Camping - Lessons Learned

Be prepared for a picture overload. I couldn't help myself. 

Last week my family went camping and overall we had such a great time. 

I learned a few things while I was there. 

I'm a little (maybe a little more than a little) more high maintenance now than I was when I was younger.  Things like my own shower, bathroom, mirror, etc. definitely weren't an inconvenience  when I was eight. 

I am an official converter to the one piece swimsuit. 

For those of you that asked before, this one is from Old Navy but is a year or two old. 

I'm thankful for the men who set up our campsite when we got there.

This little man even did his part.

I don't think I could ever eat enough s'mores to make me feel sick or to get tired of them.

My sister is one of the strongest woman I know. After being diagnosed with Lyme's disease a few weeks, and feeling quite terrible she still wanted to go camping.  And then after a health scare and trip to the ER while we were camping she was beyond a trooper with such an amazing attitude.

She is incredible.  

My nephew is now officially a runner.

And I'm already planning to fulfill a dream of mine and run a mini race with him this next year.

We did quite a lot of practicing while we were camping.  

Starting stance, countdown, finish line. We did it all.

I have the most sweetest, cutest and most loving nephew in the world. 

(This one I already knew, but think so even more.)

I appreciated the break from phone, internet and even blogging. 

 These kids LOVED the beach and we had so much fun playing.

Camping is hard when you have little kids.  Even with nine adults. 

But luckily the kids don't even have a clue and loved it. 

Flies, dirt, wind.  Nothing bothers them.  

(I can't say the same for myself.)

I absolutely love my family and feel like they are my greatest blessing.

Mint and Pleats

dress and bracelet: c/o swaychic  shoes: dsw 

There are so many things that I love about this dress: 

1. I can wear three trends at one time: pleats, mint and color blocking.

 I feel like pleats can be hard to wear but when they come attached as part of a dress there is no deciding how to wear them.  And I've been wanting something mint colored forever. 

2. It came in the mail really fast so I didn't have to wait long to wear it.

3. It is unbelievable comfortable and matches my new bracelet. 

4. I think that it can be dressy enough for a wedding (and I plan on wearing it to one in the next few weeks) but casual enough to wear to work. 

5. I'm pretty excited to wear it with boots in the Fall. 

(Which by the looks of the leaves on the ground you may think it is almost that time. 

But they are sadly just from the dying trees in our yard.)

Things I love about these shoes:
 They were only $5 and make my short legs look longer.

Things I hate about these shoes:
They are incredibly uncomfortable and I doubt I'll ever be able to wear them for more than 15 minutes.

At least I know I'll get a lot of use out of this dress!
I am also in love with this, this and this.
You should check them out.

Happy Wednesday!

what I love Wednesday    pleated poppy
rolled up pretty

Surrender

dress & shirt: old navy   sandals: target

It's been far too long since I had been running outside and while I was camping I was reminded how much I miss it.  I think I've avoided "quiet" time a lot this summer as I often end of feeling sad, scared and upset when I just sit and think about what I am going through, and what our future may be.

I was reminded while running how important it is to continually process what I'm going through and open my heart to whatever the Lord wants to teach me.

I believe that God uses trials to bring us closer to Him and to teach us. 

As I've been in the same trial for over a year, I believe the most important thing I've learned is to surrender. 

Surrender 

my plans

my desires

my control

my timing 

and to trust that God has His perfect plan and His perfect timing.

And whether I learn one more thing or ten more things before he blesses us with a baby, 

I need to give up trying to figure it out. 

I need to stop planning after each "lesson" I feel I learn and think that maybe now God will give me what I want.
I need to surrender my frustrations and anger that we have been in this same place for what seems like so long. 

I need to stop planning out my future month by month of what I think would be the perfect plan. 

This song continually ran through my head while running and is a great reminder of what I need to do. 

1. All to Jesus I surrender;
   All to Him I freely give;
   I will ever love and trust Him,
   In His presence daily live.
   • I surrender all,
     I surrender all;
     All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
     I surrender all.
2. All to Jesus I surrender;
   Humbly at His feet I bow,
   Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
   Take me, Jesus, take me now.
   
   
   All to Jesus I surrender;
   Now I feel the sacred flame.
   Oh, the joy of full salvation!
   Glory, glory, to His Name!
   
   I surrender all, 
   I surrender all;
   All to Thee, my blessed Savior, 
   I surrender all. 
   
   

   I need to open my hands and surrender to Him.  
   
   

On your heart Tuesdays
we encourage

DIY Maxi Dress - Round 2

(I apologize for the extremely tired face. It was too early to be taking pictures.)

Earlier this summer I made this maxi dress. 

The directions said it would take 30 minutes, but ended up taking me over two hours.  

Now this skirt probably was a little more than 30 minutes, but definitely easier than the last one. 

 All you need is an old tank top & 2 yards of knit/jersey fabric.

(I guess your tank top doesn't have to be old. Mine definitely was.)

First cut your tank top, leaving about an inch more than you want to show on your dress.

Then take your two yards of fabric and cut off one of the sides to make it as wide as you'd like it. 

(What I wish I would have done here is lay a maxi skirt that I like on top and cut out the sides, using it as a pattern.  I ended up having to take mine in around the waist after I was done.  It would have been much easier to do that here.)

Using a zigzag stitch sew up both sides of your rectangle. 

I tried mine on and it was way to wide.  I could have done a gathered stitch around the waist, which would've work.  But instead I just cut the extra off and sewed the side again. 

If you want your skirt more gathered around the waist (and then it would be looser the rest of the length) you can follow this tutorial here.

Next slide your tank top inside your skirt. 

Then pin your tank top to your skirt. 

Now my skirt was still a little wider than my tank top.
(This is where a doing a gathered/ruffled stitch would help).

But I just folder over the fabric - like little pleats and pinned it down. 

Sew around the circle, using a zigzag stitch. 

And turn it inside out.

Since it is knit fabric you don't need to hem it, although I may end up doing it later. 

And that's it!

I also think I will end up wearing it with a belt too. 

(Which comes in handy to cover up any mistakes on the waist line!) 

I'm always a little nervous doing a sewing tutorial, as I am no expert, so let me know if something doesn't make sense!

Hope you all had a good weekend!

craft-o-maniac   YOLO Mondays
Monday Meet-up  5 Days 5 Ways

High Five for Friday

hat: shop in Lake Geneva, WI  shirt: banana republic outlet  shorts: old navy

1. I am definitely not a hat person but had wanted a fedora for a long time. 

I felt pretty comfortable wearing it on a boat (okay, I actually felt really cool wearing it on a boat). 

But am still not so confident about wearing it out. 

2. I made this fabric bracelet a few weeks ago, following this tutorial. 

I love it and want to make more in other colors. 

3.  I have been busy with lots of sock monkey orders! 

I am temporarily not using my etsy shop, but still want to do orders through paypal for now. 

If you are interested in a sock monkey or any of my other items please send me an email!

katiejvale@yahoo.com

4.  With only 2 weeks before school starts (YIKES!) I am determined to do some fun things next week, along with being in my HOT classroom setting up for the new year. 

Hopefully another day or two laying out somewhere will be included.

5.  We just got back from camping tonight!
While I did miss my shower, bathroom, internet and air conditioning, I had such a good time.
I'm sure I'll share lots of pictures next week, but for now here's one of my favorites:

And I certainly missed reading all of your blogs - I have a lot of catching up to do!

Have a great weekend!

High Five for Friday    Casual Friday