Courage

"Courage is the most important of all the virtues

because without courage,

you can't practice any other virtue consistently."

 - Maya Angelou

photo by Mark Stevens | Glacier National Park

Meal Planning Bootcamp

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to give you all a heads up on a 

Free 10-day challenge meal planning bootcamp going on at

OrgJunkie

Now I am all for making dinner planning and making as easy as possible.

I still have 3 boys at home and a honey and his son too cook for.  So this will be amazing to learn new strategies and possibly skills.

It also is going into clean eating.

Score!

So hop on over and sign up.

You have until tomorrow so hurry.

Free 10-Day Challenge

Have a great day!

Chelle

Use Your Leftovers Earring Challenge Reveal

Earrings Everyday is having their 3rd Annual 

Use Your Leftovers Earring Challenge 

It's been months since I have blogged about anything and thought this was a great time to start. I have been wanting to for a few weeks since I lost my job.

I guess I needed to regroup and think about my future and what I really wanted to do.

Anyhow the challenge starts out by taking a photo of you desk after a bead feast...

Here it is...

My desk is not normally this messy. Okay maybe it is, but I would like to think that I do get the chance to clean it when I can.  Even Dave my fish sits there waiting for his new tank to enjoy my creative process...

Next we are to get all the leftover in a container, tin or anything else that will hold the goodies.  I had my leftover pieces on a towel that I have been using as a bead cloth.  Everything else is full.  By this time I have still not cleaned anything and just picked through all the piles of gems.

I came out with 4 pairs of earrings.

I had some recycled glass laying around and thought I would just 

loosely hang them on the copper wire.

I love how these turned out.  I had some fire agate that I have been wanting to use and

paired them with the pearls. 

I added the abalone nuggets with the owl charms. 

It's funny because I forgot to add ear wires to these and did not

realize it until after I took the photos.

I am not one for birds. I don't know why. I love to bird watch and enjoy hearing them sing.  Hummingbirds are my absolute fav.  But on jewelry, I just am not into it. But my bestie does, so I made these for her.

And there you have it.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out what I made.  Check out the other fabulous earrings here

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Chelle

The Iron Tiara by Beth Flynn

♡♕ The Iron Tiara Pre-Order Now Available ♕♡
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RECOMMENDED FOR READERS 18 AND OLDER DUE TO SEXUAL SITUATIONS AND VIOLENCE.
The Iron Tiara is a spin-off novel from The Minutes Trilogy. It can be read as a standalone, and does not contain a cliffhanger.
Anthony Bear and Christy Chapman are from two completely different worlds.
Anthony's the leader of a motorcycle gang that terrorizes Florida’s West Coast. As a child, he ran away from his family and the Cherokee Indian Reservation to enter a life of crime. As an adult, he leads a multifaceted life managing his two businesses—his legitimate landscaping venture, and his loan shark and underworld dealings. Driven by anger and betrayal, Anthony begins the hunt for Christy’s father, Van Chapman, after he runs out on a loan.
Christy’s privileged life is not as it seems. She has kept painful family secrets and hidden some of her own. She’s determined to find out the truth and expose Van, but her search delivers her right into Anthony Bear’s hands, adding kidnapping to his list of crimes.
Their worlds are as contrasting as the color of their skin. The only thing they seem to have in common is their mutual disdain for Van Chapman…and each other.
They couldn’t be more wrong.

Inspiration All Around

Every day on my facebook page I try to share some kind of inspiration so

people would not feel alone or sad or they are not good enough.

I do this because I deal with these thoughts and emotions daily.

Emotionally I am a wreck and socially awkward.

I guess it started years ago moving to Fresno

and then other issues just piled on

and I never really got a chance to heal from anything.

I am not going to blame anyone for how I have been treated or what I have been through.

Ya know it is what it is.

It happened, its in the past.

I can not control how others treat or act towards me,

but I can control how I react to them.

Which lately, I have been reacting horribly,to the point of suicide.

Not once but twice in a two year period.

I just want to feel loved.  Who doesn't?

I can not say I have ever felt it.

I mean people say it, but its another thing to show it.

I was raised where you do not backstab your friends, you are honest with one another, treat others with respect and just be a good person.

So its hard for me to open up to others because

I am afraid they are going to hurt me one way or another.

Even socially I suck, because I am always thinking that people don't like me.

I told you I have issues.

Anyways, after a crappy marriage, I start working on me.

Like getting my thyroid regulated, losing weight, trying to put myself in social settings so I could be use to being around other people and trying to be the sunlight in someone's darkness.

A few people have been a huge source of inspiration for me.

Like Jo, founder of Deeds 4 Drew.

Its been a battle for me.  I have my good days and bad days.

But I still try to spread that sunshine, even though inside I feel like dying.

