Wednesday, December 31, 2014

2014 Books I read

For the last few years, I have been tracking the number and title of books I read via a hardbound journal. It's simple and easy, but I think I'd like to move to something a little more detailed. I'd like to add things about if I liked the book or thoughts about the book. I hear GoodReads is great, but not sure I want all that info public. Another thing is that I often want to read a sequel or another book by the author and don't have a good way to track that. What methods do you use to track your books?

2014 - 60 books

2 favorite books of the year:
The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow
Bridge To Haven - Francine Rivers

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Day 7 & 8: Crafter

I love all things crafty! It was sometime in college that it really hit me....I mean I used to pour through Highlights Magazine and made some of the fun stuff in there, but when the crafty bug truly hit me, I was much older. I couldn't stay away from craft stores and wanted/needed more!

I saw someone make embossed tags for Christmas gifts and I wanted to do that! It began my 20+ year long love of being crafty/creative. I made embossed cards for everyone. There is a thrill that comes when someone says, with awe in their voice, "You made this?" (there's even a bit of "For me?" in there oftentimes. It brings a sense of pride and accomplishment to do something like that for someone else.

I've dabbled in many different mediums of craftiness and so far I really seem to enjoy most all of them! My top favorite things to do are sew and make cards or other things using my Silhouette. I've recently made stencils for tshirts and a vinyl cutout for my front door. I even made some stencil letters for a game we put out at work!
Hooded towels

Over the years, I've found that doing something crafty, even something small, brings me great joy! I hope to be able to be crafty for many years to come! What's your favorite thing to craft or medium to craft in?

Candy Bar Wrappers

Puppet hat

Puppet Tent (drafted the pattern for this myself)




Monday, October 6, 2014

Day 6: Daughter of the Most High God

When I was 6 years old, I was sitting at my school during a devotional time we did each morning. As we were wrapping up in prayer, I had this sudden and fervent understanding that I had a need for Christ in my life. I had been in church all of my short life, but this was the moment that I truly felt a pull towards Christ. I asked my teacher to pray with me and I asked Christ to be in charge of my life. I've been a Christ Follower for a little over 3 decades and while I can't say that I proclaim it loudly from the rooftops on a daily basis, I do my best to live live that way God asks me to and I try to share my faith with others as I can. I don't really know how to put into words all that this "role" means to me, but it's vastly important to me. One of the most important decisions I've made throughout my whole life. I hope that you readers have found your peace with God and if not, you can email me with any questions you might have and I'll do what I can to find answers for you. Until tomorrow...

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Day 5: Cereal Consumer

It's Sunday...the day I'm most likely to consume cereal for dinner. I work at a church therefore my weekends are full and aren't like our regular schedule during the week. We come home ready to crash on Sunday (we call it a holy hangover). Oftentimes we stop and get something to eat on the way home for a very late lunch and then by the time our regular dinner hour rolls around, I'm not really hungry. In order to stave off the "hungries" right before I crawl into bed, I grab a bowl of cereal. It's usually enough to keep my sated till the next morning!

My top 8 favorite cereals:

  1. Oh's
  2. Apple Jacks
  3. Fruity Cheerios
  4. Honey Nut Cheerios (but I don't eat them anymore because of a nut allergy in the house)
  5. Chocolate Rice Crispy (or something like that...it was not a regular brand I buy, but soooo good)
  6. Halfsies (anyone remember those?)
  7. Chocolate Mini Wheats
  8. Chocolate Cheerios

What is your favorite cereal?

Day 4: Vacuumer

Okay, I'm gonna skip around on my original list and take the easy one today. I work weekends and so most weekends will be short and sweet (hopefully)....unless I get ahead....

So I'm a vacuumer...if you will. I really do love to vacuum and even when nothing else is put together or cleaned up in my house, I can vacuum and find peace settling over my soul. Those vacuum lines.....ahhhhh!

How do you feel about vacuuming?


Friday, October 3, 2014

Day 3: Wife

I am wife to my amazing husband, Ed. We met later in our lives, but knew we were meant to be together from the beginning. He was everything I was looking for and what I didn't know I was looking for. I love being a wife! We've been married 11 years and through all of it, we have learned and grown together.

