Sophie Says......

This little Sophie Says insert is a little different than the others because this one made me realize that I should probably go on a diet soon. Everyone knows that kids do not have a filter, they just say whatever comes to mind. So here is my sweet conversation with my Sophie monkey. First of all let me say that we were hugging and having a very tender moment when she pulled her head back from my belly and looked right at it and said:

"Whoa, look at you."

Then she put her hands on my stomach and pushed in and said:

"Daddy, your belly is puffy."

Puffy? Puffy? Well I never.......

Guess I will have to stop posting all of my favorite treats and instead talk about different vegetables I like to eat. Just doesn't seem as exciting. However, my dear friend Linda Hansen is doing a bit of weight loss of her own right now and is a great example to me. So I guess I better try to step it up a little bit and get rid of some of this "puff".

So today I am sending love out to all my "puffy" friends.

Your friend,

Jaron

A new Favorite treat

The girls here at the office know the BEST places around to get a good treat. While I will never give up my Paradise Bakery chocolate chip cookies, I have found a close second. It is this great store called Nothing Bundt Cakes. Per the name, they specialize in bundt cakes that I swear on all I own, literally melt in your mouth. Here is a pic:This pic does not do it justice. But the taste does! I swear I have gained about ten pounds since starting my awesome new job at Uppercase Living. Better hit the gym on the way home today. I'll take the route that takes me right past this bakery. Hope they are open!!!

Sophie Says.....

Yesterday we were sitting in church and Sophie was itching her arm like crazy down on the inside of her arm by her elbow. She gets a bit of eczema there and it itches terribly when she does. I immediately pulled out some lotion from our bag and put it on my little one's arm. She said it still itched so I had her bend her arm and pull it up to her chest so the inside of the arm was shut (does that even make sense, good grief?)

In a very loud voice Sophie says:

"Hey Dad, Look! My arm looks just like a bum."

Then she starts pinching her arm like a grandma would pinch a grandchilds cheek and says loudly:

"Oh you cute little bum, you are just a cutie pie."

How can she not know that she is so dang funny????

My First Uppercase Living Project

I have official finished my first Uppercase Living project and I am happy to announce that it took me about 3 minutes to complete. Honest Pete, it really only took that long. I wanted to put some awesome welcome vinyl on the front door of our home. So here is a picture of my first project:

I am absolutely a color match freak when it comes to decorating in our house. So imagine how happy I was that with Uppercase Living vinyl I can customize not just the fonts, but also the COLOR that I needed from one of 34 colors. Crazy! I chose the color Warm Stone because I wanted it to match perfectly to the colored stucco around the door frame. Putting it on was a breeze because this vinyl had line guides on all sides to help me line it up straight and centered- hence why it took me all of three minutes to complete this. Next I think I will try their customizable vinyl and put "except solicitors" under the welcome!!! Take that cable guy! :)

Can't wait to enjoy the weekend with the family....

Your Friend,

Jaron

The new job

Well I have been at the new job now for almost a week and finally I have time in my life to post about it. I am working for an awesome company called Uppercase Living. Some of you are probably familiar with them. They are all about vinyl decorative lettering and images that help you personalize your home. I am new so my explanation probably leaves you with more questions than I can answer. So here is their website where you can read all about them. http://www.uppercaseliving.com/ I really like this company so far. They have treated me very well since arriving here. The company ia run by really great people. My team has taken me in and immediately made me feel like I was part of them. So today I brought in my favorite treat for them.....Beyond Glaze Doughnuts. Here is a pic before we devoured the box:

I only share these for the favorite people in my life, so that tells you how much I love this new company. I can't wait to show you projects I am creating with their products. I feel very blessed to be with this company and can't wait to present at their events. And for my Stampin' Up! friends out there, we CAN still remain friends. I will still be posting cards and projects that I work on with SU products and still want to hear about and celebrate your successes! And hopefully I can attend an event here and there as a guest so that I can see you all sometime as well.

Your friend,

Jaron

NEW JOB (insert a sigh of relief here)

I am happy to report that the "Find a Job for Jaron" campaign has officially been suspended. I have accepted a new job at a GREAT company. Many of you have been asking how the job search was going and I wanted to share this information right away with you. I had my first day of official employment and could not be happier about the company I have chosen to work with. In a couple of days I will tell you more about it in great detail!!! But I wanted to express a few things right now:

1. I am indeed grateful to all of you, my friends and family, that have sent good wishes, thoughts, and prayers my way. I do believe that you all played a role in the outcome.
2. This new job does not meant that we cannot stay connected. :) yea! I look forward to many years of us sharing creativity, memories, stories, and positivity together.
3. I am so HAPPY with this decision. As you know, when something feels right, it's because it IS right.

