“Winners never quit, and quitters never win.”
Let’s be honest, being a quitter has never been used as a compliment. I’m sure I could google “quitter quotes” and come up with a couple hundred more sayings about how and why quitting is always a bad decision, but I have to ask… is it? Is it always a bad choice? I think quitting is sometimes one of the bravest, smartest choices someone can make so I thought I would share some of the questions I recently asked myself when trying to decide if I should continue on a well worn path in finishing my master’s (which I’ve been working on for 6 years!). They ultimately gave me the courage to quit.
1) Would I make the decision to start this again today if I could?
If the answer’s yes then it sounds like you’re on the right track! If the answer’s no then why continue? I’m currently reading The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris (I highly recommend it!), and he says, “Just because something has been a lot of work or consumed a lot of time doesn’t make it productive or worthwhile. Just because you are embarrassed to admit that you’re still living the consequences of bad decisions made 5. 10. or 20 years ago shouldn’t stop you from making good decisions now.” (p. 243).
I wish I’d read that years ago!! I feel a little queasy when I think of all of the time, energy, and money I could’ve saved if I’d listened to myself and what I really wanted to do instead of just going along a path I felt wasn’t right.
2) Is this in line with my current life goals or have my goals changed?
I sometimes struggle with short-sightedness. It can be easy to lose motivation if something’s difficult so it’s important to think about things in the short and long-term. If something’s unpleasant in the current moment but will take you to where you eventually want to be then it may be worth sticking it through. However, choosing to do something simply because you made a choice years ago to do it, despite it not being in line with your current goals, would (in my and Tim’s opinions) be a mistake. We are allowed to change our minds, after all.
3) What’s my motivation in continuing with this?
If your motivation is something like: it’s expected of me; someone else wants me to do this; I’ve already put some much effort into this I might as well finish; what will other people think if I quit?! You’d probably be better off quitting. As Eleanor Roosevelt said (and yes, I had to google who said it), “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.”
4) What are the pros and cons of quitting? Consequences and benefits?
For me, choosing to not finish my master’s was difficult. Anyone who knows me knows this is something I’ve struggled with for years, and despite taking semesters off here and there I’d always go back to it. However, one of my greatest motivations was simply to have my master’s, which if you think about it, is pretty stupid. If this was something I was planning to use one day that would be one thing, but I don’t think I’ll ever be a teacher (not to anyone other than my children anyway). Time will tell. Maybe one day I’ll decide to pursue teaching, but I can do so then. I’ll also probably do a better job then because I’ll be more passionate about it.
What are the benefits of quitting for me? Less stress, more time with my family, not having to worry about homework, not having to spend money on something I’ll probably never use… those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
Making this decision has lifted a weight off my shoulders, which confirms that I’ve made the right choice for myself and family.
So tell me, what are your thoughts? Is there something you’ve been wanting to quit but couldn’t for some reason? Are there more questions you’d add to the list?
“Even though it [my stomach] will never be flat again, it’s still my favorite [body part] because it reminds me of my greatest achievement: my babies. For me, so much about life is acceptance. You can look in the mirror and find a million things wrong with yourself. Or you can look in the mirror and think, ‘I feel good, I have my health, and I’m so blessed.’ That’s the way I choose to look at it. I don’t need to be perfect. I’m doing just fine.”
Isla Fisher
I recently stumbled upon this quote and loved it immediately. There’s so much pressure on women to be “perfect:” the perfect mommy, wife, career woman, multitasker, friend, and Martha Stewart clone all with a Victoria Secret model’s body (to name just a few). To say I’m falling short of these ideals would be putting it mildly (unless Victoria’s Secret has seriously changed their modeling standards!)
How much better would we feel about ourselves and our lives if we took this, “I’m doing just fine” approach instead of feeling like we never measure up? Don’t get me wrong; I have improvements to make, weight to lose, and things I want to change about myself and home, but I’m going to work more on having a positive and healthy outlook to those changes. I suspect I’ll be more successful in achieving my goals with a healthy outlook than I’ve been with my usual critical one. I guess only time will tell. 
I’ve taken a little break from the blogging and crafting world to welcome this little bundle to our family! He’s been quite an easy, cuddly baby, and (as with all of my little ones) I’m wondering what we ever did without him.
