunno where I got time from. Anyway, it looks good!

Until next time, Cheers from the Checketts!

Time for an Overhaul!

So things are going to be changing in the Checketts' household, and I need to get myself mentally prepared. I hate change, and have never been good at it, but this one is only temporary. Dalton has quit his job..GASP!...I know. I am not that thrilled...but whatever! Now he is going to go up to North Dakota to work for his brother. Which is great! He will be making $30 an hour up there, and that is a lot for our little family. He will be gone for 20 days at a time, then back home for 10. So this means I will have a lot of time on my hands! This also means that I need a healthy outlet for productivity, thus why I am calling myself out on slacking at this whole blog thing. I am going to (re)start my journaling, and I really want to get the crazy wedding season from the Checketts side all written down somewhere. (4 weddings in 5 months) ......yeah that happened. But I don't have it written down! Why?! Because I am a slacker. I want to get those done asap before I forget, then I will continue with the blog with crafts and other things we are doing while Dalton is away. Then on the days Dalton is home, we plan on packing in lots of quality time, and most likely a few vacations thrown in there every once in while. So look for those!! And if there is a day that you see me crying for no apparent reason, its probably because I am sad that I don't have my hubby with me to cry to, or I might be PMSing....who knows. Life just throws all that crap your way every once in a while. Oh, plus, i have started selling Scentsy! (check-a-scent.scentsy.us) This is another outlet for me and a way to keep busy, so if you want anything, I am constantly putting in orders! ......................sorry bout that, but I gotta promote myself somehow, right?! haha :)

Anyways, til next time, Cheers from the Checketts!

One year wedded bliss!

This is amazing. How can this even be possible?! Dalton and I have been married for one year!!!!! The time flew by so fast it doesn't even seem real. I am so glad we had a perfect wedding day. I got everything I wanted! The dress, the cake, the friends and family, the dancing, the everything! But the real beauty of that day was that it was the start of a beautiful marriage. Dalton and I are not perfect, but we are perfect for each other. How I love this man.

Dalton came into my life when I was not at my best. He loved me anyway. He found out about my past. He loved me anyway. He met Jason and learned what a relationship with me would mean for that little boy. He loved me anyway. He learned of my habits and quirks that are sometimes crazy and make no sense to other human beings. He loved me anyway. The wedding planning started, and he saw how crazy I really got. He loved me anyway. Wedding day came and went. Normal life and routine came in. Monotonous daily life was the usual. He loved me anyway. 

I know it's only been a year. But what a wonderful one! Dalton and I have talked about this feeling we have lately, and we truly hope that this "newly wed" excitement about one another never goes away. And that if it ever does, we will do whatever it takes to get it back. He is my best friend, and I truly do not know what I would be doing with my life if he were not a part of it.

March 9th, 2014- Dalton and Kelcie: one year wedded bliss.

The best part about being married to Dalton right now is that we are going to be sealed for Eternity in the Denver Temple in less than 20 days!!! I am so excited, and can't wait to start the next chapter :)

Until next time, Cheers from the Checketts!

Crafts with Kelcie: Spiderweb Yarn Frame Tutorial

Hey there crafters! Its October, and this means pumpkins, hot chocolate, oatmeal cookies, and Halloween. I get so excited to decorate around this time of year, and I realized I didn't have much for the season. So I am going to make a spiderweb yarn frame, and show you how too! That way, we can all have adorable things to put up around our homes together.

Here is a picture of the finished product, just so you have an idea of what it will look like :)

These are the materials needed: Picture frame, Yarn, Glue gun, and and a spider! *also scissors to cut the yarn is important!

Now, I choose to use a small-ish frame because I didn't want a huge decoration. You can use whichever size picture frame you like. Take the glass out and the back off so that all that is left is the frame.

Next, lets tie the yarn around the frame. 

As I am working, I realize that its a little easier to glue a bit of the yarn down as I go so things doing move around. Glue down your knot now. This is also where we need to put just a few inches of glue on to wrap the yarn around as we go. 

Now I have reached the end of my glue, and it seems sturdy. I can now continue wrapping the yarn all the way up to the corner.

We made it to the corner!

Ok, so here is where I am thinking this might get difficult. Now is the time to decide whether you want the corner covered by yarn or not. I have seen other yarn frames where the corners are not covered, and they do look really cute. For my project though, I think this particular one needs to be covered.

I can't simply start at one end of the corner and expect to finish with quality at the other end. Here we need to start a type of weave to make sure things don't move around.

Make sure to alternating around each side of the corner, building on each layer.

Keep building! Almost there!

You did it! I want to cover mine a few extra times, just to be sure, then we can finish the other side of the frame.

