Keeping it real and another I'm back post

I been gone, been gone so long…

Wow this month sure did throw me for a loop. 

Please note:  There are parts of this post about my health and recovery, please feel free to pass reading that and go to the sixth paragraph down that is bolded and red.

As I mentioned in an (earlier post-put in link), I had surgery in the middle of the month.  After I posted my last post on Friday Jan 3, I got even sicker.  I ended up with at least 3 hernia's that needed to be repaired.  I ended up on bed rest for a bit.  My surgery was actually scheduled for the 15th and not the 18th that I said before.  Everything went well.  He fixed the hernias, and some issues I was having with my bowel.  I did well recovering and didn't have to stay in hospital long.

It was nice to be home and recuperating.  On the following Wednesday, one week after the operation, I went to see my surgeon to have my stitch removed.  When my doctor does any type of abdominal surgery he tends to close it with one running stitch.  It was removed no problem and no pain so that is always a plus in my book! LOL

Went home and took it easy.  I was sitting straight up in bed, just watching tv, when without moving or leaning over I felt something funny at the bottom of my incision.  Well it split a bit so I was now on my bed other than to go potty, or eat, and we thought it would still be able to heal and close without having to take a trip to the emergency.  Slept ok that night but the next day around noon, I felt a bit funny again and realized that I was bleeding quite a bit so I called G and he was still in Toronto and would take 1.5 hours to get home.  So unfortunately I had to call 911 to come and get me.  They were all super nice, nice to see those hunk fire-fighters and EMT in my home.  Some were truly drool worthy LOL

They used a contraption called a "stair chair" and strapped me into it to get me down the front steps and to the stretcher in my driveway.  Note that we had a huge storm and the snow banks were high.  As they got to the driveway my female EMT behind me slipped and fell onto the ground and I flew backwards and fell on her leg on the driveway.  I felt so bad for the EMT I didn't realize that I had actually just split my incision even more, including muscles. 

It didn't take long to figure out that this was a big oops, as I was being quickly prepped for emergency surgery.  It was a new experience for me to be rushed to OR.  Mine are usually planned LOL.  I spent the night in hospital and begged Dr to send me home and I was home by 11 the day after my surgery.

I am still recovering and taking things slow but am well enough to spend a few hours online so I have been working on blog post ideas and still trying to get the new domain all fancied up before I bring you all over there.  I hope your year started off marginally  (I used the wrong word here), exceptionally different than mine did.  Talk about a month lost.  I got nothing on my to do list accomplished yet.  Except in the spirit of keeping it real… I showed you the small dust collection I amass every few days around here.  My house is so far from being the sparkling showcase houses we all drool over in magazines and decorating shows. 

Please subscribe to the blog so you can go along for the ride on my 'real' and not so pretty adventure to make this house a home… my home, including all the dust bunnies.  :)

Kylara's Favorite Finds Friday Feature - Week 1

As I scour around the internet, I always find interesting articles, pictures, products, ideas and so much more.  There are so many amazing things to find online that you could lose many hours a day just looking around.

So I decided to share my favorite finds of the week on Fridays.  Some of the things I find may be new to you, others older, but hopefully each of you will find some of your own favorite finds, and inspiration for you own homes.

I found this post over on Funkytime and really enjoy the concept. She made a Mood Calendar for 2014 , which she offers free for download.  I am trying to figure out a way to personalize this so it would be most effective for my daily life.  I think it would be super interesting to document the mood of the day, and I think it will also be inspiring to be more positive day to day.  The only way one can learn from this type of activity is to be completely honest.  Have you ever done anything like this?  Does it appeal to you?  Are you going to document your moods this year?

Another blog find is The Ultimate Dress Shapes Guide from Enerie.  I found this infographic discussed first on True Blue Me & You blog.  I am not a fashionable person personally.  I would love to dress differently but I usually have hand me downs, and spend a lot of time in pajamas.  I also wear track pants often so that the waistband does not affect my ostomy.  I also was never taught about fashion, rules, and what looks good on me.  I would love to be taught but who really teaches these things and do they cost a gargantuan sum of dough? (wow that word was hard to spell, I am not sure if I have ever used that adjective before LOL  So back to the graphic… I learned a lot from this and hopefully those of you unfashionable ladies will too!

