I May Be a Friend of the World

Not that I've committed adultery or anything but I've been thinking of that concept of being a friend of the world for awhile now.  In one of my small group Bible studies, a lady brought up how she thinks that the movement of tolerance is causing us to be less-Godly people.  That definitely struck a nerve with me.  The topic of being a friend of the world versus being invested in God has been circulating through this specific small group and it's caused me to think on that so much in terms of my relationship with God.

"You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God," James 4:4

Well shit, am I an enemy of God because I care about tolerance? I certainly don't think so.  I don't think that being gay is a lifestyle because I know that's just another human being, many of whom are close friends of mine.  It's just another person who has feelings, emotions, cares, struggles, and sacrifices.  Do I think that a culture that surrounds hyper sexuality and the degradation of women is terrible and unGodly?  Definitely.  However, I do think that there needs to be more open discussion and conversation about sex because people have no idea what they're talking about or understanding what birth control does.  I think we need to be encouraging our young men (and young women) to be better people.  Do all of these things make me more of a friend of the world.  It just might.  I certainly don't want to be an enemy to the Lord but after so much praying, I truly know that God doesn't care that I support certain things because I see the good in people.  Now you may disagree with me on that on so many levels, but at this point, I'm not going to struggle with that.  I try to be a good person, follow scripture, and spread love.  That's it.  I talk about my relationship with God on my blog and other social media accounts but I certainly don't mean to shove religion down others' throats.  If people are interested, I love to save a seat in church so that they always feel welcome.

I recently discovered that many Christians don't celebrate Halloween because they relate it to devil worship.  I grew up very Catholic and had never heard of that.  I also come from a culture that celebrates Day of the Dead in the Philippines.  Aspects of Halloween, dressing up, celebrating our ancestors, candy, whatever- I just simply don't equate that to devil worship.  I love Halloween. I think it's so much fun and is completely innocent.  If you don't celebrate it, I have no qualms with that but I will be frank in saying that its origins come from various sources and often times relate to poverty and entertainment. 

I've seen folks choose not to celebrate Christmas with the idea of Santa or even silly things like Elf on the Shelf because they believe it doesn't truly celebrate the meaning of the holiday.  Maybe they're right, however, some of my happiest memories are of Christmases filled with Christmas decorations, presents, and goodwill.  My family was able to dually celebrate with gifts and instill in me the understanding of what it means to share that with others and to understand why we give gifts.  The fact that my parents went out of their way to make sure we got a letter back from Santa on Christmas morning was something that I cherish.  I know that my children will have the character of Santa and Elf on the Shelf and the Christmas mouse or whomever in their lives.

Maybe these things make me more a friend of the world, but I can guarantee you that I will continue to do my best to be a good person and to share that with others.   


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My 7 Deadly Sins

Linking with Shane from Whispering Sweetly and her awesome 7 Deadly Sins Link-Up!  This is absolutely perfect for Halloween, but also a really good time for reflection before the holiday season and especially Thanksgiving.

1. Being proud of my hard work and accomplishments

2. I can't stand being teased on intelligence.  I work really hard academically and intellectually.

3. My little brother, Jimmy.  

4. My husband and how proud he is to be an American and how he served his country. I'm also really proud of him and how hard he is working to obtain his college degree.