Can't wait to tell you all much more in my very next post (sorry to dangle a carrot but I need a couple of days to put my thoughts together, and of course to learn more about this new company). Plus tonight I just wanted to say thanks to all of you my dear friends.

Your friend,

Jaron

An Update and a Creative Color Challenge

Well I did not fall into a hole somewhere, just have been enjoying working in my yard and being with the family. Have been doing lots of interviewing at some really great, and a few not so great, companies! You always have to weed out a few right? But its funny and makes me laugh all the way back home after a really bad interview. Supposed to hear back from my top picks by the end of next week. SO EXCITED-Then I will be able to give a good update. Hopefully packed with fantastic news. Hope everyone is doing well.

I decided to do another color challenge because I loved seing all of the amazing ideas from the last time. So let's do it again. This color combo comes right from the cover of Malorie's Journal (and no I did not read inside- just looking at the outside- but who is this kid Cooper whose name is in hearts! kidding.) So hear it is:

Pretty in Pink
Rose Red
Regal Rose
Chocolate Chip
Kiwi Kiss

I like throwing in a color there that you may not normally put together. Now go enjoy creating someting. Like last time- post it on your own blog and then reply here with the link. That way we can all copy, I mean admire your work. Ha
Feeling very blessed today-Your friend,
Jaron

The Interview and our friend Jenn

Well the interview I had last week went really well. I was very impressed by the company and very impressed by their employees that I was able to meet. Sometimes it is sad to close a chapter in your life, but as so many of you said, it is also a great time to look forward to what else is in store for you- and that is exactly the attitude I am trying to take here.

Today started out on a low note, finding out this morning that our family friend and neighbor, Jenn, left her cancer-ridden body behind and went back home to have peace and to dance freely without pain. She was a trooper, a shining example of faith, compassion, determination, a fighter, an amazing mother, wife and daughter, and truly one of the greatest spirits in a person I have ever met in my life. She will truly be missed by all of our neighbors, but because we knew her and saw her example, we will all strive to live a little better each day.

I worked my landscaping business today for a few hours and then just as I was leaving I got a call for a second interview to the place I interviewed last week. To say I was ecstatic would be putting it lightly! I was over the moon. Can't wait to meet with them again. I can already tell this next chapter in my life is going to be a GREAT one, whatever it is.

Ending today with a wrestling match with my little chickens was the perfect ending of my day. We tend to get a bit out of hand- who are we kidding- I tend to get a bit out of hand. I am usually the one breaking things and trying all sorts of sofa gymnastics. I love it and wouldn't trade it for the world.

Your friend,

Jaron

Good bye lay-off beard

After I got laid off I decided to not shave so often- I was "giving my face a little vacation as well". But really, I just didn't see the point in shaving every single day just to work in the yard,the house, and to pick up the school carpool!!! You always think "Who is going to see me anyway". That is until you go out for a quick errand and run into a girl you dated in high school who then goes home thinking, "boy am I glad we broke up back then. Doesn't look like he has gone anywhere with his life! But last week I decided to go on a job interview/shaving strike. I was not going to shave again until I got a job interview. Sadly, (but not for Teresa), tomorrow morning I will be saying good-bye to the lay-off beard as I have my first job interview. Sad to see it go, but glad to be going in for a job interview. Can't wait to tell you all about it tomorrow! I am actually a bit sad about it because I loved working at Stampin' Up! more than any job I have ever had (sorry Dad, but it even beats that year you made me help you clean out the dryer vent- what a blast that was!) Wish me luck.

Pic of the "Lay-off Beard"

P.S. If you have a story about a time you ran into someone from your past looking, well, not your best, please add it here so we can all have a good laugh- at your expense! :)

Color Combination Creative Challenge #1

I want to start something new here, for my crafting friends around the globe, that I have not done on my blog before. I want to start posting a "Jaron Winder's favorite creative color cobination" and then have everyone create projects using those colors. I get so much inspiration when I see all of the amazing things people create, and to be honest I often times copy their ideas on some of my own projects. That's right I said it. I copy your awesome inspiration amd I am not ashamed of it!

Today I was at Ace Hardware and saw a color combination that I really liked. It was on a label of a new hose I bought- see inspiration really is everywhere if you look. So here is the color combination (in Stampin' Up! colors): Old Olive, Taken with Teal, and Soft Sky. I just tried it at home and I LOVE it. It just looks fresh. Now I want you all to try your hand at creating something with it. When you finish, post it on your blog and then respond to this entry so that we can all link up and take a look at it. Everyone wins, if they try. However, there are no awards yet, since well.... I am unemployed and all :) Those will have to come later!!!

Can't wait to see what you come up with!!!!!!

Your friend,

Jaron