home decor and garden are very famous in the world

The art of balance in ones life is something that I think we all struggle with on a daily basis. I am a firm believer that we cannot be all things to all people at all times. I cannot tell you how many times, I am hit with the phrase "how do you do it all?", whether it's via email, on The Cottage Mama Facebook page, or in real life with my friends and family.

I am always a taken back by this question, because the true answer is simple, "I don't." I wish I knew how to get it all done. But for that to happen, I would need two of me and a lot more hours in the day. I think you make time in your life for the things that are important to you. And somedays certain things are more important than others.

When I think of balance my husband comes to mind. As I have mentioned here before, he is an avid home-brewer and makes award winning beers. Brewing is something he is truly passionate about and he makes time for it in his life. He leaves for work at 7:30 AM and is not home before 7:30 PM every single day. That makes for some longs days. So he does not get a whole lot of time to spend with the kids during the week. But on the weekends he is 100% devoted to having 'Daddy Fun Days' with them. If he wants to brew beer, he does it after they have gone to bed. He gives up sleep in order to achieve the balance in his life. I'm not advocating not sleeping to achieve balance, but it's what works for him. He wants to make room for brewing in his life and that's how he makes it work. My point being, is that you figure out a way to make time for the things in life that are important to you and sometimes you have to give up one thing for another.

But the truth is that balance is achieved through an ebb and flow in life. You cannot neglect one aspect of life completely and expect there not to be a negative reaction. Balance is a struggle. I don't know if it is for you, but it is something I am constantly thinking about and trying to keep myself in check. I have a true sense of guilt when I am not doing what I feel I should be doing in certain aspects of my life. But sometimes it is important to release yourself from that feeling of guilt in order to maintain balance in ones life. If one of my kids is having a hard day, then maybe I don't get to the dishes. If I'm trying to finish a project, then maybe we have frozen pizza for dinner. But you know what? That's ok.

For instance, right now I wish I was posting tons of different projects and tutorials for you all. I have all these great seasonal ideas in my head that I don't have time to share. Do I feel a little sense of guilt that I'm not making that happen? Well.......yes. But the reality is that I am working on my book and cannot share many of my projects right now. While I try to balance writing with paying attention to my family and my home life, it's what has to give during this time in my life. And I know you understand that and I am now officially releasing myself from that guilt. Ahhh, I feel much better!

I read Sarah Jane's post today and it just got me thinking, so I guess that's why I'm writing this post today. To be totally honest, I think I do a pretty good job balancing all the different things going on in our life right now and it is constantly a work in progress. But there is one thing I would like you to know about me.........I do not do it all. And that's fine by me.

For some reason I feel compelled to write today.  As I sit here in my bed trying to recover from a bad sinus infection and a double ear infection, I cannot feel sorry for myself.  I cannot feel sorry for myself because I am blessed beyond words.  I am blessed with overall good health, my family, the roof over my head, food on my table, my beautiful babies, my incredible husband, my friends and just life in general.

Ever since Ashley of Lil Blue Boo posted her 'Right of Passage' video on her blog, I can't seem to get her, her family or the video out of my head.  Have you been following her 'Cancer Chronicles'?  If not, I encourage you to visit her blog and start from the beginning of her journey.  I will let you read her entire journey for yourself, but whether or not you have been through anything like this, her attitude is awe inspiring.

I think her story speaks to me because that person going through cancer could very well be me.  We are of similar age, both with young children, both in the prime of our lives and the idea of what she is experiencing is unimaginable.  My heart aches for her.  I want so badly to jump through my computer screen and hug her.  The fact that Ashley manages to 'choose joy' during this difficult time is just amazing.  I can only hope that if I was dealt the same hand of cards, that I would 'choose joy' as well.  I love her positive outlook and her 'can do' sort of attitude.  With every challenge she faces, she continues to go through life looking at the glass as half full.

Ashley has received emails questioning her truthfulness about her experience because she is so positive.  Is she keeping it real?  They are wondering about her fear and her pain.  Maybe that is in the back of her mind, but she is choosing to live life and choosing to focus on joy in her current situation.  And I just love it!  I think we need more people in the world that focus on the joy in life.  What good does it do anyone to live in the negative?

I have often been criticized for living life in such a positive manner.  For not 'keeping it real'.  I know that seems kind of weird (and it actually feels weird to write it), but it's true.  People wonder......can she really be that happy?  Sometimes I think misery loves company.  Personally I choose to focus on the joy that I have in my life.  Yes, being a wife and mother and juggling a small business can be difficult and trying at times, but I do the best I can and I try to focus on the good rather than the bad.  Is that keeping it real?  For me, it is.

