Now the Blog Truly Begins!

Hi guys! I'm back, or should I say we're back

We got a new home in November 2013, and had our 3rd son on April 19, 2014. It's been a busy year. But it's off to a good start. One of my goals this year is to get my blog up and going on a regular basis, as well as starting to post videos to my Youtube channel. I want to do fun stuff like makeup reviews, but I also want to post and talk candidly about my health issues and my extreme anxiety. I think that getting it out and having others to relate to will help me better cope. With that being said;

Things you will see-
Rants, raves, reviews, DIY tutorials, Vlogs, blogs, commentaries, opinions, optimism, funny stories, awesome pictures, and anything else that it crosses my mind that you guys (and gals) want to hear about.

Share me, comment me, or message me. Ask anything, and I'll do my best to answer. If I don't have the answer, I'll find it for you. I'm a wiz with a search engine. ;)

Nothing More Special

I apologize for the lack of posts recently, life has been a little crazy. Luckily it's been in a completely beautiful way. I am happy to announce that my husband Brent and I will be making Tater a big brother around mid may. I found out that I am expecting on Monday, but I didn't believe the tests because they were so faint I was sure it was a mistake. So, testing Tuesday and getting a very definite positive just made it sink in. It's a bit awkward to admit this, but I have taken seven pregnancy tests in the past 3-4 days just to make sure that the lines don't disappear. 

Am I happy? No. I'm ecstatic. I could not feel more blessed in any sense of the word. For those of you who do not know, this baby was NOT an accident. We have been TTC for a year exactly this month. It was a bit of a surprise though, because I had all but given up on having another baby for right now. We didn't actively try this month by any means, but it just happened. I guess it's testament to the old cliche "It will happen when you stop trying". I hate that it was true, but I am so glad that it happened. 

A lot of my family and friends are not very happy for me because my health is not the best and I had a difficult pregnancy my first time around. What I would like for them to know is that I want you to put that aside and be happy for me. Whatever comes, I will face head on. This is what I want, and if I am willing to take on the risks and be brave about it, there is no reason that you should not support me. 

Also, people who don't support us because they worry about our finances. Don't. We are fine, we will be fine, and we always make it through. We are a totally different type of family from many that we know. We just want to be together in our little home, doing simple things, and loving our little life. We don't need a lot of things. We don't want extravagance. We have been through hard times, and we will again. That is not to say that we are not aware that another baby will have its expenses but, we will just have to work harder, save harder, and be creative. But that is just the type of family that we want to be. The kind that makes it work. 

People didn't want us to get married so young. They said it wouldn't work- It did.

People didn't think we should have a child., because our marriage couldn't handle it- We are stronger

People said I wouldn't get pregnant again- I did.

We are happier and more in love than ever. Tater is excited and can't wait to meet his sibling. Please look at us with happiness. Not judgement, but support. Thank you.

-Crystal

Update

Now for an update! Since my last post, five months ago, I have gone through a few changes. My GP (gastroparesis) has gotten quite a bit worse and I've had some trouble keeping up with my online workload. I've all but stopped working for any of my previously recommended companies. Don't get me wrong, they are awesome opportunities for those who have the right skill set, but they are also time demanding.

What I have decided to do instead for some supplemental income is to start selling some of my crafts via the internet. First off, I have tried to sell on Etsy. Great site, great exposure, but I have found that it is nearly impossible to sell there without spending more money than you're putting into it. The fees are low, and for most totally affordable. But for me, who wasn't selling anything, paying .20 per item is costing me more money than I'm making. I don't want my items there just for the looks of them. 

Next I listed my items which are becoming more numerous, on a facebook page. I haven't sold anything yet, but I have made some swaps, and I've had a lot more inquiries. Through the virtual marketplace on FB, I don't have to pay any fees and my page can be passed around by my friends. I find this to be a little more manageable than Etsy. I can also sell my items a little cheaper, due to not having listing fees to pay.

