Pensive Sky

My mom is one of the most practically creative people I know.  At Christmastime, her craftiness really goes into overdrive.  This year she made probably 10 fleece blankets as gifts for various family members and friends.  She also made giftbaskets loaded with her homemade canned salsa, jam, and hot mustard as well as a variety of other goodies.  Her gift to me this year was some original artwork, and I absolutely love it. She painted three canvases with cherry branches on them - inspired by my livingroom rug.

Here's how it looks hung up in my livingroom:



Thanks, Mom, for the awesome gift!

Meet my old desk:



Old desk and I met several years ago at a flea market put on by students at my University.  I paid about $15 for old desk from a student and it had been living in the basement of my old house, storing crafting supplies up until a few months ago.  A few months ago, I bought a house.  I decided I would like to have old desk become a dressing table/vanity for my bedroom.  But it needed a serious makeover.

Here's how old desk looks today: 



I painted it a deliciously creamy white "Cozy Cottage" by Behr.  I lined it's drawers and desk top with a pretty patterned contact paper in 2 shades of blue.  My husband helped me cut a piece of plastic the size of the desktop to cover the contact paper and protect if from spills and scratches.

I think it looks lovely in my bedroom:



Now the chair just needs a little makeover.....

There is a line to a song by Switchfoot that I ponder often:  "This is your life.  Are you who you want to be?"  I can't honestly answer this question with yes.  Yet I am so blessed in this life.  God has provided me with so much and yet I still find myself longing for something more.  I can't seem to be content with the way things are in the present, I'm always looking ahead for something better.  I love the new year for a chance at a fresh start.  I suppose any day of the year can be a new beginning but this is definitely the case with a new year.  I have a laundry list of resolutions this year.  For the most part I don't like to list them out because I'm so afraid of failure.  Yet there is something about keeping a list of your goals that keeps them fresh in your mind so they don't get lost by the wayside.  This year in twenty ten, I would like to: take a real vacation, cook more, bake bread, get to work on time, read through the Bible, keep my house clean, start a blog, get fit, walk my dog, become a member of a church, play my guitar, prepare for motherhood, make a friend, walk to work, renovate my house, landscape my yard, plant an herb garden, find my faith again...

This is going to be a good year.