Website update

Well, for a while now you've heard me talk and talk about this online business I want to start. And now, the talk has transformed to action! I officially got my retail license and a website! Well, kind of a website. Right now it is a pityful attempt of mine to throw something together for the moment. But no worries, I have a web designer and logo designer working on tons of improvements. You still cannot place an order on the site yet but one thing that I've worked tirelessly on is the "Fabric Choices" page. I was having a lot of folks asking me if they could purchase something NOW, instead of waiting for the site to be up and running and you KNOW i'm not about to let a sale go anytime soon (not to mention, I'm sad when I don't have anything to craft). So I knew I needed to get the fabric options up so my customers could at least pick how they wanted their product to look.

You will only see like 3 products on the site right now because I haven't had time to upload them all...not to mention, when this web designer makes all these changes...I may have to upload everything again. So, why waste my time right now.

So come visit me at www.theprissypinkpolkadot.com but if you want to order anything you'll have to comment me on here, or myspace, or facebook, or good 'ole email!

p.s. I am sure you know of some products that I definitely make that are not on the site (because hardly any of them are) so feel free to order some of those too =)

Thanks to all of you who are already placing orders...I friggin' LOVE to craft.

I have an obsessive personality...

My latest creation:

Personalized sports bottles, AKA: thermos

Yes, the first thing I do when I get a new craft idea is make a zebra/hot pink version of it. So without further ado....A really cool feature of this sports bottle is that the bottom screws off to reveal a "secret compartment"! Oh, I love secret compartments. No joke, this thing is deep. If you are a runner or play sports you can throw your keys in there and not worry about them. Or if you want a safe place to hide money. Hey, and baseball players can put their sunflower seeds in there and not have to carry around an extra bag. I am quite excited about this product and just think it is really neat.My mother-in-law was my first customer and picked this really cute brown/teal fabric with pink embroidery. It turned out awesome.
And lastly my husband's! He is all about taking this thing hunting and fishing and not having to keep up with his keys! I tried to make it "manly"....I can do sports teams also...all guys like sports related items right!? I am in the process of getting an entire little league team on board for me to make one in their team colors for them all! How fun!? and the very best part is that the embroidered insert is totally interchangable. So if you are feeling like zebra and hot pink one day...cool, and then leopard and lime green the next...awesome, oh and then you want to root for your favorite team the next day....totally do-able! The bottles themselves are $15 (that includes one insert of your choice) and every other insert is $5.....the possibilities are endless.

If you like this, stay tuned for my next addition to this line of drinkware: travel mugs, here is an example of one someone else made...I just haven't ordered my parts yet.

nyway, I hope everyone else is as excited as I am. And don't forget to put in your two cents about the "online store name" decision.

things that I love...

As we are working to focus on the enormous amount of positive that is present in our lives my mind is good. I am so very tired of being sad over my situation. It's been a long hard 5 months of ups and downs and what will be, will be. My happiness is gone for today but circumstance CANNOT take my JOY! So sit back and watch me be joyful.

As you know, not much in life brings me joy like Crafts! I have some new ones to show off (been keeping myself busy these days).

Here is my new and improved keychains. I've learned how to make these suckers much cuter and sturdier....so if I have made you one of these in the past, you should probably have me re-do that!

(front)

(back)


Here is my latest obsession: Luggage tags! (yes I was in a zebra/hot pink mood in my crafting yesterday...but I do craft in other colors and patterns, I promise!) I made this from scratch and I am proud to say it is extremely durable. It has wood on the inside so no airline should hurt it! It is even cuter in person.

(front)

(back)

And here are some flip flops I made for my mom with covered buttons. I monogramed her initial in the covered button and added it and the fur to a flip flop. I can also make these flip flops with a bow under the button, rather than fur. But my mom is just sassy enough to wear these!

