salty

I have been such a neglectful blogger/crafter. Whoops! Life is busy.

Last weekend was great, despite my having a terrible sinus infection. I felt awful, but armed with antibiotics and lots of Robitussin, it was really nice to have my sister-in-law Michelle’s family stay with us for the weekend. My sister was in town as well with her husband and little ones, so it was cool to get to see all of our nephews in one weekend. We got all 3 boys together Saturday afternoon for awhile - that was pretty funny. Bridger really liked Mac, I think - wanted to hug him and pat his head. We had to make sure he wasn’t too rough. At almost 3, he doesn’t realize his own strength. And boy is he almost 3 - his little attitude is hysterical! Of course, that’s not nice of me to say…but he’s just growing up so much, I can’t help it. It’s also easy to think it’s a little cute when I only saw him for a few hours and I have no children.

Mac and Taplin, the baby nephews, are also getting really big. Taplin is smiling all the time, and Mac is making lots of baby talk and pulling up on legs and furniture. He is going to be walking so soon! I can’t believe he’ll be 1 in December…I feel like he was just born yesterday. With Tap only being about 5 months younger than Mac, it’s cool to gauge what stuff he’ll start to do. Right now he’s rolling over.

Can you tell my nephews are my pride and joy? My mom has some pictures up from the weekend on her blog..check them out.

Work is wonderful, and this weekend I’m supposed to head out of town on a bachelorette girls weekend for my girlfriend/college roommate Jessica. Tropical storm Gustav is looking pretty threatening, and they’re saying it is going to speed back up to a fairly strong hurricane before hitting the Gulf Coast on Monday…ugh. I am just hoping for the best for now. I guess we’ll have a better idea of its forecast tomorrow and Friday.

Anyway, tonight I’m trying to take care of laundry for the weekend trip. Nathan’s headed to the beach too with some of his friends…hopefully it works out for everyone.

Just a handful of goodies today. Life is busy!!

Two Color Embroidery Tutorial @ the purl bee
I really like the depth and detail using two colors together looks. This I need to save in case I actually conquer a Halloween embroidery project…orange and black and white all together? Yum.

How to: make beautiful flower fairy lights (from egg cartons) @ CraftyCrafty
Love love love these.

Tutorial: T-shirt to Newborn Gown @ this mama makes stuff
Pretty fantastic, if I had seen this before any of my nephews were born, they probably would have been subject to Foo Fighters, Nirvana, and Dukes of Hazzard gowns from Uncle Nathan and Aunt Shannon.

Basic Instructions for Hand-Stitched Cards @ Make and Takes
I think stitched cards are really pretty. I haven’t ever tried them, but I think I should, as they combine two of my favorite things….paper and embroidery. And Make and Takes has a bunch of card patterns, too.

Favorite Paper Artists @ decor8
Yes please. All of it!

I had some time to do a minor redesign on my Shannon Miller Creative site! I’m pretty happy with it - I like it much better, at least for now. Beware that there are probably still bugs I haven’t tested out yet. Let me know what you think: www.shannonmillercreative.com!

I waited tables for a little European cafe for a few months, a couple years ago. I was a pretty good tipper before then, but a *very* good tipper after then - especially if you’re very friendly or just generally a good server. Having been there, understanding what it’s like to wait on people…if you haven’t done it, I can’t explain it to you. But I can tell you that you have to tip. You just have to. I understood this before waiting tables, and after doing it, I get livid about it.

Unless you live under a rock, you know that servers don’t generally get paid a living wage - they get paid $2.13 pre tax. This is what I got paid. This is federal minimum wage for servers, and although a lot of states have laws requiring a minimum wage above $2.13, Alabama doesn’t.

It’s also generally accepted that 15% should be a bare minimum for restaurant service that is decently good - 18% is more the norm now, but 15% is okay for fair service. (Somehow, a good amount of people I’ve talked to about this issue flatly refuse to believe that fact. It’s like saying you just simply won’t accept that it’s hot outside. It’s hot. It’s a fact. We all know it. If you don’t believe it’s hot outside, you don’t get out much or you’re from the Sahara.)