Have I been through tough times?  Yes, but I choose not to dwell on them and I do not let them control my life.  I have experienced a miscarriage and I have suffered through postpartum depression after the birth of my first child.  But rather than dwelling on the negative in both those situations, I choose to share my story in hopes that others can gain positive support and information through my difficult times.  I am in no way suggesting that if you are going through a tough time that you shouldn't talk about it and share it with others.  We cannot control the cards we are dealt, but we can control the way in which we deal with them.

I do not know what the future holds for Ashley, I can only hope and pray that everything turns out for the best.  But I do know that God has chosen her for this path and journey for a reason.  I'm quite certain He has chosen her to inspire others, to help people not sweat the small stuff and to make us all focus and be thankful for the joy and blessings that we have in our lives.  I don't know about you, but I know that she has caused me to hug my babies a little tighter, kiss my husband a little more and be thankful for the joy that is in my life.

I hope that the next time you are dealt with a difficult situation that you will think of Ashley and will rise up and find the joy that is in this wonderful life that we live.  We all have SO much to be thankful for.  If you know anyone going through a difficult time, share Ashley's story with them........she is such a true inspiration!

The following post was a guest post I did recently over at Lil Blue Boo.  Ashley has had some different guest bloggers over talking about how they find the joy in blogging. Ashley is undergoing cancer treatment.  If you don't know her story, I would encourage you to visit her blog.  She is a true inspiration. 

I seem to have Ashley on my mind daily with all that she is going through during her cancer treatment.  I pray for her and her family quite often and I hope things move in a positive direction.  Ashley is such an incredible example of what it means to "Choose Joy" in ones life.  I could only hope that if I was dealt the same set of cards, that I could carry on and be a positive inspiration like Ashley.  But I honestly don't know ~ she is pretty darn amazing.

I started my blog, The Cottage Home, almost exactly two years ago.  It originally started as a way to share my projects, recipes and ideas with my family and friends.  I began blogging through the encouragement of one of my friends.  She was really into reading blogs and knew that I was into, what I like to call, the domestic life.  When she told me that she would read my blog if I wrote one, I couldn't believe it.  Really?  Someone would actually be interested in my life?  I figured if even one person would read what I had to say, maybe others would too.

I find blogging to give me an identity outside of being a mother.  Yes, mother and wife are my two central roles, but I think it is so important for us to continue to pursue our passions outside of those primary roles.  I also want my children (two girls and a boy) to see me as something outside of their mother. I hope that when they look back at the blog I have created they will not only see their mother, but they will see creativity, passion, drive, a business woman and more.

Being a stay-at-home mom is wonderful, but sometimes it is hard to find other women that have the same passions and interests as myself locally.  Through blogging I have connected with more women who share my love of sewing, cooking, crafting and all things domestic than I could have ever imagined.  I love knowing that there are other women out there that share my same desire to create, my same addiction to fabric, and my same focus on family and the domestic life.

There is an innate desire within me to create.  Whether that may be creating a project for my children, creating a gift for a friend, or creating a comforting meal that I can share with my family.  Through creating I show those around me how I love and care about them.  The true joy comes when I can inspire others through my way of life to create things in their own lives.

My blog is pretty sewing focused and it is trilling to receive an email from a reader where I have inspired them to get back into sewing.  Perhaps they used to sew, but got bored with it and now I have created a project that they are excited about trying.  Or maybe it's someone whose mother sewed while they were growing up and now they want to sew for their own children.  Or maybe a grandmother has seen the girls clothing I create and is inspired to create something for their grandchildren.  Whatever the reason may be, if I can inspire someone to return to their sewing machine, then in that, I find true joy.

How many times have we talked and dreamed about doing something, only to find ourselves doing a whole lot of talking and very little doing?  It's fun to imagine something that "might be" or "could be", but without action, it will just never be.

This last week my mom, Grandma Jane, was selected as one of the 100 finalists (out of 10,000 entries) for the 45th Pillsbury Bake Off Contest with her recipe for "Biscuit Corn Cakes with Goat Cheese and Blackberry-Thyme Sauce". The grand prize is $1 million dollars, yes, you read that correctly, $1 million dollars.  In late March 2012 she will be flown to Orlando, FL to compete with the other 99 finalists where the contest will be televised on Food Network.

Yesterday I was over at my mother-in-laws felting a ton of wool (tutorial on that soon) and she gave me the "Where Women Create" magazine featuring Amy Butler, Nancy Soriano, and Jo Packham (just to name a few). 

