craft corner: fridge magnets

by the way, craft corner is the official name for when i do crafts with my residents. so this is a legit thing.

our fridge magnets have needed an overhaul for a while now.

as much as i love our clipy magnets we got from our wedding, they have a tendency to fall down and fly all over the place when we open the fridge door.

caleb doesn't like this.

so, because i get bored, i create projects for myself.

like these:

i wasn't really interested when i'd seen this done before.

but it's cheap, easy, and great for those cute images or paper you can't figure out what to do with.

this magnet series is called "janni loves tree huggers".

not really. well, kind of.

before:

after:

they're made from those floral/marble stones, strong clear craft glue, good magnets, and cute paper.

i'll be making another series, since i have lots of cute paper that needs a purpose.

by the way, the paper came from the die cuts with a view (dcwv) thick scrapbook paper you find at craft stores priced oh-so-high. the company is based out of utah, and once or twice a year they have this amazing warehouse sale in provo.

$20 books of paper become $3 and less. there's lots of other wonderful things, and now i'm wishing i bought much much more.

so, this is a plead to those still in utah: go and enjoy. for me.

also, to achieve these magnets, i had to wait out a nearby tornado in the backroom of a craft store with a bunch of strangers.

was it worth it?

i think so.

hello november

we like to go for sunday drives.

nice for us, missouri is pretty in the fall:

seeing the backwoods:

we also like to explore the towns that are even smaller than us.

like clever, pronounced cleaver, where it just gets better every day!

in missouri there are many unique names, like this one:

we visited the lake.

caleb doesn't like it when i take pictures of random people. but he wont pose for me, so what else can i do but be a paparazzi?

the "lake" was nice.

and very windy.

the last of the leaves outside our place.

drives are pretty much our excitement these days. between lots of school and work, we're usually too lame to want to do anything else but relax if we get some free time.

caleb was also recently called as the 16-17 year olds sunday school teacher, and i'm the first counselor in young womens.

we're very happy to be here now. we're both stretching ourselves and growing closer together. 

we are so grateful for the opportunities we have to progress. we are especially appreciating the gospel and our blessings.

happy thanksgiving!

goodbye october

november is here and i can feel wonderful autumn turning into winter already. it's getting chilly in missouri and i'm excited for sweatshirts and snuggle season.

some of our october highlights...

my birthday:

we went down to famous branson and enjoyed the "must see" dolly parton's dixie stampede, dinner and show. the food was good and so home-styled no utensils were allowed. the show itself was too cheesy for caleb and i to take seriously, but we're glad we went. we're also glad we sat in the 2nd, not 1st row, because the horses definitely flipped arena sand up into those peoples' meals. my favorite parts of the show were the pig races and being part of the south. the confederacy lives on!

halloween:

this year we went to our ward's trunk-or-treat and passed out candy to the crazy children. even though we didn't decorate our trunk, we were a big hit with the pixie stixs. "wow, sugar sticks!!!" there's some pretty intense women in the ward and a definite divide between the homeschool and public parenting styles. i know many of those kids never get candy, let alone sugar sticks.

 i also threw my first big party at work on halloween night and it turned out well. crazy, but they enjoyed it. they ate food (which is the most important and overwhelming part), played a candy cake walk, had a costume contest with awesome prizes, and enjoyed a staff member's professional karaoke machine and lights. these people love their karaoke, it cracks me up. we have some real crazy dancers too.

i'm settling in at work. it's much different than what i've done before. this is a very unique and challenging group of people, and there's so many of them! it will take some time to really make it work and every day will be a crazy adventure.

school and work are pretty much our life right now. caleb is getting a little overwhelmed with school, but he's determined to fight through. he's such a hard worker and i'm very proud of him. work is pretty intense and sometimes the environment gets to me, but i know it's a great learning experience.

now we're just counting down the days until we go back to washington for christmas!!!

missouri walks are nice. and i represent!

