Girlfriend Weekend

Crossing number 24 off my list. A very good friend of mine and I attended the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Kansas City this past weekend. We had so much fun; took some beautiful classes, did too much shopping, and ate delicious food! She lives in the southern part of Arkansas so she arrived at my house Thursday night. We got up at 3 am Friday morning and drove to KC. Got there in plenty of time to get our packets and do the early entry to the vendor fair. As always, most of my money went straight to Embellish It. Shelby is such a sweetie and I take her Basic Grey class every year.

Our classes included:
Friday
Bling It On - we got to play with the I-rock and made some gorgeous layouts with My Mind's Eye papers. Loved this class!
Here's a cell phone pic of one of those layouts.

Calling All Boys - you can never go wrong with a Quick Quotes class
Kids Explosion - another Quick Quotes class. Loved the colors of this one.
Quick and Classy with My Mind's Eye - Beautiful, Beautiful layouts! We both bought the companion kit to go with these.
Friday Night Crop - gift bags weren't too great this year, but we had a good time at the crop, except that we were soooo tired. Did not make a late night of this one.

Here I am at the crop. I look tired, don't I? Well I was!

Saturday -
Latest & Greatest with Basic Grey - did not like the layouts as well this year, but love Shelby.
Material Girl - REALLY enjoyed this class. We made fabric flowers and got to sew on paper. :)
Saturday Night Crop - Won 2nd place in a card contest!!! :) They passed out orange cardstock and gave us an hour to make a card. At least I thought it was supposed to be an hour so I really hurried and then they gave us longer. Oh well. I was very excited to be chosen as one of the two winners! My prize was a 50 pack of cardstock. The cards created are being donated to our soldiers.

Here is my card that won. I sewed around the edges and made a flower. I would have done more detail around the flower (like adding some leaves) but I thought I was out of time and rushed to turn it in.

Between classes on Saturday we shopped at Archiver's and JoAnn's. Then we went down to the Plaza and ate at the Cheesecake Factory. I LOVE the Cheesecake Factory! :) Fried Zucchini, Chicken Costelleta, and Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert. We had to take part of our cheesecake with us because we were too full. We took them to the crop but forgot to ask for some forks. I had to leave the crop, leave the convention center, and walk to the Holiday Inn to get some forks so we could eat them, but it was worth it. ;) Sorry I took a bite before I remembered to take a pic!

Next we went to the Bare Escentuals boutique before heading back to the crop. I miss being able to go to the boutique. Wish they would open some in Arkansas!

Here is my beautiful friend, Cindy, at the Saturday Night Crop. 

We had a great weekend. Got home on Sunday afternoon and promptly took a nap with my 3 yr old! I was worn out. Getting to scrap this weekend has inspired me to finish unpacking my craft supplies so I've been working on that this week. Going to try and keep the mojo going because I truly do love scrapping! :)

40 Things Revamped

I had this brilliant idea today to divide my list into categories. It helped me see where I needed to add things and made it easier to come up with new things. Here's what I ended up with once that was done. 

Taking  Care of Me

1. Lose 100 lbs *gulp*
2. Take up bike riding

3. Learn Yoga

4. Makeover my wardrobe

5. Invest in good shoes

6. Give up soda except for special occasions

7.  Learn a new dance

8.  2 hours of "me" time every week

9.  Read the entire Bible

10. Take a vacation by myself!

Moving Forward
11. Write (okay finish) a novel
12. Submit a novel

13. Find a charitable way to honor Macy's memory

14. Take a class

15. Finish a scrapbook!
16. Get published

17. Buy a nice camera and learn how to use it

18. Volunteer somewhere

19. Pay it forward in the drive-thru line

20. Get my passport

Family & Friends

21. Let the kids plan dinner (and help cook) once a month
22. Have an old fashioned slumber party with my girlfriends

23. Plan a trip to Disneyworld

24. Go on a girl's weekend

25. Family game night once a month

26. Monthly Date Night with Hubby

27. Attend a concert

28. Make 3 new friends

29. Weekly craft or science project with the kids

30. Send random surprises to good friends

Just for Fun

31. Color an entire Coloring Book

32. Make a quilt
33. Grow some herbs  & use them

34. Go to a Drive-In movie

35. Refinish a piece of furniture

36. Throw a themed party
37.

38. Bake an entire meal from scratch

39. Go Zip Lining

40. Read all of Jane Austen's classics

40 Things

Here is my list of 40 things for the year. They are not crazy, outlandish things because I only have a year. I'd love to put things like "visit Italy" on it, but don't see that happening in the next year. haha So, these are obtainable goals to remind me to have fun, enjoy life, and focus on some goals. You'll notice there are only 32. I am taking suggestions to fill the final 8 spaces. :) 