5. In my little family and what we've been able to accomplish in our almost three years together.

6.  My squadron and how hard we work.

7. My mom and dad for having such a good marriage.

1. People who have jobs that they love and are not contracted to for four years.

2. Living back home in Wisconsin and having access to Madison- my favorite place ever.

3. Not having student loans (paying them back is really stressful).

4. Having a higher income.

5. Not stressing about money.

6. People who are completely content with what they have.

7. Access to good shopping, Broadway shows, and cultural events.

1. When people get burned at work.

2. When you can't count on someone's word.

3. Payday usually goes straight to bills and student loans.

4. When Ryan and I fight.  The fighting itself just makes me angry.

5. When people make excuses instead of doing what's right.

6. When my job affects my personal life.

7. When the media decides they're experts on the missile career field.

1. Forgetting about chores around the house, which kind of forces Ryan to do it.

2. Sleeping in, because I love sleep.

3. Sometimes not signing up for volunteering opportunities because I want free time.

4. Spending way too much time on social media just because I like the opportunity to not think.

5. Taking the elevator, instead of the stairs at work because I can.

6. Convincing myself not to workout.

7. Anytime after alert, I feel so sluggish.

1. I shop way too much and am way too impulsive with my purchases.

2. Wanting more than I need when it comes to material possessions.

3. I have to be careful about following certain bloggers and beauty vloggers because if they post interesting products, I usually buy it.  I trust their opinions, plus they're usually awesome.

4. Wanting to have a baby so badly that I'm willing to consider forcing others to take my place at work (I really struggle with this and actually have a prayer on Instapray for this).

5. Wanting Ryan to be more romantic.

6. Wanting to switch careers and live in Chicago and be doing something fabulous.

7. Sometimes caring more for personal desires than the collective.

1. Buying cupcakes whenever I please.

2. Treating myself to a new book or crafting project whenever I feel like I earned it.  This happened all of the time when I was at training school.

3. Watching shows for their cute male leads, ahem Arrow's Oliver Queen.

4. Sometimes prioritizing happiness over necessity.

5. Having the time and make-up supplies to have a really good hair and make-up day.

6. I haven't done as much of this, but I used to shop online all of the time.

7. Stocking up on as many books as I possibly can.  I feel like a person's personal collection books says a lot about them.

1.  This usually involves Pinterest, but wishing my husband would perform some cute dating ideas.

2. Although this coordinates with Envy, sometimes when I see my friends' husbands or other bloggers' husbands doing cute things, I wish Ryan would take the initiative.

3.  I miss my college body.  Earlier this year, my hips expanded and it's been a struggle to adjust to a curvier figure.

4. I think my husband is hot. I always point out when I think guys or girls are good looking but my husband will always be my favorite.

5. I am so glad that I don't have to date anymore (this probably doesn't fit in this category but it deals with love, so why not?).

6. I think the human body is amazing.  As athletes or just normal people, it can do amazing things.  I think it's amazing when people are so dedicated and disciplined to achieving beautiful figures.

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Guest Feature: Halloween Card Tutorial with the Silhouette Cameo and Karla =]

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 So excited for this guest feature!  Karla is a wonderful fellow mil-spouse and Sconnie and she makes fantastic cards.  If you're looking to see a great Silhouette Cameo example or learn what the heck that is...read on!

    I was so honored when the lovely Kimberly Erskine asked me to be a guest feature on her blog. I was especially shocked because I myself am not a blogger nor would I label myself even a good writer. However, Kim is a fan of my cards and I love making cards so I didn’t hesitate to say yes. Kim and I met about three or so years back. We both attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison at the time and ironically enough, we were both about to marry men in the Marine Corps. Ever since my husband joined the Marines, I’ve been a huge fan of writing him letters and more recently making him cards. As you may or may not know, as a military couple, you spend A LOT of time apart. Since my husband enlisted in September of 2010 we have spent somewhere between 14-15 months together. You get really good at writing to each other.  I quickly got bored of typical letters and decided to get into card making not only as a hobby to help pass time but also so that I had more fun things to send my husband. Today I am going to show you a card I am making for my husband. He is coming home VERY SOON from a deployment, and I can’t wait to actually give him this card in person!

   I personally use the Silhouette Cameo for all of my paper cutting (and much more) needs. I love the versatility that it gives you. I began my card today by picking some designs from the online store. (If you don’t have a silhouette, you could easily cut most of these shapes out with scissors or other sorts of die cuts and stamps!)