I want to say a HUGE
to Meghan at Make Something Daily for nominating me for the Liebster Award! Needless to say, my face very closely resembled my son’s when I found out! It was such a nice surprise so THANK YOU, MEGHAN!
I’m going to start working on answering the questions and passing along my own nominations this weekend, but I didn’t want to wait a second longer before expressing my gratitude.
Have a great weekend!
Inspired by the Domestic Superhero’s post on the “Best Homemade Playdough,” I decided to give making my own playdough a shot. This is what I did…
Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup water
- 2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1/3 cup salt
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- food coloring
Step 1: Mix flour, water, cream of tartar, salt, and vegetable oil together.
Step 2: Stir constantly while cooking over low to medium heat.
Step 3: As mixture thickens, add food coloring.
Step 4: Stir until mixture thickens and begins to gather around the spoon.
Step 5: When dough is no longer wet, transfer to wax paper to cool.
Step 6: After a short cooling period, knead the dough for a few seconds and PLAY!
This was my first attempt at making Homemade Playdough, and I can honestly say I was shocked by how easy it was!
I was surprised by how quickly the mixture came together, but very thankful for my arm’s sake! Even though I was only stirring for a couple of minutes, my arm tired very quickly, which I think is a sad testament to how out of shape I am right now. C’est la vie. Just know that if you make this and your arm starts begging for mercy you aren’t alone.
Best of all, the texture is great.
What would I do differently next time?
- I’d add more food coloring. I wanted to create a pretty pink color and was hesitant to add too much red, but the color ended up being more muted than I’d wanted. Easy enough to fix next time.
- Be careful not to let it cool for too long. I left the dough on wax paper for close to an hour, and it started to dry out. Thankfully it wasn’t anything a plastic bag and kneading couldn’t fix, but I didn’t expect it to dry out that quickly.
- Next time, I’m going to play with adding some fragrance to the mixture. Perhaps a little vanilla or something? This recipe doesn’t have much of the expected playdough scent (which I can’t stand), but I think it would be neat to try adding a scent.
Overall, I was really impressed. Like I said before, I’ve never made homemade playdough before so I can’t say this is the best recipe, but I’ll definitely be making this again. The recipe easily produces 2 or 3 times the amount you’d buy in a container, and I love that we can make our own personalized colors.
Any homemade playdough connoisseurs out there? What’s your favorite recipe?
I’m extremely excited to give this recipe a shot tomorrow. The Domestic Superhero has shared a recipe for Homemade Playdough, and this seems like the perfect activity to fill a spring break day. I think my kids will also love being able to create any color they wish. I’ll give it a shot tomorrow and let you know how it goes.
This is the post that inspired me to cave and buy a Silhouette Cameo, and I’m so glad I did! I don’t know why I didn’t think to make my own memory game earlier, but when my machine arrived yesterday I knew it was the first project I wanted to tackle. I chose images that made me think of spring hoping it would finally drive away this lingering winter.
You definitely do not need a Silhouette to complete this project, but using precut images or stickers will make things a bit easier.
What I used:
- Silhouette Cameo
- Cardstock and computer paper
- Glue stick
- Scissors
- Laminating machine and laminating pouches
- Pens of different colors (for drawing little eyes and noses)
First, I decided on the size of my cards. They’re approximately 2 1/4 inches square. The post I referenced above suggested using 3 inche squares, but those were a bit too big for me. Once you decide on the size and how many you want, start cutting!
I wanted my cards to have a pretty backing so I cut out 22 additional cards in the happy, yellow polka dotted scrap paper. Once all the cards were cut, I glued the yellow scrap book paper to my white card stock.
Next, I decided on my images. This took a while. The Silhouette store has a ton of images to choose from, and all Easter designs are currently on sale so I spent a lot of time browsing. I needed 11 designs for my 22 cards (remember, they need to have matches!). Once those were chosen I cut them out and glued them to the white side of my cards.
Finally, it was time to protect my hard work and laminate these little guys. Now they are happily housed in their little plastic homes and ready to be played with!
I also made a little box so they can be safely stored away when not in use (I know, I’m being optimistic, but it’s worth a shot).
Now we have our own, spring inspired memory game! It was so easy and fun that I now want to create an alphabet version to help my daughter learn her letters. An uppercase and lowercase deck, perhaps? I don’t know exactly what it will look like right now, but I’ll post pics as soon as I’m done.