1. Lose 100 lbs *gulp*
2. Take up bike riding
3. Write (okay finish) a novel
4. Submit a novel
5. Let the kids plan dinner (and help cook) once a month
6. Color an entire Coloring Book
7. Find a charitable way to honor Macy's memory
8. Have an old fashioned slumber party with my girlfriends
9. Get my passport
10. Take a class
11. Go to a Drive-In movie
12. Bake an entire meal from scratch
13. Finish a scrapbook!
14. Get published
15. Plan a trip to Disneyworld
16. Buy a nice camera and learn how to use it
17. Makeover my wardrobe
18. Refinish a piece of furniture
19. Take a vacation by myself!
20. Volunteer somewhere
21. Make a quilt
22. Grow some herbs  & use them
23. Pay it forward in the drive-thru line
24. Learn Yoga
25. Invest in good shoes
26. Read the entire Bible
27. Go on a girl's weekend
28. Attend a concert
29. Learn a new dance
30. 2 hours of "me" time every week
31. Go Zip lining 
32. Family game night once a month

Heavenly Message

Please allow me a blog detour for a moment. I got a message from Macy today and I just Have to share it! It's the biggest one I've received in years!!

While driving home from the craft fair today, I got stopped at a stoplight, but not any stoplight; the stoplight on Macy road (Macy is my daughter's name). I was right in front and the second my foot hit the brake, the song Cry Out to Jesus came on. The lyrics begin:

To everyone who's lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye

The feeling washed over me that this was for me. Macy road, the song... I started crying softly. Halfway through the song, Noah shouts out of the blue "Have fun!" and I said "What?" "Have fun! Stop Crying! Have fun!" It was so totally random and out of the blue that I wondered if it was part of my message. It was indeed. Just in case I was missing it, Macy made sure to let me know because the very next song was "No Matter What". I have never heard that one before, but you guys, that was mine and Macy's thing. I always told her "I love you. No matter what!" She even put it on her Mother's Day questionnaire just two weeks before she passed. She wrote, "I love my mom because my mom loves me No Matter What."  I'm bawling by now, but she wasn't finished with me yet. That song went off and two announcers came on and started talking about HAVING FUN!!! Oh my gosh, how's that for a message? I think she wants me to stop living in sadness and start enjoying life again, which totally fits with the theme of my blog and what I'm trying to do. Easier said that done, but I have received my message loud and clear and am so very grateful to have heard from my baby girl today. :) Mama's trying Macy. Mama's trying.

*Cry Out to Jesus by Third Day
* No Matter What by Kerrie Roberts

Introduction

Welcome to my new blog. I chose the name Sophisticated Country because I'm a country girl with a sophisticated sense of style. Today is my 39th birthday and I made this blog to challenge myself to reach some goals and have some fun before I turn 40 next year. I have two sons. One 12 and one 3 yrs old. I have a daughter in heaven. She's been with Jesus for the past 5 years. We all miss her greatly. Even the 3 yr old that never knew her. My husband is in the newspaper business and I am blessed to be a stay at home mom. I love to write, (mainly contemporary Christian romance), read, bake, cook, scrapbook, crafty things, shopping, home decor, etc. This blog will have a little bit of everything. I've created a list of 40 things I would like to do and/or accomplish in the next year and I will be sharing that soon.

I'm exhausted tonight from a long, fun day at craft fairs so I'll keep this post short, but can I share a small pearl from my life with you before I go? Last night my son asked me for something while I was cooking dinner. He had been a little stinker so I told him that 'Yes, he could have it,  not because he deserved it, but because I love him.' Right there... right there I had a God moment. I heard the whispers of 'this is how I feel about you. It's not because you deserve it. It's because I love you.' Talk about being humbled. It's amazing how much God uses our own children to teach us about his love. Are you listening?

Hope you'll be back and join me on my journey this year and beyond. :)