I found this super cute card from Lori Whitlock. However, the balloon design did not fit my theme so I also pulled some pumpkins from her gallery as well.  

After changing the shape to match my theme, I made a cute banner with a variety of fonts and started thinking of colors and sizes for my card. The default size of the card layout I chose was A2, which I am not fond of. I like big ole 5X6.5” cards. 

Once I had all the sizes and layout established I picked out my papers. I used paper from the Lawn Fawn – Into the Woods paper pad set. I am absolutely obsessed with everything Lawn Fawn. If you don’t know anything about their products, stop reading this and go look them up now. They have adorable stamps, sequins, paper pads, and more. I love all of their stuff. 

I just love how this brown paper has a wood grain look to it. I just think it’s the funnest little detail. Anyways, now with my papers established I started cutting everything out with my Silhouette Cameo.

        

This thing is amazing. Look how detailed it can cut! 

Once all my pieces were cut out, I was ready to assemble the card into the layout I designed in the Silhouette Studio program.

   

I personally am a big fan of glue runners to adhere my shapes together. It doesn’t require drying and it’s super easy to use.

Once all my pieces were assembled together on the card front, I realized that it needed some extra pizazz. I’m not one for making “simple” cards. I also am incapable of spending less than an hour on a card I feel like. It’s just in my nature.

Anyways, so I started adhering various Lawn Fawn sequins onto the card with jewel glue (it’s what I have on hand). Overall I am very happy with how the card came together.

I will apologize for my poor iPhone photos and lack of instruction and commentary. As previously stated I am not a regular blogger, but I couldn’t resist sharing this opportunity with you all today! I hope you all like my little card!

-Karla W. 

Isn't Karla the best?  Absolutely love this adorable card and I may or may not be begging Ryan for a Silhouette for my birthday!!

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The 2013 Erskine Pumpkin

 

2013 pumpkin carving has commenced!

      

 Our friend Cory invited a bunch of us over one night that we miraculously all had off 

and we brought over a ton of pumpkins.

      

 With at least five pumpkins up for carving, we had a ton of seeds and while Ryan was busy carving part I of our Erskine pumpkin, I was busy collecting seeds in a glass bowl for roasting.

      

 We decide to go with a haunted house scene, complete with a spooky tree and graveyard!

We had the biggest pumpkin there but I always grew up picking out huge pumpkins.

There's just more canvas :)

    

When I wasn't busy pulling together seeds for roasting, I was enjoying some mulled wine provided by our friend Rhi.  It was pretty darn delicious and maybe I can get her to share the recipe on a future blog post.

   

Our friend Cory has never carved a pumpkin before, so of course, we made him carve one.

Hannah and Anthony rocking their state pumpkin.

The final results from the Erskine 2013 pumpkin. What do you think?
After pumpkin carving wrapped up, we ended up watching the latest edition of the Chucky series.
I was absolutely terrified of him as a child and remember one incident where a cousin of mine tried to get me to watch Child's Play.  Yup, she definitely didn't trick me and I was out of that room faster than you could say unnecessary gore.  It was actually pretty hilarious and weirdly funny but gory.

What are some of your favorite Halloween traditions?

Is it Just Me or Is Halloween Like Crazy Expensive?

I absolutely love decorating and now that we've moved into this awesome house, I have felt the urge to decorate every square inch of it.  Then real life sets in and I walk around Target and see that every Pinterest-worthy item is easily $20 or more.  A couple items later and you've spent $100 and that's only the bathroom. Yikes!

It also certainly doesn't help that the other end of our street is stacked with houses that are decked to the nines with holiday decor.  There's a house that is overwhelmed with huge fake spiders and it looks totally and completely awesome.  Another family built this crate that when you walk by it, it shakes furiously.  The number of Halloween-style cemeteries on the end of my street is impressive.  For awhile there I tried to brainstorm how I could bring the dancing ghosts from Disney's Haunted House ride to my yard because I felt the strong urge to one-up those cemeteries.

