It's Summertime and it is HOT!

Hello blog friends, it seems I have not blogged in over a week. Shame on me. In my defense, I have been busy with the kids and last week was VBS. So it was VBS in the mornings and working outat the Rush in the evenings. I have also been making hemp jewelry and beaded bracelets to sell on Etsy (pictures to come). The arrival of summertime has also brought with it some HOT weather here in the Piedmont of NC so we have been suffering through the on again off again functioning of the air conditioner in my Volvo.

My attempt to lose weight and look better is still ongoing. My abs are finally starting to shape up really well. My husband and I have been doing ab excercises all last week together and he has showed me one floor excercise using a medicine ball and balancing on your rear with knees off the floor moving it from side to side. This really works the core out and I am seeing results....Woot Woot. And I also was able to button a pair of jeans I have been wanting to wear again. While I have resigned myself to not having lost all of the weight I had planned on using, I am happy with my results so far and I am still committing myself to keep up my workout regimen.

Last week I took my kids to VBS Monday through Thursday. I know some of you are rolling your eyes thinking about how your parents used to drag you kicking and screaming to the church building for a whole week during the summer and I too used to think the same negative thoughts whenever VBS was even mentioned. BUT, boy and girls has VBS changed, at least from what I used to suffer through as a kid. OK, ok I say that jokingly, because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings...but seriously we never had a smoke machine, bubbles, cool videos of songs with dance/hand moves and prizes. I think the most we ever did was sing some songs, maybe "If you're Happy and you Know It" was the most exciting it ever got. Which is not saying a whole lot. The adults did such a great job of decorating the church and making it fun for the kids. I had no problem getting them to get up early and go to church for a few hours, which is difficult at best on Sundays. I'm so happy for change especially when it is uplifting and exciting.

Oh and VBS was in the mornings and unlike old school VBS did not require the parents to attend some kind of adult VBS so after dropping the kids off I had a rare few hours of alone time. I will be eternally grateful for that too. Only a mother can appreciate shopping without kids whining and screaming or fighting the whole time.

Our beach trip is coming soon. I am really looking forward to it. One way I am hoping to make a little cash to spend at the beach or have when we return is selling some hand made jewelry on Etsy. I am going to begin listing it hopefully today and there will be pictures and links so take a look. Some of these pieces I really like so much I want to keep them for myself, but if I want to keep this hobby alive I will also have to make enough money to buy supplies to make more. So far I am experimenting with beaded jewelry and hemp. I think hemp is summery in style and looks great with bathing suits and sun dresses. I've had so much fun picking out my beads and trying to find new patterns, knots and techniques for making this type of jewelry. It is definately more laid back and youthful looking. I think some of the nicer pieces can be dressed up though with the right outfit. Anyway more coming about that.

OK, well it seems everyone has finally made it out of bed this morning so I need to get motivated and back into our regularly scheduled Monday. You guys have a great day and stay hydrated because as I mentioned earlier, it is HOT...