Button wreath

This summer while bored due to a lack of work; I came up with the idea of putting all of those buttons I've collected over the years on display. I thought a wreath would be a good way to do this. I finally got around to finishing this tonight.

You need: 

1. Collected buttons
2. Wreath (your choice size)
3. Hot glue 
4. Scissors
5. Ribbon (I used three different patterns)

First I decided which ribbon would be the base and planned out the desired outcome. I then attached one ribbon to be used to hang the wreath. I then began placing the base ribbon and attaching the smaller pins. I left some ribbon hanging for the bigger buttons. I looped the ribbon around for these. Once finished I went back around gluing a new ribbon around the wreath. The biggest button I placed in the middle using the two colored  ribbons. I went through a third time to fill the majority of the holes. 

Voila!

Now that it is done I realize how much of a snap shot into my life it is. My two alma maters are represented (Tarleton & Baylor), groups I belong/ed to, my favorite resturant, my passions (dance/social work), and one of the greatest trips I've taken.

Super cool. Have a great holiday!

Personalized hand made gift

I love crafting but I struggle at time to make things others like.

Each year I think long and hard about what to get for my grandmothers. This year I happened about a gift idea on BHG.com and then found a great bible quote that fit them. I used foam core board, colorful tissue paper, recycled a dog calender, some scrapbook paper, scissors, stencils, and craft glue. I traced all the letters, then cut them out (this step took so much longer than I thought it would), I then outlined the board with the tissue paper. I used the craft glue to affix the letters.

To make sure things lined up right I started placing the letters at the bottom and from the last letter first. I worked my way up until I was complete. Once framed I think this is a gift that my grandmother's will enjoy displaying and I was glad to make. Hopefully this will be a win win.

A personal prospective of MS

What is ms like for those with the disease?

Last week during a routine Facebook browsing I happened upon a post from my friend. It made me for a second feel more like I can understand how she feels daily. What must it truly be like to lose control of your motor skills? I hope that I will never know myself, but knowing that a dear friend experiences this makes me ache for a cure for this disease.

In a month full of reminders to support breast cancer taking over every media outlet, I feel this cause is being overlooked. I agree that giving and researching for a cure for breast cancer is a very worthy cause but I don't want the others to be forgotten. I work with people living with HIV/AIDS and I want very much to eliminate the amount of people contracting and passing the disease. I also want a cure for MS so that people don't have to experience the above. Just as much as I want to have all children that are removed from their families in loving foster/adopt homes or going back to repaired families.

My point in this is there are many causes that deserve attention. For me, especially this month, MS is first and foremost on my mind. The MS walk in Waco is this weekend and I am looking forward to the comradere everyone looking for a cure. 

Please consider giving to my MS walk fundraising efforts by clicking here

I am participating in a sponsored campaign hosted by Advil®, as part of the Advil® Relief in Action campaign. I received compensation for this post. While all opinions stated are my own, I make no claims about Advil® as a product or its effectiveness.

Perseverance in Action on DWTS- Part 1

If you have been watching Dancing with the Stars this year you may know that there are two contestants that are overcoming health conditions to fight for the title. I want to talk about one of those contestants in this blog...Jack Osbourne.

 Jack, like the friend I raise funds for, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. His diagnosis came in 2012. He experienced blindness in one eye, problems with his bowels, numbness in his legs, issues with his bladder and stomach. According to Wikipedia he currently treats himself daily for the disease by injecting MS medication which I know through my friend is often steroids.

"He has also made lifestyle changes, such as minimizing stress, exercising regularly and significantly altering his diet. However, he has spoken of his fear of a "rapid" decline and has admitted that his doctors have urged him to stop participating in highly intensive physical workout"

 

So the fact that each week he prepares extensively for challenging and physical dance routines is commendable. I think that it is a great testament to his choice to not let illness and pain keep him from his goals. I also think that no matter what challenges you face you should always strive to do new and exciting things.

 

When we were asked to initially do this campaign through Blogher for Advil it was presented to us as representing the ability to put pain aside and achieve your goals. When I saw that Jack was participating in this years DWTS competition I had to watch. I would have been applauding him regardless of his performance, but to my joy he has done quite well. He is really working hard to be a real competitor this year. I am encouraged by this and hopeful that a cure will be found so that he and my friend will have many more years to try new things and enjoy their families. 

Please consider giving to my MS walk fundraising efforts by clicking here

I am participating in a sponsored campaign hosted by Advil®, as part of the Advil® Relief in Action campaign. I received compensation for this post. While all opinions stated are my own, I make no claims about Advil® as a product or its effectiveness.

Quote about Relief in Action

As you may know from reading my last blog I am participating in a campaign to spread the word about releif in action. To me relief in action means not just identifying a need, but pitching in, in some way to bring relief to that identified need. For me I do this by avocating for laws that I believe will be a benefit for clients future or present, and by fundraising yearly to find a cure for MS.
 It took me a while to get involved in advocating to politicians, I mean it is such a pain to do. You have to research policies and what they are intended to do, you also have to apply this knowledge to your knowledge of your clients needs and how current policies impact them. So it wouldn't truly be relief in action if there was no action, when I can and when a proposed change to existing law is important enough I ACT!  This quote really highlights the idea of relief in action, the way I see it.