And one of my goals this summer is to start my own website that people can order from. I haven't even begun so it may be a while...but hey, I'm obsessed so it may be tomorrow!! My latest predicament is that I need a name.....I thought I had the perfect one...as I sit there and discussed it with my mom she came up with not so cute names like...."Christi's creations"....booo, mom! And we bounced a few things off each other. I want my website/store to really let you know what I'm all about just through the name so it hit me, "The Prissy Polka Dot". I loved it. I told my mom and we celebrated to have a cute little name filled with things I love...Prissy and Polka Dots. After a while we were on the computer playing around and I wanted to see what would come up when people searched for my new store name. So I googled my "nonexistent" store. Oh NO! the first link was to a monogramming store called....."The Prissy Polka Dot"......REALLY?? Is someone just as goofy as me, and loves my same hobby. Aw man, I just loved that name. So I was a little devastated and started brainstorming again. I just couldn't get The Prissy Polka Dot out of my head. So now I am stuck. Although, there is one other thing that you will all agree that I love just as much as Prissy and Polka dots.......PINK. I need your opinions. What do you think about "The Prissy Pink Polka Dot"??? I could refer to it as P cubed (but with the cool exponent instead of having to write it out that way) Is it too close to the other one? I just can't think of anything else and I LOVED my first name so much =) Maybe something with the word "Sassy" instead?

So I am calling all bloggers. I really don't care if I even KNOW you. Please comment and let me know what I should name my store??? Let me know if you like "The Prissy Pink Polka Dot" or if you have another name idea! I can't start this whole thing until I have a website name. ahhhhhhhh............

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that
I've gone through

The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change
who I forever am in You

Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really
ever crossed my mind

To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from this storm
But instead
I draw closer through these times

So I pray
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory

And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am yours regardless of
the clouds that may loom above
because you are much greater
than my pain

you who made a way for me
suffering your destiny
so tell me
whats a little rain

So I pray
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory

And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
is the lord God almighty
is the lord God almighty
I'm forever singing
Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
is the lord God almighty
is the lord God almighty

And it grows...

Trying not to say the "B" word

I started thinking about my blog and how it is "Baby Central" these days. I feel as if I should write about something else every once in a while…I mean we DO have lives. I just tend to forget everything that happens other than doctor visits and symptoms. Okay so here is my attempt to write a normal blog about this last weekend. Memorial Day! I was sick and had to go home early on Thursday and also missed the whole day Friday. A little bit of nausea (that does not count as baby talk) and a little bit of this new cold I’ve gotten. So mom and dad came down a little early on Friday before my appointment and we went out to lunch. Then we headed to the hospital….skip this part….and afterwards they headed back to our house and hung out for a while. Partly because it was raining cats and friggin dogs for a while there. But soon they had to pack up and head back home. Saturday started with Justin going to get me a honey butter chicken biscuit. I’d love to say that this is just a random craving of mine but NO I’ve been obsessed with these long before pregnancy hit. But all of a sudden now, he is WAY more willing to get out and get me one whenever I want =) Then Toby and I headed to the mall with little Cooper and Justin and Kurt spent the day working in our flower beds. What a day! That night was the monthly UFC party. Tons of friends came over and we chowed on Pizza (well I didn’t, for some reason I am not liking pizza anymore). These parties never end until midnight thirty so we are exhausted by the time everyone leaves and hit the sack pretty hard. Who am I fooling….I’m such a great hostess that I usually fall asleep on the couch in the middle of the fights…oops. So, then it was Sunday and we enjoyed a great day at church and lunch with friends. I came home for a midday nap, my favorite, and Justin went golfing with the guys. I guess we were inspired by having Memorial day off the next day so we invited everyone over again on Sunday night for ice cream sundaes and an Indiana Jones marathon. We figured we can’t go see the new one until we catch up on all the old ones. Hope this new one is worth it! It was amazing, everyone fell asleep during the marathon except for ME! I never can stay awake but one of my many symptoms these days is random insomnia. And it happened to me at exactly the right time. Oh I forgot to mention that my little sister Jessica came to visit with her new boyfriend on Sunday also. The stayed the night….in separate rooms of course! And we all hung out for the beginning of the day on Monday. Later on I had a hair appointment which was desperately needed (don’t worry my doctor said it is not dangerous to get you hair dyed during pregnancy, I checked). And then the SGA put on a Benefit Concert for Sarah Norman, a junior at our school who has been diagnosed with Luekemia. We had the Chris McCarty band there and they are pretty great. You should check them out if you have time, I think you’ll like. Justin spent the rest of Memorial day fishing with his best friend Ben. And then Tuesday came around and I’m back at school =( Wednesday night was our end of the year SGA banquet and it was so cool. Everyone reminisced about another year gone by and we cried over losing the seniors (well, at least I did because I’m HORMONAL!) And the kids got me a $200 gift certificate to the Hilton on the beach. Jus and I will enjoy that thoroughly =) But the year is almost over! I’m excited to find tons of great things to do this summer.