 

 

Then I realized that might be impossible.  

 

However this is not the first holiday that Ryan and I have been married and on a limited budget.  Last year, when we lived at Vandenberg AFB, we had a roommate named Brittany.  Brittany and I have been good friends for a long time and definitely decked out the entire house in Halloween decor.  Her birthday is towards the end of the month and we held a Halloween party but everything that could be decorated had something Halloween related with it.

 

Here are my top tips for celebrating Halloween within in a budget:

 

 

 1. Look for sale items and utilize coupons.

Although this seems like a no-brainer, people have a tendency to pick up an item as soon as they think they might need it.  Michael's has Halloween decor on sale starting in late September and usually it's 40% off.  The problem with waiting for Halloween to be over with and looking for post-Halloween sales is that stuff either completely gone or picked over.  Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Joanne's, and Target all have apps and weekly coupons.  You could end up saving 40% with an app coupon and that smartphone is handy to have around.

 

2.  Choose decorations that can be used again.

Last year, Brittany and I invested in probably 20 spiderwebs.  We had the glow-in-the-dark webs and they covered everything from our outside decor to the vaulted ceilings in our rental house.  We threw them all away once Halloween passed and that's something I regret.  Last year, those stretchy spiderwebs were $1-$2, but this year they're $3.  That means by simply buying three spiderwebs for outdoor decor, you're investing $9 into something that will be thrown away.  By choosing quality decorations, you can use them year after year.  

Last year I also visited a Halloween party store...one of my favorite things.  Everything is really cheap, however, it's cheap because it really only lasts for that Halloween.  After Halloween had passed, only two of the five foam tombstones in our front yard made it.  I salvaged those two but even this year, they really can't handle Montana winds.

 

3.  If you can save it, save it.

One of my favorite decorations that we have are the black diecut bats from a Martha Stewart craft kit that I got on sale at Michael's last year.  They're made out of thick cardstock and the sticky tabs that they came with are obviously no longer good this year, but a $3 package of command poster tabs is a great replacement. 

 

4. Little things can work wonders.

Little items, such as Halloween-themed bathroom hand towels, bunting, or a small garland are the little details that add up to so much more.  If I see smaller ceramic pumpkins on sale, I usually buy them because they can go on any surface in your home or can be used for a greater collection.

 

5. Thrift!

If you didn't know, Target donates leftover stock items to local Goodwills.  So definitely stop by and see what you can find.  This year, I found Halloween items from last year that were only a couple bucks.  On that trip I spent $30 at Goodwill but got a ton of decorating items for places like my kitchen and the bathroom. 

6. Compare but be Realistic.

Instagram and Pinterest are great tools to stir your creative pot and get ideas flowing.  However, make sure to be realistic with your budget and time.  The house down the road may be in a better financial situation, or they have been collecting decorations for years.  Don't play "keeping up with the Smith's." It will become exhausting and takes the fun out of decorating.  Also remember that simplicity goes a long way.

What are your tips for Halloween decorating?

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Not-So-Scary Fun with the Neighbors: "You've been BOOed" DIY

Check out my Instagram: kimberlyersk1ne

One of my favorite Halloween traditions and a great way to kick off October is "boo-ing" your neighbors.  It's a simple and fun activity that is a perfect excuse to spread some Halloween cheer throughout the neighborhood.  The past couple of days, neighbors have been going all out on their houses.  My personal favorite is a house that has huge spider scaling the exterior walls- it's pretty neat.  Another corner house has created a full on cemetery that goes around the block.  I've never had the experience of passing out candy to trick-or-treaters on base, and unfortunately that's happening again this year as I got scheduled for alert.  However, I love doing things like this to get into the spirit of the season.

So how does it work?

1. Essentially you pick two families or friends to create goodie bags or baskets for and that's your starting place.   The first family I chose has a one-year old and a brand new baby, both girls.  The second family I chose is a young couple who is around Ryan and my age and they don't have pets or children.  Definitely two different dynamics, and a lot of fun to shop for.

