September Photo A Day

Back in August, someone that I follow on Instagram posted a pic of Fat Mum Slim’s August Photo a Day challenge. It looked fun but, and I thought it was a super cute idea but we were already half way through the month, so I just took a pic of their pic, a little redundant, I know, and tucked it away thinking I’d start in September. Well I forgot at the beginning of September. But, on the 13^th I remembered that I had wanted to start doing the challenges and realized that if I didn’t start that day I’d just keep putting it off and forgetting about it, so I began the challenge from that point in the month. I missed a day or two here and there but I had a blast seeing what the topic for the day was and then figuring out how I wanted to photograph that. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve already seen my photos, and some of you may have had no clue what I was doing, sorry, I didn’t # like I was supposed to. But, for those who don’t I thought I’d share what came of my September adventure!

I’ve decided to do the October challenge as well, since I enjoyed September’s so much. If you’d like to join me, here’s the list for the month. Don’t feel bad if you miss a day, just move on to the next. Remember to #FMSPhotoaday so that others can find your great pictures. Not sure if you want to participate? Follow me on Instagram, @natnapper, this month and see what you think! And check out Fat Mum Slim for more details! Happy Instagramming!

A Quick Tutorial & H54F!

So, remember last week’s H54F, when I showed a pic of the Mercy Wreath I made for my MIL? Well here’s the tutorial I promised!

What you’ll need:

Not Pictured: Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

*I love these straw forms because they’re a good size and super cheap. I usually can get them at Joann’s for less than $2.00 each, usually closer to $1.00 since I have the Joann’s app that always has coupons for 20-50% off my purchase. I’ve used the Styrofoam forms before but they were more expensive for the size I liked, the Styrofoam smells bad and melts under my glue gun, and if the wind knocks them off your door hanger they can shatter!

*I just grab whatever’s cheapest. You can usually fine the Red Heart Super Saver yarn in every color and on sale at either Joann’s or Hobby Lobby for less than $3.00. One package will cover the whole wreath form and leave enough left over to either do another wreath or even make a scarf!

*These leopard print Poinsettias were 40% off at Hobby Lobby. Add a few gold accent sprays and I was instantly inspired to make a Mercy themed craft with them.

Making your wreath:

Decide which side of your wreath will be your front and which will be your back. (If you’re using the straw form I used, be sure to leave the plastic ON! I don’t like risking tearing the plastic so I also don’t take off the sticker tag, which means that, for me, the side that has the sticker on it is my back.) Start by adding a dab of glue to the back of your wreath and attaching one end of the yarn ball. (I usually start on the sticker.) Then simply wrap your yarn around the form adding a dab of glue on the back of it every few inches to help the yarn stick in place. Make sure you push the yarn tightly together with each pass so that none of the wreath form shows through. This is a somewhat tedious process, but if you sit down in front of a move and just work while you watch you’ll probably get done around the time the movie is over.

Once you’ve made it all the way around you can always do a second quick pass to add depth and texture.

Now figure out where you want your decorative items to go. With the straw forms you can sometimes have an area that was over or under stuffed so you end up with a wonky area. That’s usually where I decide to put the decorative items since they’ll cover up the flaw. Remove the excess stems from your flowers and sprays, or, if they’re really thick and hard to cut, tightly roll them up so that they can be tucked under the flower itself. Play with how you want them to lay. Once you get it the way you want it simply hot glue everything directly onto the wreath. The nice part about items from the fake flower section is that they’re usually made with wire so you can mold and play with them to get them just right even after you’ve already glued them on.

Finally, determine where the top of your wreath is and add a hanger to the back of it. I just tuck some more yarn folded in fourths and attached it with a big dab of hot glue.

Hang up and admire your new wreath, which probably cost less than $10.00-$15.00 to make, depending on how expensive and how many decorative items you put on it.  

And last but not least… High Five for Fridays!!!

1. My daddy’s coming in to visit this weekend!
2. We went to the premier of Looper! (I liked it, but the jury’s still out on Blake’s opinion)
3. We had a good day down at NuLu Festival watching all the little kids dance to the Jake Parker Band! (It was funny because you would have thought we were at a kids concert they loved them so much but they do mostly Rock n’ Roll. Our friend Jake is the lead singer)
4. I gave my blog a new look and posted twice this week! 
5. It feels like fall! (I potted some mums and finally potted all the plants that were sitting on my porch)

Run (not walk or run/walk) the Derby miniMarathon

Post #4, a new page, and a new label to add to the list, woot woot! If you’ve checked out my 30 before 30 list you’ll see that on there is to Run, not walk or run/walk, the Derby miniMarathon. Well, I’ve started working towards that. You may notice there’s a new page at the top called My Derby Mini Training Schedule. Here you can see my planned training schedule to get me ready to accomplish this goal, hopefully this upcoming 2013 mini. You can also see where I’ve waivered from the schedule a little, as I make weekly updates to it based off what I actually accomplished that week. Feel free to utilize and modify this routine to help you accomplish your running goals.