Over on Pinterest I found a great post on 30 best chick flicks of all time on HerCampus.  Not sure if I agree with a couple of them, but for the majority I do agree.  I might have to start a Girls Night, so I have an excuse to do chick flick marathons lol. 

Lately there has been a lot of talk of jealousy and comparison.  Your blog is unique to you, and try not to compare your vision with someone else.  Here is a good article that explains more , Blogging Jealousy at ErinEFlynn's blog.

I hope that you found something here that will teach you, grow you, inspire you in your own endeavours.  Thank you for joining us today for another Favorite Finds Friday.

My Goals for 2014

I have been working on this post for most of the day.  I know that I have thought of a few goals the last few days, but once I sat down and did a bit of research on setting blog goals, it became evident that this was not going to be one of those posts that take an hour to prepare.

Some of my goals are time sensitive, and others are an accumulation of things throughout the year to make up a bigger goal.  I have also added a few of my more personal goals to this list as well.

One of the things I am really struggling with as I prepare my list is if that goal is truly attainable.  Especially with my health always changing.  I am trying so hard to be realistic while still giving myself a push to attain new levels for myself.  I suppose this is a dilemma with a lot of people that write out a set of goals to attain.  Where do you draw the line, what is too much?

Another thing I have noticed while doing my research is that a lot of blog goals are based around the numbers game.  Goals such as 1000 followers a day, 1500 pins of one of your pins etc.  While I would love to be a number goal kinda blog, I just have not been consistent with it and cannot even fathom what type of number goals I should attain.  I think that this year will be the true test.  Where I frequently post quality content.  Then I can give the numbers game a try.  By all means, I am not saying anything against those with number goals, I just am unable to calculate effectively what are reasonable goals as it is like I have completely restarted my blog and am back to square one with some extra traffic being brought in by my 31 day series from 2012.

I am also going to keep my goal list evolving this year if I feel there is another goal I want to meet, or one I want to amend.  I think that as the year progresses I will have other goals that may be important to include.  Okay, I think I have rambled on enough.  Here is a vague sample of my goals for 2014.

Long Term Goals:

• Decorate my bedroom/craft area
• Begin decorating my living room
• Go out at least 2 times a month to a local area to take pictures and learn my camera and more about photography
• Read at least 25 books this year.
• Quit smoking (I quit last year for 3 months with Chantix/Champix)
• Get a blog sponsor
• Complete 10 projects and/or tutorials and post on blog
• Learn more about managing and using social media like twitter, google + and Pinterest to maximize my blog exposure

Short Term Goals:

• End of January
• Have Facebook and business twitter accounts set up
• Look into newsletters
• Learn more about customizing my WordPress template
• Move blog to new domain
• Organize pantry
• End of March
• Completed template customization
• Create a media kit
• Learning about ads and sponsorships
• Write up a newsletter and create a template
• End of June
• Test placement of mail list forms to find out which brings in the most subscribers and keep that one up indefinitely
• Create 1 free e-product
• Learn more about SEO techniques
• Review a product on the blog
• Sell something I have created
• End of Year One
• Create 2 downloadable products

Below I have listed some of the blog goal posts that I used to help me create this list.  Hopefully you can gain some more inspiration for the year ahead like I did.

Five Key Areas To Set Goals For Your Blog - Tribe Bloggers

Blogging - Dreams and Goals for 2013 - The Thinking Closet

Setting Blog Goals & A Free Printable - Snap Creativity

Set Mom Blogging Goals - For Dummies

Evaluate Your Blog Goals For 2013 - Business2Blogger

Blogging Goals (And Why We Need Them) - Essentially Eclectic

Do you keep track of your goals for the year?   Do you write them down and place them somewhere you can see them often?  How do you decide what goals you want to work on?  Please let me know more in the comments below.  I would love to see what you all have planned for 2014.

A Look Back on 2013

The year began with me being extremely ill.  My Crohn's disease was in full swing.  We had a talk with my surgeon during one of my hospital stay about a temporary ileostomy.  He agreed to give it a chance and I had my surgery on May 29.

The day of my surgery I was so nervous.  I really didn't know what to expect with this operation or whether or not it would be successful or not.  After my surgery, I got extremely sick within 12 hours.  For most patients your bowel goes into shock after such a surgery, and its usually about 5 days or so.  Unfortunately my body just kept on keeping on.  Due to the amount of liquid passing all the time, I went into renal failure.  I was so sick and thought I was going to die.