This is just my first step, as I'm sure I won't make very much selling online at first. I'm planning to take some of my items to our local flea market, The Jockey Lot. In my head it seems more logical that I will sell more in a setting where my customers can see my crafts in person.  This will have to wait for cooler weather, though, because I don't want my face to melt. :)

Since I am new to the whole selling thing, I would love to hear your tips and tricks for being successful online. Where do you sell? What really makes a difference? How do you promote? 

Once I get more items listed, I plan to do some giveaways. Stick with me for more info. Also, I have a logo in the works. 

The Manic-Henna Project

So I was bored and remembered that I had a stash of henna powder left in my freezer from the last time I dyed my hair. I really love the color that the henna makes my hair as well as the way it makes it feel. My hair has never been so shiny and frizz free. OK...I'm beginning to sound like an advertisement.

On to the point. Even though the henna gives me a beautiful auburn color, I reallllllllly miss my Vampire Red. I feel so ordinary with average hair. I need a color to brighten my mood everytime I look in the mirror. If the Vampire Red wasn't so hard to keep up, I would do my whole head that shade. Guess what? I happen to also have a bottle of my go-to exotic red. :)

I have read a good bit on the subject and I've found that Manic Panic is really the only hair dye that you can actually mix into your henna safely. This is experimental, but I'm thinking that the lawsone in the henna will help to bind the pigments from the Manic Panic into the shaft of my hair. Thus attaining a much longer lasting, not so dull red hair. You have to love my kitchen chemistry antics.

Normally I would put my henna mixture on my hair, apply heat, then sleep on it for about sixish hours. I'm not that patient tonight. I think I'll let it sit for a couple of hours, maybe longer if I find something to occupy my time. I hope I don't end up with only red roots. That would make for a very sad Crystal. Update later on whether this works or not.

Bacon Cinnamon Rolls with Brown Sugar Glaze

Today was a do nothing kind of day around here. We all stayed up kind of late and didn't sleep very well because of the storm that was beating the siding off of our house. None of us were feeling very bright and sunny today, so we decided to remedy that tonight by making some warm delicious goodness. We used left over yeast dough from last night to make cinnamon rolls. Of course, being who we are (Mo and I), we could not just make cinnamon rolls. They had to be cinnamon rolls with a "twiste".  We decided to add some bacon in the mix, and as is common knowledge, bacon makes everything exponentially more taste-gasmic. Here is my recipe for the most awesome breakfast food known to man, along with a bit of picture overload.

We used dough left over from my beignet experiment last night... which was a fail. It's just the basic beignet recipe but I didn't have any evaporated milk, so I substituted coconut milk. It worked just fine. Here is a link to the recipe that I used. It's rather long, so I'm not going to post it.

French Quarter Beignet Recipe

Here is what mine looked like:

I was worried that it would be a little dry, but it needed back together just fine. Many thanks to Mo kneading the ever loving heck out of it. After kneading, roll into a rectangle.

Brush with some melted butter/margarine.

Then we mixed a goodly amount of cinnamon and mixed it with enough brown sugar to blanket the rectangle.

 Tater was the master of the cinnamon sugar sprinkling stage. Hey... little man likes to cook too.

Lay bacon lengthwise on the rectangle over the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Roll into a jellyroll type shape.

Slice, lay in lightly greased pan, and place into a 425 degree oven for about 30ish minutes. I would check it at about 20, because my oven seems to cook slow even though it's pretty new.

This is what they will look like after they are done:

After they look like this, you will want to make a glaze for your rolls. I chose to make a brown sugar glaze, but you can really do anything you like. To make the one that I used mix about 3/4 stick of butter with 1 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, and 1 Tsp of vanilla extract. Heat it up until everything is all melty and smooth-ish. There will be some brown sugar granules left. That's ok...they are awesome.

Drizzle your glaze on top of your still warm cinnamon rolls. Let cool for about 15 minutes and then enjoy.