Ok, so now we are at the top. I don't like the thick layering at the corner, then not the rest of the frame. To me it looks incomplete, so I am going to go over the sides again to make it more even and completely covered.

There we go :) Much better! I hope you have kept your glue gun out! Cut off the ball of yarn and glue the end of the strand to the back out of sight.

Now on to the spider web! Depending on what size frame you choose will determine how big your spiderweb should be. Don't make it too crowded! With my 5x7 frame, I went with 3 strands. Glue all the bottom strands to the corner. Be sure you are gluing everything on the back! You are not going to want any of the yucky glue to show when your frame is on display.

So, I just burned my finger on the hot glue. Be careful! Now that that is over, I find that stretching the yarn to the opposite corner is safer when not so close to the glue. Also, my scissors have been helpful because I can gently push the yarn into the glue better than my fingers. I also have been putting glue over the top of the yarn to make sure it stays in there!

Ok so now all 3 strands of yarn are glued from the corner. Next we need to go crossways.

Start by gluing the yarn to one side of the frame, then tying it to each of the center strands. Then glue to the other side.

I have left the tied strands a little loose to make it look like the web is hanging off the frame. Again, the size of your frame will determine how many cross strands you will be able to fit. I think 3 looks good on mine.

We have finished the yarn!

Now for the accessories! Just a dab more of glue, and the cute little spider fits perfectly with the web.

Isn't he fun?

Finish up with a small amount of yarn glued to the top to be able to hang it up!

And its done!!! I hope you had as much fun as I did making this simple decoration for the upcoming Halloween holiday. Go hang it up somewhere! Questions about how I did something? Leave a comment!

Until next time, cheers from the Checketts!

Brand Spankin' New!

New chapter = new blog. 6 months ago, Dalton and I got married, and it was perfect. I could not have asked for a better wedding experience, and I look back on that day with joy and and overflowing amount of love. Since that time, we have been growing closer as a couple, as well as a family. Dalton is taking to fatherhood like he was born for the role. I am so grateful that I found someone who was willing to take Jason and I on as well as he has.

I have always loved the idea of blogs, and I really want to get one going for our family. I had an old one, but that was from a few years ago when I was really depressed about my life, and I felt the only time I would post was when I was mad about something, or just complaining. I struggled with it, and it has been so long since I made a post that I want to start completely fresh. What a perfect opportunity to start a whole new blog that will now include Dalton! I can't wait to start.

So far I am not sure what will be on my blog the most, but I have thought about the crafts I have made, or the cute things I like to sew, or my art work that I have been able to do through a few classes. A few of those types of things might pop up every once in a while. I have also heard of people getting paid to blog, so I will be looking into that very soon. I don't know how it works, but once I do, I will let you know.

I also love photography. I just got a new camera as a Christmas present, (which I didn't actually get until june because of finances) but I LOVE it! I have been experimenting with all the knobs and buttons, and I am getting better. Even professionals have to start at the bottom.

Jason has been in preschool lately, and some of his work he brings home has been wonderful. I plan to scan everything into my computer so I can have a electronic copy of everything for a memory book for each year of school, and I might decide to show a few on the blog as well. It just depends on my mood a the time.

I am also a pinterest addict. Yes. Hello, my name is Kelcie, and I am addicted to PINTEREST. It happens, but the first step is admittance, right? I would love to say I am getting better about it, but lets be honest. I'm not. I love looking for cute craft ideas, or yummy recipes, or how to get rid of nasty bugs in my garden...the list goes on and on. It is convenient to look something up (just like you would with google) but then you can pin it to your pinterest in case you ever need to find it again! So because of my addiction, I will be sharing my successes of the many projects I have in mind, as well as the failures that are bound to happen...just so you don't make the same ones!

I almost forgot! My Garden. OH sigh, my garden :) I have worked so hard on my garden this summer, and I love it! For my bridal shower this past march, I was fortunate to have a gardening theme, just in time for all the stores to start carrying garden supplies. Oh my heart! I was so excited to receive all the amazing gifts for my garden, that I wanted to start planting immediately! Too bad there was still snow on the ground, or else I would have! I have had my fair share of newbie mistakes over this summer, but I am proud to say that I have had a pretty good harvest! I still have vegetables growing from the plants, and I am trying to figure out what I can still plant for the fall season. I need to get on the ball quick before the frost comes. So my gardening adventures will surely make its way onto my blog.

Uh...I can't think of anything else off the top of my head, but this is probably a good start. I will be getting started with more posts as things come up. Right now we are getting back into the school thing from the summer break, so routines are still a little messy. It will get better! Until next time, Cheers from the Checketts~