We've had highs and lows (what marriage doesn't), but through it all I know that Ed has my back and that he is looking out for our family! He's a hard worker and has great integrity! Since this is becoming more about my hubby the me being a wife, I'll list the top five things I love about him!


  1. He's a puppet! (we joke around about this - he actually is a puppeteer, but sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between the puppet and the puppeteer.) I always said I'd marry a man with an accent....he has (at least) TWELVE!
  2. Not much keeps Ed from laughing. I fall down, he'll laugh but help me up. He does something stupid and he laughs at it. He has helped me be less serious about EVERYTHING and I hope I've helped him be a little more serious! :)
  3. He's a great daddy to our girls. He reads to them EVERY. NIGHT. He prays with them. He plays with them. He teaches them. He takes them places with him to give me a break. They adore him!!
  4. He has a great sense of loyalty to his family and mine. No matter what's going on with anyone, he's loyal.
  5. He loves Jesus "first most of all." It was made very clear that Jesus is Ed's first love (not me). And I'm okay with that! It makes it okay for me to love Jesus first, too! And sets the example for our girls to love Jesus first.
I love my husband and love being a wife to him! I desire to be the best wife possible to him all the days of my life!

Crazy windy day for taking pictures! 
At Ed's favorite place - the beach!



Thursday, October 2, 2014

Day 2 - Mom

One of my greatest joys in life is my girls. I adore them without reservation and while there are days that they drive me nuts, I am crazy about them. They both bring me so much joy.


K is 8 and seems to be just like me. In spite of that, she and I get along quite well (we'll see how that goes in the teen years). She is a good companion on trips to run errands. She also has lots of insights...and questions! But I love the way she thinks because it makes me think of new ideas. One of the things we like to do together is be crafty. Whether sewing, painting, or random craft making, I enjoy spending time with my beloved firstborn.

L is 5 and we call her "The Barbarian." For good reason, of course! A good eater and sleeper as a baby, she turned into The Barbarian around the time she started moving around. There was nothing she would not crawl on or slide off. She's full of questions and silliness. And like her father, we think she may possess some mad puppet skillz! She helps me remember that I need to lighten up and not be too serious all the time.

I'm blessed to be able to take them to school some days before work and pick them up every day after school. Our afternoons are full of homework, chores, playtime, coloring, and some video time. But through it all, I love the day in and day out stuff that goes with being a mom!

#write31days

Last night (right before I went to bed) I discovered this lovely challenge to write all 31 days in October. http://write31days.com/
I'm gonna do it! Since I was in bed on my phone, I didn't have access to this blog so I posted on my instagram account. Specifically here: Hollydays12 Instagram

So this morning, I got my button ready...


And I'm ready to write...here...on this blog....scary! Vulnerable! My post for today will actually come later today...this one isn't it. But I will keep the links to all 31 days here. I look forward to sharing more about me and my musings throughout the month! See you then!

Links to other posts (added each day)




Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Dave Ramsey Does It Again

About 5 years ago, Ed and I started listening to the FPU cds from Dave Ramsey. They changed everything we did with our finances and changed our family and marriage in ways I never expected. Now, Dave Ramsey and his daughter Rachel Cruze are about to release a new book called Smart Money, Smart Kids.

Smart Money Smart Kids by Dave Ramsey & Rachel Cruze

I got an email a few weeks about signing up to be part of the book launch team. Amazingly, I got chosen to be part of the team! I have been given an advance ebook and have been reading it! The book reads like a conversation....as if Dave and Rachel are sitting with you in your living room. That's my kind of book! From what I've read, this book is going to help my family develop some great tactics to train up the kiddos to be smart with money. I've already got a few ideas brewing as I read more!

So, if you want to get your family started (or even continue) on their way to financial freedom, check out this book! It's coming soon and there are lots of fun goodies if you preorder now! You can check out some more details for that offer here and I'll post more about my thoughts on the book later!


Smart Money Smart Kids by Dave Ramsey & Rachel Cruze