WARNING: This dessert is not for the faint of heart, or the high of blood pressure. :)

Crafting

All of my posts thus far have been about working from home in the sense of intellectual work. There is another way to make money from home, although it is one that I have not yet mastered. I'm a crafty kinda lady. I really like to make things, but I have not gotten the knack of selling them yet. I have an Etsy account, but not the know how to use it. Sad isn't it? If you've been on any of the multitude of parenting sites/forums you'll find moms that make bows and tutus and make a decent amount of money doing so. Obviously it is possibly to make extra income by being creative. I'm going to be trying to sell some of the things I'm making now. Some of which are really original, at least in the way that they are made. So far some of the things that I'm making that I want to sell are:

- Hair Flowers for that sexy vintage pin up look.

   These are the first two that I made. I really like the way they look. My sister is wearing one in her profile pic on FB. I'm planning on making a wide variety for different times of the year.

-  Magazine Wallets - I don't have a picture of these. They are pretty cute. I weave magazine pages together and make them into an ID carry case/wallet. 

-  Jewelry-  This is still experimental, but I've made some really pretty stuff. 

                - Bangle bracelets made from plastic cut from old containers, wrapped with recycled t-shirt material, and then decoupaged with magazine. These are really cute. 

               -  Bangle bracelets made from recycled soda cans, folded and hammered so they are strong and flexible. Then covered with pretty fabric. Mine is covered in baby pink t-shirt material with black lace overlay. It also has a black lace bow closure. 

              -   Flatware Jewelry- Made from stainless steel flatware. I make the pretty parts of spoons/forks into pendants. I'm still trying to figure out how to do bracelets and rings. I never realized how hard it is to bend stainless steel. I pinched my finger pretty bad while making one for my mother in law. 

That's my list so far. I'll post pics here of the jewelry and such that I make. I'm not trying to sell anything yet, just making it for fun. Let me know any ideas or suggestions that you have. 

This would be a good money making venture for a person that is both crafty and business savvy.  I hope that my creativity will pay off eventually but for now, it'll be saving me money on Christmas and birthday presents. :)

Happy Crafting!

My First Post!

Welcome to my blog! I'm new at this, so bear with me. I guess first of all I'll tell you a little about myself. So here's a list of randomness for you to gobble up...

1. My name is Crystal

2. I hate my name.

3. I have been with my high school sweetheart, who is now my husband for around 9 years. We've had our ups and downs, but I could never love anyone more.

4. I was married when I was 18, and no, I wasn't pregnant. Best decision I ever made.

5. I found out I was pregnant with my son Broghan the day after our first wedding anniversary, which also happens to be on St. Patrick's day. I love that holiday!

6. My son was born on November 5, 2008 by emergency C-section.

7. I am a stay at home mom, but I also help out with the bills. I will be listing some tips for moms who want to earn a little online. They will all be legitimate because I have either used them, or am currently using them.

8. I have never written a blog before. 

9. I love to cook. You'll probably be reading a lot of nutty recipes on here that have just popped into my head.

10. I'm not overly religious, but I have a lot of faith.

11. I'm beginning to get into the DIY lifestyle.

12. My husband and I are TTC our second baby.

13. I have a 14 year old sister named Mo, who is my mini me, and one of the most important people in my life.

14. My Nanny and Papa are my greatest Heroes.

15. I get along with my In-Laws. *gasp* They are absolutely the best grandparents that I could have hoped for my son.

16. I love to read, and I go through about a book a day. How do I have time? I never sleep.

17. My favorite color is RAINBOW.

18. I have two dogs. One 150 lb Newfie named Kassie, and one 30 lb pain in the butt-mutt, named Mischka. She belongs to Mo.

19. I love to surf for funny pictures online.

20. I think I'm a little bit of a facebook addict, but who isn't?

Well there ya go, 20 little tidbits of about me. Any other questions just ask. I'm not shy. More posts to add tonight I'm sure.