A little history:

I’m not a runner, in any way shape or form. I was always one of those “I only run if I’m being chased” kinds of people. I played V-ball and Tennis in high school because they required the least amount of running. I wasn’t built for long distance running at all. I finally started jogging a little more in college, off and on, to try and combat the college pudge. It started because a girlfriend of mine talked me in to playing rugby with her, which required more running than I’d ever done before. Of course, I was in the pack, since I was too slow to actually be a primary ball runner. Later, I took a class… I got a B, lol! That’s right; a B in a class where all you have to do is jog! On the other side, I proved to myself that I wouldn’t actually fall over and die if I went more than 2 miles at one time, which had been the most I’d ever run before that class. After college we moved to AZ where I walked with girlfriends on lunch breaks and did the occasional jog “routine,” mostly because the hubby wanted to start running again, but those would last for a week or two and then peeter off.

Side note:

I’m not a fan of running with my husband for leisure (don’t tell him I sad that). I like doing races with him, for some reason it’s different, but get us doing a jog around the neighborhood and it usually ends with one of us annoyed with the other. I think it’s actually due to my own hang-ups. That man was built for running. He’s long and lean, and stubborn enough to not stop. He ran cross country and track all through high school, so he’s always trying to give me tips when we’re running, which for some reason drives me crazy. I don’t know why, other than maybe it just brings out my insecurities in my running abilities.

Long story short… too late (sorry)… I’m not a runner!

Anyway, in Aug 2010 we moved to Louisville, which is where the KY Derby is held. For most people across the country Derby is either just another day that you go along with never knowing that there’s even anything significant about that day, or it’s a day in which you go to a little party, maybe wear a big hat, and act like you’re rich and famous while you watch the “big race”.

In Louisville, Derby is nearly a month long, and for those truly involved, it can last all year, usually averaging out to having some sort of Derby related activity happening once a month. There’s royalty, golf tournaments, luncheons, and balls starting in early April, then, about 2 weeks before Derby, there’s Thunder. If you’ve never seen Thunder Over Louisville, you should, it’s a sight to behold. It consists of an air show in the afternoon followed by one of the largest fireworks displays in the world that night. Thunder is considered the kick-off for Derby festivities. It opens up the waterfront, which is a huge park on the river downtown, for the chow-wagon, which is exactly what it sounds like, and Derby activities can easily be taken part in on a daily basis.

One of these activities is the Derby Marathon and miniMarathon (1/2 marathon). Being a non-runner, I don’t know what possessed me to enter in to the Derby mini that first year we were here, but I did. And I completed it... I ran-walked it. It’s a great route and an amazing way to see all parts of the city. I don’t know what it was about that event, but when I crossed that finish line I had so much pride in myself and my newly adopted city that I was hooked. So I did it again the next year. This time I was with a girlfriend, and we “power” walked it. I finished in almost the same amount of time, lol. I like the idea of traditions, and doing the mini has become part of a tradition for me. So, of course, I’ll be doing it again this year. I’m determined to eventually run the whole thing. I don’t know if that’ll happen this year, but I’m going to give it the ol’ college try.

I found a training routine on-line here. I combined and adapted the 26-week marathon and 10-week ½ marathon training routines to fit my abilities and time-line. I realize I probably don’t really need to train for 8 months, but since I was starting new things at the beginning of September, and had just created my 30 before 30 list, I felt compelled to continue on my motivation high and start something else. I began on the first Monday of the month, I told you I like starting on the first of things, and while I’m only a month along, I’m feeling good about sticking with it, for the most part, this long, and the longer I keep doing it the more confident I’ll become in hopefully crossing something else off my list, which, for me, is one of my favorite things.

Do you have a list you’re working on? Even just a daily to-do list? One of my most favorite things is crossing stuff off of lists. If I have a to-do list that I’m working on and I get something done that I didn’t put on the list originally, I’ll add it to the list so I can cross it off. I really hope I’m not the only one who does that.