 "You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” - Zig Ziglar
I found this quote in a Daily Love email that I received a while back. If you are interested in reading more about this or subscribing you can find out more here .

Also if you are interested in other views on what Relief in Action means check out this blog .


I am participating in a sponsored campaign hosted by Advil®, as part of the Advil® Relief in Action campaign. I received compensation for this post. While all opinions stated are my own, I make no claims about Advil® as a product or its effectiveness.

Why I raise funds to cure MS

A few years ago I began fundraising and walking to find a cure for MS or Multiple Sclerosis. If you aren't aware of  what exactly that is a brief description would be: an inflammatory disease that involves the nerves, spinal cord, and brain. For more on the disease go to the  Definition I found on Wikipedia. I became interested in finding a cure when a friend and coworker of mine was diagnosed with the disease.
I had known my friend since my days in undergrad in the social work program at Tarleton State. She was my listening ear about the troubles of having roommates and one of the people I bounced ideas off of for paper writing. After we graduated we kept in touch about our respective job searches and it worked out that we both got interviews at the same place. We went on to be hired on the same day....crazy right. So we were super excited to start our social work careers together and have someone we knew to start off. We both had training in Austin every other week or so, we decided it would be nice to carpool. I drove most of the time and soon after a few days or weeks together I found myself getting annoyed with her. I am a introverted person as is she but after a while I need quiet time to decompress. But when you ride down to training with someone, sit in training with someone, travel back to the hotel with that same someone, and then eat dinner again with that someone its TOTALLY normal that they would annoy you at some point.
So we made it through training and she was once again my confidante about the crazy things that happened. She was invaluable to me and I like to think I was somewhat helpful as well. A few years into our careers in Child welfare she began to have some odd health issues. She had trouble walking because she felt numb in her feet, she was forgetful, and there was a scare that she had a stroke. When the long awaited diagnosis came I found myself very emotionally raw. I was unimpressed by the way that my coworkers felt about my reaction. I didn't feel supported by them and didn't want to lean on my friend.
I recall the day I found out she had MS, I was in my apartment crying about how young she was and how she needed to be able to play with her beautiful daughter as long as she wanted to play. While MS is not a death sentence, it can greatly alter your ability to do physical things. It is also very impacted by your stress level and child welfare work is inherently stressful. The disease is also very unpredictable and you don't know how each person will react or how each flare up will manifest.
After my initial emotional reaction I decided to throw myself into finding a cure. My friend told me that she would be participating in the MS Walk Waco that year. We did a bake sale and I requested donations from my friends and coworkers. In subsequent years we did similar things including  garage sales and my very popular gift set raffle. All of this fundraising culminates in a walk in which those with MS are supported by family and friends and receive information about the disease and treatment options.
It feels so great to know that what ever money I am able to raise could result in my friend living a long active life with her beautiful family. I have now moved to the Dallas area but I still plan to participate in the walk and fund raise what I can.

What causes are you passionate about and why? I think there are so many ways in which we can be helpful to those around us and so many ways in which we can do so. My hope would be that every person that is able would find a cause and throw themselves into it through work, play, action, and charity. If you need more of a push about why relief in action is needed click here to read another great story from a fellow blogger.

My friend and I at the 1st walk (I think)

My friend, her daughter, and myself at the walk before last

 Last year's walk, Summer helped me support

If you are interested in helping my donation efforts for this year follow this link My fundraising page.

 

I am participating in a sponsored campaign hosted by Advil®, as part of the Advil® Relief in Action campaign. I received compensation for this post. While all opinions stated are my own, I make no claims about Advil® as a product or its effectiveness.

What I learned from going without

Back in May when I graduated from Graduate school I moved in with my parents in the DFW area. My dad got a house and was super excited about having a "home" again.

A few days ago "home" was less of a joy. My family and I spent about 3 days without the full use of our plumbing. This meant that we could not bathe/shower and could not flush our commodes. I was very upset about this because when you pay a good amount of money to stay in a home, you fully expect to be able to use the facilities.

I'm going to share the embarrassing things I did to get by during this time. I took "sink" baths (my mom has a much more colorful name for these hehe). I went to local businesses to do my "business". So while this was an uncomfortable time for me. I couldn't help but think about those for whom this is a normal thing.

If you have ever lived in Texas in the summer you know that a "wash off" will not cut it. So imagine that you have to go to work, go for an interview, or entertain your friends. The main thing that I noticed was simply not feeling confident and not wanting to get too close to people. I work from home and I didn't feel professional or up to work until I felt clean. I also worried when I had to go into patient's homes that I may not smell my best. I also struggled with the public-ness of having to go to public restrooms.

I only endured this for a few days and I never want this particular problem again. So just imagine that this is your life, and people are complaining about your smell, or running you out of their public restrooms for not being a patron. Imagine people judging you for not having a job, though you have no good place to go prepare yourself for one.

I wanted to share this because it helped me to think of others and their struggle when I experience someone down on their luck. I hope that someone else can also gain something from it as well.

Love