2. Choose a container to present your Halloween finds.  At only $1 at Target, pumpkin pails are a great choice to stash your goodies for your neighbors.  You can also find baskets on sale at Michael's and Hobby Lobby.  Another great place to check out are thrift stores like Goodwill where you can find quality baskets for only a few dollars.

3. Fill her up!  This isn't meant to be an expensive activity but it's easy to get wrapped up in picking up $2-$3 items.  My rule for myself was to choose items under $2, unless it was a bigger item and then I accounted for that.  For both families I shopped at Target and had a few items that I had from previous shopping trips.  A great place to look for items are dollar sections.  Michael's always has great stuff on sale and so does Target's dollar bins.  What I really like about Target, is that their Halloween section features costumes, decorations, and crafts.  I was able to find items in their dollar bins and Halloween section with affordable prices.

For family #1, I chose two crafting sets ($2/each), a set of stickers (99 cents), a Halloween Skittles container ($1), Creepy Gummy Worms ($1), and had a set of baby girl onesies from a gift I forgot to give awhile back (whoops).  For family #2, I chose a cotton candy cone that glows ($1), chocolates in bone shapes ($1), Halloween shot glasses ($1 from the dollar bins at Target), a ghost cookie cutter ($1), Stickers (99 cents) and Halloween Skittles container ($1).

Definitely think out of the box and try to come up with fun and unique ways to gift items.  If you shop at Bath and Body Works frequently, they usually have a buy three, get three deal and if you pick up extras of Halloween scents, consider throwing in a lotion or body wash.  They also have the 5 for $5 deal on antibacterial hand sanitizers.  You can always add additional candy or create little goodie bags ($1 at Target). 
 
4. Create a "you've been boo'd" sign to post.  I bought two large foam ghosts from Michael's (each $1).  I then took puffy paint and wrote "you've been boo'd" on each one.  These will be taped to the front doors of your neighbors house as you leave their baskets behind.  This signals to everyone else that the family has already been "haunted."

Download available below

5. Be sure to include two copies of instructions.  One set for each family.  After they receive their gifts, they'll pick two families who haven't been "boo"ed yet and make baskets for them.  You can download a set of instructions here.  

Is this a tradition with your family and neighborhood?

What is your favorite part about booing your neighbors?

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Adopt-a-Monster Party

I have this knack for coming across ideas that are really meant for parents with small children.  However, the ideas are just too darn cute so I find ways to spin them so that young 20-somethings like myself and their spouses or significant others can also enjoy them.  I was browsing through Etsy when I saw a printable for an Adopt-a-Monster and thought it would be a really cute party theme.  Low-and-behold, I check out Pinterest and there are so many ideas! With so many cute and unique party elements, I definitely think I'm going to make this into this year's Halloween party.  After seeing Jessica's post on GAP's Halloween preview, I knew it was a sign to share my holiday spirit (even if it's months in advance).

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These little guys were a huge inspiration for the idea.  Can you imagine walking into a party and seeing these little guys chilling in a basket? Ah-fricken-dorable!
 These guys are super easy to make and there are tons of variations.

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Now moving onto decor, I really want it to look comical.

Source via LoveNestBoutique on Etsy

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Source via SaucyDragonfly on Flickr

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Source via Echoes of Laughter

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My goal is to have all of the young adults dress up as monsters.  With Halloween being very much oriented towards inappropriate, cheap, or scandalous costumes, I think this might be a nice break from that.  With the challenge of using whatever you own to make your costume, I'm hoping guests will arrive looking completely ridiculous and have a great time. If you'd like more ideas, visit my Pinterest board, Hostess with the Mostest If you liked this post, share it with others! If you feel particularly moved by it, leave a comment because I love feedback and discussion. Social media links are provided below and thanks for reading!