So your 5-10% tips, or your $2 tips regardless of the tab’s total, don’t cut it. If I was actually tipped the bare minimum for the number of tables I had while serving that would stay for hours, require hand-and-foot service, and spend $150-$200 on lunch, make huge messes with kids…that’s all fine and well, if you are minimally friendly and leave a fair tip. But all that, plus treating me like an imbecile and then leaving less than $5? No. That’s just poor humanity.

I love the blog Waiter Rant, and he recently came out with a book of his stories. He’s hysterical…but besides the funny stories, I think you should go read his “Four Letter Word” blog post about tipping. If you “get” tipping, you’ll appreciate it…and if you don’t, you need to read it with an open mind. And with his closing lines - “Tips is a powerful four letter word that can stir up the strangest passions in the most unlikely places. And don’t forget folks, tips spelled backwards is spit!”

(Okay, I never did anything disgusting or illegal to people’s food, but let’s be honest…most people won’t take your attitude and they will, without a second thought.)

Stunning Geometric/Mandala Cupcakes
GORGEOUS set of colorful geometric cupcakes. I wouldn’t be able to eat them.

Tin Parade
Online vintage party goods shop…LOVE. You can buy in sets or a la carte.

DIY: Photo Triptych @ Casa Sugar
I really like the one they have hanging on the wall…it would be hard to find a triptych that you could readily hang on the wall. I think it’s a neat look. It would be really sweet with small-ish frames.

A garden umbrella takes a stand - in a flower pot @ bLog-oMotives
Funny that I’m linking to a home-and-garden post on a graphic design blog, but whatever. I love love love the idea!

Things to make with ribbon @ How About Orange
Jess at How About Orange recently designed some fabulous ribbon for J Caroline Creative, and was wondering what exactly one *makes* with ribbon. Some great suggestions, here…

Kids’ Mail Kit @ ohdeedoh
I would have LOVED this when I was a kid. Or, you know, now.

Free Twirly Birdy Needlework Pattern @ craftblog.com.au
Super cute little swirly twirly bird, I might need to make this one of my first embroidery pattern endeavors…!

Terrorific Tuesday: Frightfully Funky Feather Wreath @ The Swell Life
I really like this! I’ve always wanted to try making one of these feather wreaths. I have discovered that my new boss and I share the Halloween decorating obsession…I am pumped to decorate the office!

Perfect Paper Daisies @ CraftStylish
These are really sweet, and I keep thinking they’d be fun to make in black and orange for Halloween.

Halloween Roundup 1 and Halloween Roundup 2 @ One Pretty Thing
And to continue the Halloween crafting even more…

“victorian” skirt how to @ loli tutorials
This is WAY FUN and I am seriously considering making one for Halloween! Maybe to be a Martha-inspired raven?

Since I moved out of my old office, I’ve had tons of stuff riding around in the back of my car, including this fantastic tabletop lamp my parents gave me. We also suffered the unfortunate death of our beta fish, General Jackson…so we had a blank spot on our farm table in the kitchen where his tank used to be. I thought I’d do a little switching up and move the lamp we had on our Jack Daniels barrel into the kitchen…

…and put my old office lamp on the barrel.

I’m happy! I think they both suit. The orange glow on the barrel won’t reflect on the tv as much as the other one did, and now we have a cute lamp in the kitchen instead of using the stove range light (much better.)

And that is the extent of what I did around the house today.

My Wordpress Stats tell me what keywords people used in search engines that brought up my blog. I realize most of these are not looking for me (mostly Shannon Miller the gymnast as she’s been in the news lately) but it’s pretty amusing anyhow.

