crafting with blendy & becky: coasters

Perhaps if I start blogging about crafting projects, I'll do more of them. I know I already told you about this project, but Holly wanted instructions. Well, my friend, your wish is my command ... even if it takes me a month to do it!Step 1: Gather all your materials—4x4 tiles, scrapbooking paper, felt, Mod Podge, clear spray paint, glue gun &...

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reading is fun! (part 2)

Here's my current stack of books awaiting review. And that doesn't show the four Kindle files I have. (And, yes, I do still have one book in the pile that was in the picture of books to be reviewed that I posted in May ...)And here's my whiteboard where I list books and their due dates (or, in the case of Litfuse, the date the blog tour begins). I'm...

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while you were sleeping

Another year of Singing Christmas Tree is over. (You can read an article about it here.) It's such a huge part of my life from October (when rehearsals begin) through mid-December that it's a strange feeling when it ends. I'm already looking forward to next October!The title of this year's program was "While You Were Sleeping"—and we sang the Casting Crowns song of the same name during the program.While I enjoyed the song when I first heard it a...

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another christmas movie

You're probably getting tired of hearing me talk about Christmas movies, but I just watched ABC Family's 12 Dates of Christmas, and it was so enjoyable.Basically, it's Groundhog Day, only the day being repeated is Christmas Eve, and the girl repeating the day (Amy Smart) isn't nearly as loathsome as Phil (Bill Murray) was at the beginning of Groundhog Day. Throw in Mark-Paul Gosselaar as the love interest and some genuinely funny moments, and you've...

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time for some christmas music!

'Tis the season for Christmas music. I love Christmas music, and sometimes I buy too much of it (kind of like how I buy too many Christmas movies). However, Amazon makes it easy to get my fill of Christmas music without breaking the bank, thanks to its $5 Christmas albums. In November, 100 Christmas albums were available for $5 each, but I didn't see...

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it's beginning to look a lot like christmas!

My roommate moved out today. I'm sad to see her go, but I'm excited to see where God takes her over the next year. She's going on tour with the World Orphans Choir, and you can follow her adventures here. I normally would have decorated my house the day after Thanksgiving, but I decided to wait until today so she wouldn't have to deal with all my stuff...

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what a difference a year (or 13) makes!

When I was at my parents' house yesterday, I came across a stack of my senior pictures. It. Was. Horrifying.Because I'm getting brave in my old age, I'll post one here.On the upside, I think I look younger at 30 than I did at 17 ... but is it any wonder this girl never had any dates?As I marveled at the outward changes in the last 13 years, I started...

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just call me handy

I love assembling things. I'm not sure when I first realized this, but I do remember feeling so powerful and independent when I fixed the desk chair in my dorm room. (I wasn't assembling anything per se, but I was putting it back together.) My absolute favorite part of moving is assembling the new furniture. On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to put...

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my life in television

A few weeks ago, I posted "My Life in Films," based on something I saw on author Kaye Dacus's blog. My friend Holly has since posted on her life in films and books. (I plan to do a book post at some point, too.) It occurred to me, though, that a "My Life in Television" post would be most appropriate for me, as, well, I really like me some TV!Television Shows that Remind Me of ChildhoodSquare One TV: This was, without a doubt, my favorite show as...

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a quick trip

At the end of October, my sister Blendy, her friend Janelle, and I made a quick trip to Indiana to see Val. (Well, Janelle went to see her boyfriend, but she saw Val, too.) Once we got home, I hit the ground running with book reviews, homework assignments, and Singing Christmas Tree practices, so I'm just getting around to blogging about it. And since I'm feeling kind of lazy, I'm not even going to write any more—I'll just direct you to my facebook...

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sometimes, it's better to pay

A few months ago, we were in Kansas cleaning out my grandma's house. While working in the bathroom, I tweeted the following:@beckyrittaBecky RittaCleaning out grandma's house. Just found some Milk of Magnesia that expired in 1988!That should have been warning enough to ignore the "treasure" I found in that bathroom—a hot water bottle. But, being my...

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lazy saturday thoughts

I don't have anywhere to be until 2:30, and I don't have any books that have to be read now, so I'm enjoying a rare morning of laziness. I decided to write a "real" post—it's been a while since I've written anything besides a book review!One of Tricia Goyer's books is free on Amazon right now. She's the author of my favorite Amish series (which I reviewed...

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i am not a crafty person

In either sense of the word.I have fond memories of doing crafting projects with my grandma when I was a child. Nearly every time we visited, she would have a craft of some sort for us to do, and I still have some of those projects today. (She was good at finding things that would be useful later, like the tea towels she had us paint.) Without Grandma,...

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35 before 35: #35

Go to a Nebraska-Ohio State football gameWhen I woke up last Saturday morning, I had no idea I was about to fulfill one of the items on my 35 before 35 list. But at 3:30 p.m., I found out my parents had turned down tickets to the Nebraska-Ohio State football game in Lincoln and those tickets were still up for grabs. I pounced, and soon a friend and...

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new and upcoming fiction

Believe it or not, I do occasionally read books I haven't agreed to review, and I have an extensive list of books I want to read when I'm not facing a review deadline. Here are a few books that either recently released or will soon release that I'm anticipating reading—whether I get to read them for "free" or not.Longing by Karen Kingsbury. (Releases...

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