I am so inspired by this magazine - reading all of these incredible stories of creative women entrepreneurs and the spaces where they turn their dreams into reality. I've read many issues of this magazine before, but for some reason this issue, in particular, spoke to me.  There were several quotes that I just cannot seem to get out of my head, so here I am blogging about it because I have to get these thoughts out in writing and maybe some of you all can relate.

So I'll start with sharing my favorite quote from the issue and it comes from "Little Women" via the artist Debbie Dusenberry......

Do you ever have those days where you are just feeling in a funk?  It's like from the minute you get up, you just kind of feel blah?  I think we all have those days for sure!  The question is, do you let yourself get caught up in the blah or do you take charge and do something about it?  I say - do something about it!!

I don't know if you have ever noticed the tag-line for my blog here, "Cooking. Sewing. Crafting. And All Things Domestic."  Well, I've been noticing lately that I have done A LOT of cooking, sewing, and crafting, but the "domestic" part of this blog has gone to the way-side.

So in thinking about the focus of The Cottage Home, I have decided to incorporate some more posts addressing family, home and relationships, since that is the core of my life.  I hope you don't mind.  This blog is an ever evolving creative outlet for me and I'm so happy that you have decided to join me for the ride!

I love these three words - hope, dream, believe.  I feel like these words were such a large part of my life growing up.  My parents did a wonderful job encouraging me throughout my childhood to follow my dreams.  They never ever told me something wasn't possible or it wasn't practical (which I heard many of my friends parents say quite often).  They were constantly supporting me and believing in me in everything I did. 

I grew up singing, dancing and acting and it was always my dream to be on Broadway.  Never once was I told that it was not a possibility.   I was accepted to Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (CCM) my Senior year of high school as a musical theatre major.  I attended college in Cincinnati for 3/4 of my Freshman year.  In the middle of my Freshman year, I personally came to the realization that musical theatre was not what I wanted from life.  I realized that I thrived on stability and needed to focus on a career that would bring me that in the future.

But it was not my parents that brought me to this realization, it was my only personal journey that had lead me to this decision.  My parents asked me repeatedly if I was sure of my decision to quit musical theatre.  They knew I had the passion and drive to succeed and just wanted to make sure that I always new I had their support.

I want my two girls to have passion and dreams in life and I want them to know that they can achieve those dreams.  I want them to feel like their potential in life is limitless.  If they really want something, they can go for it and their father and I will be behind them 100%.

So that is why I decided to freezer paper stencil those three words on challenge dress #6 - Hope, Dream, Believe - I want those three words to be in the forefront of my girls minds throughout their entire lives.

I did a freezer paper stencil on the gray fabric with the words "hope, dream, believe" in a bright pink fabric paint.  Click here to see more about freezer paper stenciling.

I did a reverse serged edge on this dress with black thread.

I wanted to do kind of a layered look so I did a long-sleeve black knit, underneath the teal green short sleeves.

• All pictures of the challenge dresses were taken by Megan Abelard Photography.  More of her work can be seen on her website:  http://www.meganabelard.com
• The Sienna Dress Pattern is an incredibly well-written and easy to follow sewing pattern.  I highly recommend it for even the most beginner sewer or anyone who is interested in starting to sew with knits.  Click here to find out more information. 

With every new year, brings new motivation for me to get things accomplished!  So, we have just finished the first month of the new year - how have you done with your new year's goals or resolutions so far?  Well, I have been doing pretty good, but not excellent.

I have been putting a lot of my focus into getting "The Cottage Mama", my etsy shop, up and running.  And yes folks, it is coming soon - I promise!  With so much of my time dedicated to sewing and designing, I have put some of my household responsibilities on the back-burner.  Well, no more! 

I FINALLY printed out my Motivated Moms planner for 2010 (a month late, yes, I know).  I posted about "Motivated Moms" back when I began blogging in October 2009, but I thought I would share it with you again (seeing as though I have quite a few new readers).

Motivated Moms is a wonderful planner that you can purchase and download it straight to your computer.  You can print the whole calendar off for the year or just print it week by week.  The calendar has daily tasks for you to complete so that you can stay organized and on top of your housework and still find time for the other joys in your life.

There are different formats of the planner so you can pick one that suits your lifestyle.  There are also several versions that include daily bible readings if that is something you and your family strive to keep up with daily.  They offer a free two-week menu planning download on their website as well.

If you have found that 2010 has not taken off as smoothly as you had hoped, don't worry because we are only a month into the new year - there is still time!!  I used Motivated Moms in 2009 and highly recommend it for 2010!  Come on Moms - let's get motivated together!!

Click here to check out the different Motivated Moms planners.