• shannon miller, first husband
• shannon miller 2nd wedding photos
• shannon miller nose
• salty huntsville (looking for me, or just salty things in Huntsville?!)
• is shannon miller still married?
• electronic recycle huntsville al
• papercraft freelance design
• my marriage is a mess (sad)
• grungy pillows
• 1 year down in a marriage + blogs + funn (glad I could be of service)
• shannon miller beer (what?)
• ups solutions shannon miller (maybe someone thinks I work at UPS)
• huntsville terrarium shop (if there is one, I want to know about it)

Sorry for the lateness! It has been a busy week. First of all, as most of you know, I landed my dream job and started work there on Monday. It’s been a fantastic week - better than I even expected! I can’t wait to go back on Monday…haven’t felt that way about work in a long time. My schedule is much more 8-5 than before (I was used to 7-3, lunch at my desk) which I am actually really liking. The only trouble is adjusting to the shift in my day! I used to have hours and hours after work to do whatever I wanted - it doesn’t feel that way anymore. Granted, we have had lots of things we had to do this week in the evenings, but I think I’ll get used to it. One thing I love is the lack of traffic in the mornings. I used to be heading out I565 West every morning towards Research Park with everyone else - now, I head over Governor’s Drive, out of the city…unlike everyone else. It’s pretty fantastic to just whiz by the stacks of cars pouring into the Medical District.

Anyway, I have a few (three) links for you this week, but not too much due to the busy week - my apologies! Hopefully I’ll be more on track with, you know, life this week.

Recycled Mirror @ Bean Sprouts
Love love love this - it’s mosaicked with cut-up soda cans. You would think you could only mosaic with glass bits…apparently not so.

Tutorial Tuesday: Tissue Paper Carnations @ Indie Fixx
My sister and I used to make tissue paper carnations with bamboo skewers when we were little, but they were seriously not this cute! I keep thinking they’ll be fantastic in black for Halloween…

Zebra Cake @ Baking Bites
I thought I would try to make this for my Stampin’ Up party that I’m hosting tomorrow, but I’m lazy and will not, in fact, have any for my guests. Sorry guys…maybe next time! (I do promise some yummy snacks in its place.)

Reusing Milk Crates @ Apartment Therapy
Love it or hate it, I don’t know. I’m all about reusing/repurposing, but this screams college to me!

Q+A :: Top Reasons for Church Attendance @ Church Relevance
“The statistics speak for themselves. Overall, doctrine, the pastor and his preaching, and the friendliness and fellowship of the congregation are the most influential qualities.”

Sycamore Street Press
Gorgeous letterpress stationary and art in this Etsy shop - I especially love the alphabet posters.

Rainbow of Books Flickr Pool
I think I posted once awhile ago to a bookcase that had been organized by color…here is a whole flickr pool of photos from others who have done the same. I love the way it looks, but I would never be able to find anything! I especially like how it looks in some of the kids’ rooms, though.

The Arrow of Time (Goldberg Family Pictures)
“On June 17th, every year, the family goes through a private ritual: we photograph ourselves to stop, for a fleeting moment, the arrow of time passing by.”

hollyhawk Etsy Shop
I love love love these handmade leather cuffs and wristlets and earrings.

Party Garland @ the purl bee
Super cute fabric party garland…I would totally make this for Christmas!

Need a New Family Tradition? Try Restaurant Night. @ simply stated
It’s possible that I would make Nathan do this, even though we have no children and only need to entertain ourselves. When you’re poor like us you sometimes have to pretend you’re at a restaurant instead of eating out.

Summer Sewing ~ Picnic Blanket with Rock Pockets @ Sew, Mama, Sew!
I keep hoarding ideas like this to use big swatches of fabric that I love. This looks easy enough maybe even I could do it…!

As proof that I spend a lot of time reading blogs, I put a list of them on the right side of my blog that I subscribe to in my reader. The sad thing is, I left quite a few off of that list.

Anyway, should provide hours of entertainment should you get bored. Surely there are at least a few that get your interest!