But things settled down and a 4-7 day hospital stay lasted 21 days.  Some of those days I remember nothing.  I was actually quite shocked to find out I had been in the hospital that long.

We got home and the healing began.  It was hard at first getting used to all the changes I had to make to my lifestyle, but suddenly things became so easy.  Other than a few technical issues with glues and adhesives , my life was getting better.

I was actually having a lot more energy, and I started getting out of bed for longer and longer periods.  I can now spend the whole day up and about if I do not overdo it.  I still get very tired if we do things like cleaning and going out.  But my quality of life has increased significantly.  To me, that is a huge bonus and I am so thankful for that.

I was asked if I would still have the surgery if I knew then what I know now and all the issues I have experienced and the answer is a resounding Yes!

My son got some help with some mental health issues he was having and I am so proud of the man he has become in the last 6 months.  He is doing really well, and the meds have him on a great level so he is always eager and taking life on full tilt.  I cannot even begin to tell you how proud of him I am.  He is becoming the Man I knew he always could be.

September is when I officially got back to the blog and it has been a good outlet when I am able to get on and work on the vision I have always had for this blog.  I wrote a small tutorial on cleaning up your Pinterest boards.  I also revisited my post about my one favorite homemaking ideas from the 31 Day Challenge the year before.

As usual my mom left for Arizona after Halloween, and it still is so hard for me.  I feel like I am being robbed of her for 5 months a year… and even though we talk often, it's not the same.  My mother is my best friend.  She is an amazing woman and I am so thankful for the relationship we have cultivated over the last ten years.

November I was able to spend a wee bit of time to create my Christmas Wishlist for the holidays.  I got a couple of the things I asked for.  My birthday is also coming up on Jan 25, so I might get a few more things for then.  I was able to get the embossing gun, a set of new pajamas, a new fairy, and a Xyron sticker maker.   There are a couple new items on my list.  I have found an amazing sewing machine that I want to get.  The reviews for this machine are outstanding and I even saw it quite cheap at Walmart.

Mom agreed to pay for half of my bill so I could buy the Silhouette Cameo and she was purchased and I have to tell you that it has been amazing to have for Christmas.  I made lots of things with it, but have yet to try the vinyl, I am saving that till I can really spend some time with it.  Hopefully the new year will have a few times where I can really sit down and read up on using vinyl and give it a test run.

I started blogging again as I started to feel better.  And here we are, I am still here blogging, and trying to make more of a presence on the blog.  Hopefully with the new year I am going to move the blog to a permanent domain and all that it will entail.

I am looking forward to making a lot of home décor items this year, as well as attempt to make home beauty products, and review them on the blog.  We will see which items work the best and feel the best.

I have a lot of plans for the new year, I do hope that you will come on this journey with me.  It looks like an amazing year ahead.  Now I have to write my goals for 2014,and then I can leave 2013 behind me.

Happy New Year to all of you and I hope the following year provides you with great health, great wealth, and great knowledge.  Love those you love fiercely so they always know how you feel.  Make sure to touch base with your friends this year.  Make time for each other.  And most importantly, take care of your family, love them, teach them, build them up.

Christmas 2013

Wow what a busy few weeks at 884.  Due to my health I was spending all waking moments focusing on making Christmas presents for the kids.   Our Christmas eve was celebrated quietly at home, just G and myself.  We slipped on our new pajamas and watched Polar Express.  I have never seen that movie before so it was nice to enjoy a cute movie, new pajamas and then to top it off, G let me open my presents on Christmas Eve.

I wasn’t able to get out this year on my own to pick up a present for G for Christmas.  I am getting him a membership with our local photography club.  The yearly fee is only $40 so it's very reasonable.  I really wanted to buy something this year that he would use.  He often gets it in his mind that he wants a new gadget and then once we buy it as a present it doesn’t get used.  So I wanted this year to be different.

They get together on Wednesday nights, once a week.  They offer challenges, day trips and many cool techniques.  If G really enjoys the class and makes an effort to get out and take more pictures I might even consider joining myself.  I am not a photographer.  I stumble just taking pictures with the automated settings.