That is until today, when a very close friend of mine, Starla told me I was her inspiration.

I think I cried for an hour after seeing that.

All I could think was, Me? I am someone's inspiration?

How could I be someone's inspiration when I am hurting inside?

And it made me feel like every emotion I have been feeling

has been worth it.

Like what I have become because of my pain is helping someone else.

What an amazing honor and feeling to know I am making a difference.
Do not ever think you can not make a difference in someone else's life.
Inspiration comes from everything.
Pain, hurt, sadness, happiness, joy, you just don't know.
But be the reason someone smiles..

If you are not feeling good enough...

Listen to this song.

You are good enough.

You are Beloved!!

Have a beautiful day.

God Bless!

Chelle

Happy February

Have a blessed day!

Hugs.

Do you know the muffin man?

I decided to join the muffin tin challenge put together by Heather of Humblebeads.

I set out to get my tin muffin pan and found

that one of my kids borrowed them and never brought them back.

After trying to call around to see who has them,

I came up with the idea to just put my beads for the six projects in a compartment type

container.

(I hope this counts)

 

How the challenge works is like this.

You get together focals, beads, findings, chain and any other

goodies you would like to use for each project.

You have to make anywhere from 6-12 projects. 

I will be doing 6.

I have to say, I have more blue or turquoise type beads than

anything

which made it hard to have a variety.

But turquoise and melon are my favs to work with.

So come back on the 15th when I reveal what I have made with my

goodies.

Have a great day!

Chelle

Bad Mommy Review

When Fig Coxbury buys a house on West Barrett Street,

it's not because she likes the neighborhood,

or even because she likes the house.

It's because everything she desires is next door:

The husband, the child, and the life that belongs to someone else.

Now let me tell you...

Every once in a while you come across a book that makes you think

WTF?

This is definitely one of those.

At first I thought there was something wrong with me for loving Fig

as much as I did.

And maybe there is.

I loved all the characters in the story.

Darius really threw me for a loop and

I was hoping Ryan could have scored.

I am very new to Tarryn's work and love her style of writing.

I really don't want to use the word creepy, but

dayum.

I think what set this book apart from any other books I have read is the fact

that as I am reading the last line of the story,

I got a huge case of the goosebumps.

Which has never happened......EVER.

I give this book 5 sea glass pieces.

Check it out.

Have a great night!

Chelle

Reading Goals for 2017

I decided to have a few reading goals this year.

My Good Reads goal is to read 50 books this year.

One a week could be doable for me.

Remember I am a slow reader.

Join me on good reads

I also wanted to do something with a little more of a challenge.

I googled Top Books of All Time.

I ended up with

Time's Top 10 Books of All Time.

Here it is:

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
2. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
4. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov ...
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
7. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
9. The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
10. Middlemarch by George Eliot

I have already borrowed the book from my library.

I decided that I will read one book a month.

Leaving two months to go rogue lol

January's Read will be

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

I will let y'all know how I liked it.

I will be doing more book reviews as well and trying to get on some

cover reveals and other goodies.

What are you reading?

Have a great day.

Chelle

Don't Pet the Peeves Please

30 Day Blog Challenge Day 8

My Biggest Pet Peeves

I guess due to the things I have gone through in life,

my biggest pet peeves are

lying and cheating.

I mean if you don't want to be with someone just tell them.

The grass is never greener on the other side.

Remember that.

And lying, just takes that trust you have

and kills what you have grown with that person.

Whether it is friendship or relationship.

Hurt me with truth instead of comforting me with a lie.

Have a great day!

Chelle

Activities Galore

30 Day Blog Challenge Day 7

Favorite Activities

As fun as it is to pluck chin hairs and

trim those toe nails,

I have a few activities that I love to do and

try to do them daily.

I listen to music daily.

I always have the radio on whether it is

on talk radio, KLove or

Yacht Rock on SiriusXM.

Reading is another passion.

I am a rather slow reader, but my intentions are good.

I almost never achieve my GoodReads Goal for the year.

But I did tone it down some.

This is my year to make it!

I love history books, YA books and anything biker related.

I love Beth Flynn, Tarryn Fisher and Colleen Hoover.

Stephen King can scare the knickers off me. HA!

Walking is another activity I have fallen in love with.

I walk 3 miles a day and just added a half mile job to the routine.

Crafting and Creating is another love of mine..

Unfortunately my table is always a mess. hahahhaaa

That is about it for me.

What kind of activities do you like?

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Chelle

Just 5??

30 Day Blog Challenge Day 6

5 Things I Can't Live Without

This is not as easy as some may think.

I have a ton of things that I can not live without.

But I will give it a try.

1. LOVE

One thing this world needs more of.

2. God's Word

I love getting into the word and journaling and

learning what God wants for me.