Happy Easter!
Linking up at: Serenity You, Cheerios & Lattes, Be Different Act Normal, Too Much Time, It’s Overflowing, Polkadot Pretties, Lovely Crafty Home, Or So She Says, The Gingerbread Blog, Tatertots & Jello, Happy and Blessed Home, Whipperberry, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Alderberry Hill, The Girl Creative, Flour Me with Love, A Humble Creation, A Pinch of Joy, Sumoj Sweet Stuff, Pinkapotamus, Its So Very Cheri, Be Colorful, J Embellish, An Original Belle, Claire Justine oxox, Boogie Board Cottage, Keeping it Simple Crafts, Sew Can Do, Mad in Crafts, We Like to Learn as We Go, Sugar Bee Crafts, 36th Avenue, Happy and Blessed Home, Domestic Superhero
I have a confession to make. I’m cheating on my Cricut machine.
I bought a Cricut Imagine a couple years ago and have barely used it. I’ve wanted to use it more, but it’s huge and difficult to find the right images between my various cartridges. Since I started reading blogs a few months ago I’ve seen numerous bloggers talking about the Silhouette Cameo, but I wasn’t going to get one. I have a cricut machine and a gazillion cartridges that I’m already not using enough so I couldn’t justify another cutting machine that would probably just sit around gathering dust.
Well, a couple days ago I had a change of heart, and I’m so happy I did! My Cameo came today, and I spent the evening making a super cute project that I’ll be sharing with you tomorrow. (I need to spend the rest of the night with my very sweet and neglected husband.)
Needless to say, today was a great delivery day! The Cameo arrived a day early, and my mom sent us flowers for Easter! Two wonderful surprises!
Hippity, hoppity, Easter’s on its way.
With just days to go before Easter, I knew I’d better get to this adorable bunny project before it was too late so I broke out the glue gun and got to work.
Here’s what you’ll need:
-3 pieces of scrapbook paper in varying shades of green
-floral tape
-2 embroidery hoops (4″ and 8″)
-wire and wire cutters
-hot glue gun
-scissors
-ribbon (2-3 yards)
First, you’ll want to tape the hoops together using the floral tape.
Next, shape wire into ears leaving a 4 inch tail to wrap around the hoop. I also wrapped some floral tape around the wire for added strength and to keep the ears in place.
I then made a leaf stencil (approximately 1×2 inches) and traced and cut out many leaves in my three different colors. Despite all of the leaves, this takes only three sheets of scrapbook paper! After attaching the various leaves to my hoops with hot glue I started on the ears.
In hopes of not burning my fingers, I flipped the bunny over and applied the glue to the wire and paper. I then held the wire in place for a few seconds until the glue cooled.
Finally, I added the ribbon bow and hanger, and I was finished!
All in all, this probably took me two hours, which could’ve been greatly reduced if I’d used a cricut machine to cut the leaves.
Now this little cutie in hanging on the door to our garage. He’d look cute on our front door, but since we use the garage door the most (and I can see it from the kitchen) I decided to spare him the horrible wintry weather and let him stay inside. Honestly, I’m enjoying this little addition so much I think we might just let him stay a little past Easter too. (Seriously, anything that can make me rethink painting these green walls is a winner in my book!)
Linking up at: Adventures of a DIY Mom, Sugar Bee Crafts, Elizabeth & Co., A Bowl Full of Lemons, Home Stories A to Z, Sarah Dawn Designs, Hope Studios, We Like to Learn as We Go, 36th Avenue,
I’m excited to announce that I’m finally Facebook official! I’d love for you to click the facebook link to the right and join me. Please also leave a comment on my wall so I can follow you too!
I’m also planning on trying a new craft project so be on the look out for that over the next couple days (maybe even tomorrow if the little one decides to sleep during nap time!). Until then, these are a few of my favorite projects. I’ll be talking about them on facebook and here on the blog.
1) Magnetic Advent Calendar
2) Homemade Hello Kitty cake with homemade fondant. It tastes MUCH better than anything I’ve purchased at the store, and it’s a lot easier to color. (New post coming soon!)
3) Easy Easter Bunny Art
4) Board and Batten