But the gift that has him super excited is an xbox1.  He would have gone out and bought it already but locally we have none in any of the stores and today is the last day of his mini Christmas vacation.  I'm kind of eager to see all the neat features etc.  I have been wanting to play any of those dancing games for the Kinect.

G bought me an amazing fairy/dragon sculpture.  You can see it in the pictures below. *This is my first attempt at collages with PicMonkey, hopefully with practice I will be able to get better results*   It is extremely detailed and has tons of amazing features that captivate my heart.  This is the biggest fairy I have.  When G and I moved to this new home in October, I absently stated that we would have to get  a bigger fairy to sit on top of my glass fairy cabinet.  He remembered that comment and this is my big gift from G.  He is so amazing and I enjoy that He is my best friend and cares about the small personal comments I make and wish for.

For the last 4 years my family and extended family have started me collecting these fairies.  I have no 'collection' per say.  But I do have the beginnings of a lifetime of love for special pieces like this.  Here are pictures of the few other fairies that live with us at 884.

I was once asked which was my favorite and I honestly couldn’t answer her as they each hold a special place in my heart and the fairies symbolize hope and dreams to me.  I am even going to be building a fairy garden in the flowerbed in the front of the house.  I am unable to pull weeds and look after gardens these days so when I saw the front of our house, that is what I envisioned.  I will be sharing the creation of our fairy garden with you in the next few months.

Wow got sidetracked there LOL.  Back to Christmas.  G also gave me a Xyron sticker maker.  This will definitely help with all my paper crafts.  Paper piecing can be a slow tedious process at times trying to get a small element glued.  This will definitely get used a lot this year.  When I had an at home scrapbook store, I stocked tons of Xyron products.  They are versatile and have always been one of my go to adhesive musts for my craft stash.

When drove over to R and M's apartment around 2 to help out with Christmas dinner.  This is the first big get together they have had since they got their apartment.  It was a pretty decent amount of family and friends.  I think the boys were a bit naïve in the process of completing a family meal like this.  It's a dance really.  Preparing this, heating that, cooking this in the oven, while three pots are about to boil over on the stove type of chaos.  You all know what that is like.  These boys are 22 and they found out that while it is great to have this type of holiday, it takes a lot of work.

The boys and G got together to buy me another present.  So while there I opened my presents, they bought me a game that I have been dying to try since it came out years ago.  The problem was we are xbox people and nobody had a ps3 in the house, and this particular game is machine specific.  I told the boys before they moved into their place that I was going to buy a copy and come over and play on their machine.  Guess they didn’t like that idea….

They bought me the game, and 2 others, as well as a used ps3 cause "we didn’t really want you hanging out on the couch all the time mom" was the silent message passing through the room.  Then we all burst out laughing.  It was a great evening.  We all laughed, and ate till we were ready to burst.  

As usual my tummy got in the way of staying longer.  I will be glad when this operation is over and hopefully get back on the road to recovery instead of always taking these three steps backwards .

This year, I was finally in a festive mood.  Seems Scrooge found another victim this year.  I enjoyed all the family and friend time we got in.  Love was flowing through the holiday wrapping my loved ones in a cozy blanket hug.

I am hoping that each of you had a great holiday.  We have so much to be thankful for this holiday.  I will be writing a post of the year in review soon as well as some of my goals for 2014.  One of the most important goals I have this year, is to get the domain site ready to go live and be a beautiful peaceful place for you to pull up a chair and sit and get to know one other.

Blogtastic Reviews

I am always looking for blogs to read so I am often adding to my super long list of blogs I follow.  While we all find blogs on our travels, I thought I would share two new blogs that I have come upon recently.  I am going to be giving you a small description of what you might find on these blogs.  I am going to try and have this as a new blog feature each week.  I am not sure what day I will be hosting this feature, but will have it figured out by next week.  We can all use more to read and do right?? LOL

I hope that you find something of interest and if you find a blog or two to add to your ever growing list of those you follow, great!  Let me know in the comments if you find something.  Also if you know of a great blog that you would like me to review please email me HERE

Sowderingabout.com

A blog written by Randi,a stay at home mom, who lives in Seattle.  She has a great husband and two beautiful children.  She loves being creative and shares many of her amazing crafts with her readers.   She also has a fun quirky humor that is infectious.  Which is one of the reasons I was attracted to her blog.