3. Lip Balm

These are my fav 3.

Sun Bum I discovered in Pismo Beach,

Burt's Bees my honey got me hooked on and

yesto is just the bomb.

4. Jolly Ranchers

Just because I love them. lol

5. My Walking Shoes

I walk 3 miles a day.. for right now

and I can not see myself doing it in any other shoe but this one.

Very Comfy!!

And there you have it.

My 5 items I can not live without.. for this year. lol

What are 5 things you can not live without??

Have a great day!

Chelle

Look Mom, I'm All Grown Up!

30 Day Blog Challenge Day 5 

Growing Up.

Growing up I was always looking for approval.

I believe I disappointed my dad for not being a boy

and

my mother was and is still to this day hard to please.

Looking back I really disliked my childhood.

My happiest memories were when I had visited family

and that was not often.

But one question I seem to ask myself all the time is

why when I was a kid I always said I could not wait to be grown up.

Now I am a grown up and I would love to relive my

childhood.

Weird!

Have a great day!

Chelle

Family Tree

30 Day Blog Challenge Day 4

My Family!

Not all, but some.

Myself & the love of my life

My son Marshall and my grandbabies.

My beautiful daughter Mandy.

Personality & Values... Chelle Style 30 Day Blog Challenge

Day 3 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge is about the writers

personality and values.

Wow! 

You know I am very much into church and being Christ-like.

I don't live my life for others.

I live it for Jesus!

I do know there are many, many times I fall short of the glory of God.

But that is a part of my journey and as long as I
take ownership, learn and move on I am fine with that.
I also have a low tolerance for cheaters and liars.
I guess being through what I have been opened my eyes.
Almost to the point of a I will forgive but not forget mentality.

I am a VERY shy person at first when I met others.
I guess I stay guarded because of how some relationships
and friendship have ended up.
Depending on the vibe I get from you, is how I will treat you.

I do love to joke around and be playful.  I really don't like to be too serious, but I do
know when it is appropriate to goof off.

I am also very loyal to those I let into my circle.
I hold my friendships on a pedestal. I also tend to gravitate
towards people who are very different from me.
Some of my bestest friends are the complete opposite of myself.
That is why we get along so well.

Anyhow,  thanks for reading.

Have a great day!

Chelle

10 Facts About Me 30 Day Blog Challenge Day 2

10 Facts About Me!

I really feel like I am to a certain degree boring.

Most of the juicy stuff I really don't tell many people,

so I might as well make this a year of truths. lol

1. I am a queen! 

I have always felt that I was born to have a crown dipped in turquoise

on my beautiful head.

2.  I have a deep obsession with Johnny Depp & Leonardo DiCaprio.

Not only for their good looks and acting abilities,

but for how they give back to the communities.

3.  I love sea glass.

I just love the way the ocean turns each piece into a beautiful

creation.

4.  Music is one thing I can not go one day without.

I love how one song can either take me back to a happy event in my life

or just put me in the right mood.

5.  I was on the Jerry Springer Show.
hahhahaaa I know so horrible.
It was titled I'm Pregnant by Your Man.
Wow.. it was back in 1998 before the fighting was popular and  it was
quite an adventure, to say the least.
NO! I was not the one pregnant by someone else's man.

6.  Nail polish and Lip Gloss or Balm are must haves in my life.
I really can not leave the house without them on.

7.  I can still to this day watch the Twilight Series and feel like the first
time I watched them.
Team Jacob.... just sayin.

8.  I love to walk.  I just recently started to walk about 3 months ago
to keep going with my weight loss.... 45 pounds in a year.  Two weeks
ago I jogged for the first time since high school.

9.  I am a vegetarian in training.  I do love sea food and chicken,
but starting to take those out of my diet.

10.  I love Star Wars.  No I don't think you understand.
I LOVE any and all things Star Wars.

So that is it.  What about you? I would love to read about you.
If you blogged about this, please let me know so I can read it or just
put your 10 facts here.

Have a great day everyone!

Chelle

Happy New Year! Let the Blogging Begin.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Okay so I am a few days late.

I guess not everyone's New Year can start off good.

But,

time to put on those big girl panties and get my year rolling.

First of all I am NOT one of those "New Year, New Me" people.

If you find you need to change something about yourself,

then do it right then and there while you are thinking about it.

But what I do challenge myself for the new year.

I have made lots of lists of goals to accomplish.

 I have even joined some challenges that should be fun and keep me busy.

I definitely want to stay crafty and creative all year round.

And lots of reading.. lol

So here is the 30 day blog challenge I am going to do in Jan.

I found this on TTE Designs blog and figured I might as well give it a try.

It can not be that hard, can it?

So what do you have planned for the New Year?

Goals? Challenges?

Let's hear it..

Have a blessed week!

Chelle