  

autumn greetings

another reason why i love this time of year:



pumpkins!!!

and the odd ones get their time to shine.
this is called a peanut pumpkin:

i took some residents to a pumpkin patch. we were all impressed with the variety of cute, odd little pumpkins and fall stuff.

and these guys were only $2. caleb says it's because they're ugly.

i must be their mother because i think they are beautiful.

hooray for fall!



craft corner

in all the free time i've had for the last month and half before getting a job, i've tried to find things to help me from going crazy.

some of these things were attempts to improve myself.

like trying to be more domestic.

and it seems the general opinion on being domestic includes being crafty. like sewing your apron and then your children's clothing. or having a trendy styled house full of home-made decor. or scrap booking your family's life.

while i enjoy trying to be creative, i have no such talents. or a desire for most of the typical ones.

so for all you crafty cheaters out there, here is a fun and easy thing that i find helps fulfill some domestic, creative needs:

freezer paper stencils.

very cheap and simple, but you can do a million things with them.

here are some i've done recently:

 i just love dandelions!!

not for my baby, but i love the onesis and they make great gifts.

tree love and this paint is an awesome copper!

the best thing about these is customizing to match your personal style (i love retro) or for gifts.

if you want to learn how, here's a pretty good tutorial:

http://www.unwindknitting.net/archives/2006/09/freezer_paper_s.php

so many possibilities!

mrs. navarre's book club: hector and the search for happiness: a novel

because this is my blog i will host the book club. 

for those of you who know me, you know i am somewhat of a bookworm. always have been. even though i usually read for just enjoyment, i do like the occasional thought-provoking book.

i recently read one such book, hector and the search for happiness: a novel.

this is a book many love or hate. i loved it.

it's about a french psychiatrist who thinks he is doing everything he should, but can't understand why he or his clients aren't happy. so he goes on a journey to several countries. many of the places hector sees or things he encounters aren't labeled in the traditional format. instead things are explained in a simple way so that the reader knows exactly what he's talking about, but can look at it differently. for example, he never uses the word "america". instead, it's called "the country of more".

hector contains nothing new or revolutionary. written in a very child-like, fable format, you will probably find it either refreshing or annoying (for any who have seen amelie, i feel the style is similar).

it's a light, easy read but very clever, allowing the reader to reexamine what happiness means to them. most of what the author highlights are no-brainers. but isn't it usually the little, simple solutions that can answer most problems? how come it's so difficult to do the simple things?

and really, happiness comes from within.

i think this is a thought-provoking novel, though it does borderline on a self-help book. i'm not a fan of self-help books or fixes. not that they don't contain some merit. but most people waste time searching for solutions to their problems in all the wrong places. 

i truly know that all of life's problems can be solved with the gospel of jesus christ. it doesn't mean these problems go away or all the answers are given now.

but doing the simple things and having a relationship with the saviour is the only way to find true happiness. it's not about the search for happiness, but happiness comes as a result.

and the scriptures are a true self-help book.

so, if you're looking for a fast but thoughtful read, try this one. and hey, the cover is just so darn cute.

until next book club,

mrs. navarre.

about missouri

as with every place in this world, there are wonderful things, not so wonderful things, and quirky things to experience. it's an adventure to make the most of wherever you find yourself.

from our experience so far of southwest missouri, here are some of our findings:

the wonderful things:

green, rolling hills. and green trees!

andy's frozen custard (does the word "jackhammer" mean anything to anyone?).

friendly people.

mostly cheap cost of living.

nicer drivers.

lots of historical sites. and close to church history.

easy to get to other states and places.

best priced gas.

plenty of bbq specialities (like lambert's hot tossed rolls).

the not so wonderful things:

bugs. lots of them.

ice storms (we haven't experienced one, but we hear they're nasty).

tornadoes.

even though it's a smaller city, the traffic gets congested really fast.

expensive groceries.

humidity.

hardly any public smoking laws. and the majority smokes. at my work, there are two indoor smoking areas, near everyone else. and this is a healthcare facility.

the quirky things:

dead armadillos all over the roads (but it's rare to see them alive).

lots of amish and mennonite people.

strange healthcare worker state laws. like, you don't have to be a nurse of any kind to give out medication in some places.

"springfield cashew chicken"

midwest rednecks.

overall, we are really enjoying missouri. we like trying new places and and gaining new experiences. it's funny how things vary even from state to state. we definitely feel like we're in a VERY different part of the world. but there are good people and good things in every corner of this world.

hello blogging world

so at last i've given in to the the blogging world.

even though i don't have many profound things to say and if i did, i wouldn't be sharing them online. and we have no children to post lots of cute little things about.

our life is pretty uninteresting to the outside viewer.

but i decided i've stalked other peoples bogs long enough. and hey, you can always use one more thing to waste time with online, right? :)

so.... hello!

and because we all know more pictures = better blogs, here's one for good measure:

 from the pumpkin patch in springfield, because fall is the best time of the year.

mmmm, i need to start making yummy pumpkiny things.