Randi writes about a bunch of day to day things, and has done a couple of great 31 day series.  She also shares her weekly menu's and has some features she partakes in each week.  She also hosts the Awesome Things Blog Hop on Tuesdays.  She also features some great roundups and giveaways. 

Below are some of my recent favorites over at Sowdering About.  I am sure you will enjoy her site whether new to Randi or not.

Thankful Tree

Wordless Wednesday: The Pumpkin Patch

Halloween Ring Toss

The next blog I have found recently that I have been enjoying is Imparting Grace.  Richella describes her life and passions in this blog.  She is married and her children and grown and off on their own.  She has a stunning house that has a soft décor.  This blog does discuss Richella's religious beliefs so if that type of post bothers you then please skip this recommendation.  (As a personal note:  If you let it sway you into not heading over to her blog then you really are missing out).

My favorite posts from Richella:

Dealing with the ugly and the pretty - Great message found in this post.

Decorating My Dining Room - love the bold color choice.

Family Portrait Wall Clock - I think I might borrow this idea

Till next week, I hope you get your blog reading in and enjoy.

Kylara's Favorite Find's Friday

I've been under the weather this week so I thought I would share some of my favorite finds/articles/pins of the week to share with you.  I'm also in the process of getting my blog planner all set up and organized.  I am hoping that having some structure will help me in being able to post on a more regular basis.

I also just wanted to forewarn you that on January 18 I have to have another operation.  This is partly why I have been quiet.  I just don’t get out of bed too often.  I am trying hard to keep up with my blog reading though. 

Here are a few awesome finds from my week in bed.  I am sure that you will be able to find something of interest in this little round up.

The first post I want to talk about I found over on Pinterest.  It is a something very unique and I love finding new ways to use common objects in a new and wonderful way.  This video shows you how to embellish a collared shirt with photo corners. 

How to Embellish a Collar With Photo Corners from Mimi G Style at Curious.com.

Another of my favorite things is adding a bit of 'me' into my style.  The following article teaches you how to turn a regular flat into a bit more dressy version by adding a chain ankle strap.  This is a very easy transformation and one that should not take long as well.   I am looking forward to making a few pairs of these this winter, so I will be ready soon as the weather turns nice again.

DIY Chain Ankle Strap Flats

While doing a bit of snooping on I Spy DIY I also found other shoe mods that might pique your interest.  It is a great site with many areas to get lost in.  If you haven't been to I Spy DIY grab a coffee and expect to sit awhile as you will find so many things to try yourself.

Faux Beaded Heels

Smoking Slippers

Studded Kitten Heels

I don't know if I am sheltered or what, but this is the first time I have seen a yarn bowl.  I found this while spending a few minutes this week on Pinterest.  The original item that I have pinned has been sold so I went to the Etsy shop of RedHotPottery and picked out my favorite.  She has different designs, as well as colors to choose from.  They range in price as well and are quite reasonable.   Click the picture below to be taken to this particular product in the store.

Another interesting thing I found this week was a blog post about some new DIY Digital Magazines.   The blog post about the magazines was found HERE at Chic Steals .  I like all three so was unable to pick a favorite for you LOL.  Like I need more reading material to keep me from doing my housecleaning.

One of my favorite bloggers Elsie and Emma at "A Beautiful Mess" posted this Pom Pom Garland last week.  I love the uniqueness.  It's something you don’t often see and it just warmed my heart up a bit.  I love how classic and romantic it looks. 

I found this awesome kid craft over on Pinterest from Crafts Unleashed.  I love the simplicity of it, and the fact you can get the supplies readily.  I will have to make these "Cinnamon Stick Tree Ornaments" with a friends children next year.  So cute, don't you agree?

And last but not least, one of my favorite quotes.  This is from Marilyn Monroe.  The wall vinyl quote is from the etsy shop of Its Written On The Wall .  She also has some other great products.  You should slip on over there and take a peek at her range of products.

I hope that you have enjoyed some of the amazing things I have gathered and saved this week, to be used in the future.  I hope that you're not too 'crazy' with the holidays coming up.  Remember to spend quality time with your loved ones as that is one of the greatest benefits of the season.

Have you found any great things on your blog/pinterest/surfing adventures?  If you know of something you think should be showcased send me an email HERE