The Great I AM still is...

I didn't share this part of the story with many people last week but now to truly know the significance of the video below, you have to know the torture of the last week. Friday (the 16th) we went back to try to find that heartbeat one more time. I was 7 weeks. The doc couldn't find it =( She said that my HCG levels had gone from 59,000 to 71,000 which is extremely high for this time in my pregnancy but regardless of how high they were, they should have doubled and they didn't. She said that we should expect another miscarriage. I cannot explain the horror that entered my mind at that moment. I just sat there in the doctor's chair and sobbed. Justin sobbed, my mom sobbed, my dad sobbed and the doctor was tearing up (I could tell). During the last miscarriage a lot of women told me it was okay to feel angry and forgotten. But I can truly say I never did feel those emotions. God gave me a peace from the beginning...now I was sad, believe me, heartbroken, but never angry. Not this time. I took the next three days to be totally ticked off. I was so mad. More of a frustrated mad. Why? I just couldn't fathom how God was going to get glory for something that so many people had been praying against. I knew that I should "know" better, but I questioned God in those days. And then Monday rolled around. And it's like I woke up that morning with peace. It almost felt like a hope....I was afraid to tell anyone that I felt like God was telling me that THIS baby was going to be okay...I felt like I would look like a fool if that didn't happen. But I secretly told Justin that this is what I felt. He agreed that we should continue on in a positive light and be thankful for everyday we have with no spotting or cramping. Not to mention God was definitely reassuring my feelings as the nausea has reached an all time high this week. I had to leave school on Thursday and was out all day Friday....I couldn't even open my mouth to speak without it hitting.....most horrible feeling EVER. But I just prayed that God was not letting me feel all this in vain.

So, we went back yesterday. My doctor said this would be the ultrasound that showed us for sure if we would miscarry. She said she was 80% sure we would. My doctor happened to be out of town yesterday and so I saw another doctor in her practice. Right when he walked in the room he picked up my chart and said "97,000...your hcg levels look excellent!" Justin piped up and assured the doctor that this was not a good thing, I went from 71,000 to 97,000 in a week, they should have quadrupled in that time. To which this new doctor replied, "Oh no, once your levels get this high, they don't double anymore, her levels look great from where she is." (Kind of made me mad at my regular doc for scaring me!) Immediately that hope that God had given me before started flooding back and I was reassured in this little message he gave me. Then the doctor looked at me and said, "We're going to see good things on this ultrasound today" and he walked off. Woah, that is the first time I have EVER been to the obstetrician and gotten some positive news. I loved it! So we went in the ultrasound room and my mom asked me if I was nervous. I couldn't believe it but, I wasn't. As soon as we saw the picture of little sweet pea, he started pointing things out and I just had a sinking feeling...everything looked smaller to me, like the baby had shrunk (which is what it does before you have a miscarriage) and then as I started to disappear into my own mind with greif he said, "And that little flicker right there is the heartbeat". Okay, so I jumped back to reality, that seemed so surreal. All I could say was, "I see it! I see it!" It looked like two little lines hitting each other over and over again. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Justin looked at me with huge eyes and said, "can you believe it? It's really beating!" That is when the antics started, I busted out the camera phone and my mom was trying to take pictures of the ultrasound machine. It was just giggles non stop.

Here is a video I took of the little heartbeat. I was filming with a camera phone while in stirrups propped up on a table......this should explain the shakiness I hope. I know it is sooo hard to see, but if you watch the little dot (AKA: Sweet Pea) very carefully you can see a little flicker over on the right side......that's the heartbeat!!! It was much clearer in person but I thought I should share what I have!

After viewing this in the doctor's office Justin looks at me and says, "All this time I thought it was a little girl, and now after seeing it...I can tell it's a boy!" hahah. I am glad he could tell from the 4mm embryo what sex it is already! He's a weirdo!

So now, since we can actually SEE the baby and not just the little sac it is in, the doctor was able to measure little sweet pea and he says it measures 6 weeks and 1 day old....haha, that means we got a positive pregnancy test 2 whole days before we apparently concieved! hmmmm....who cares about the details...