That’s right! I became a Mary Kay consultant on June 29. Two of the top questions I’ve been asked this passed week are: “Why?” and “What got you involved with Mary Kay?” Well, to be honest…. I don’t really know why. I went to a Mary Kay Party one Thursday night and was presented with an opportunity to become a Mary Kay consultant. I immediately turned it down with out very much positive thought. How could I sell Mary Kay? I don’t know anything about skin care, I hardly ever wear makeup …. but that’s mainly because I can’t find anything I like and am too embarrassed to ask anyone how to properly apply it…. nor do I have enough cash on the side to spend on such things.
I went home that night and couldn’t get the Mary Kay opportunity out of my mind. My Great Aunt sells or did sell (not sure if she still does) Avon and did well for herself. If she did well with Avon, why couldn’t I do well with Mary Kay? Both are very good, very trusted brands with a good company to back them up; not to mention, the products are very good…… By the following Monday, I was signed up and officially a Mary Kay consultant with my business tools on they way.
I’m not going to lie and say that after one week I knew I made the right choice and realized a dream. One week of being a consultant has taken me on a wild roller coaster of emotions: Anticipation while waiting on my business kit to arrive. Excitement when it finally arrived. Fear that I might not be able to make the sales I would need to actually make anything and not fall into debt. Regret about what I got myself into. Depression while entertaining all the possible negative outcomes. Determination to overcome the obstacles….
My business kit arrived July 3rd and it happened: my first sale! I’m not sure how well this will go, but I thank those that are supporting me while I get started. It’s going to take practice and patience.
If you or anyone you know is interested in Mary Kay or learning more about their products, email me at rwilson0217@marykay.com or message me on facebook. I’d greatly appreciate the support and the possibility of expanding my business! Thank you so much in advance!
This summer seems to be blowing by faster and faster everyday. Just a few weeks ago, I had tiny, little buds growing on my four lily plants and now most have bloomed.
A new addition to my collection bloomed first. It was a gift from my mother-in-law. Unfortunately, I’m not sure what type of Asiatic lily it is, but it is beautiful. By the time I received it, all but one bud had opened. I did, however, get to enjoy the beauty and fun of watching that last one open:
Asiatic Lily – no fragrance
My Black Eye lilies bloomed next and sadly….bloomed pre-maturely. I finally was able to clear a place where they would get adequate sunlight… but it was too late in their growth to move them. All of my lilies did okay with the sudden burst of light except my Black Eye lilies. I had to cut the tops out of two of them because the buds burned and rotted. The third lost two buds, but gave me five, extremely under-developed flowers that were smaller than my palm. The plants I cut the tops out of will survive and bloom next year since there is plenty of foliage left. They’re kinda ugly, but at least they are now healthy. A huge surprise: I’ve noticed and counted 27 bulblets that have sprouted around the three parent plants that will one day become more plants that flower (~3-4 years) but to add to that, one of the two that had their tops cut out due to the rot has produced little bulbils on the actual stalk of the plant. I counted 17 on that one plant. I have almost a full crop just from these three plants. I guess they’re making up for not doing well flowering this year :3
Black Eye Lily – no fragrance
Kinda ugly plants due to the sunburn. The two short ones are the ones I had to cut.
Bubils appeared on one of the two that had their tops cut out due to rot.
Next bloomed my Longwood Lilies. I have a constant debate about which is my favorite, but Longwood is near the top. It’s an Asiatic hybrid crossed with an Easter Lily, I think. I was so glad that only one set of lilies was damaged in the transition. I’m not sure how I would have handled losing all my lilies this year. Even though these are an Asiatic hybrid lily, they are lightly fragranced – and I think that’s due to the Easter Lily cross breeding. They are absolutely stunning. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
Full shot of four of the six blooms open
First bloom
Second bloom
Third bloom
Fourth bloom — and I believe the most beautiful of the 6 flowers.
Fifth bloom
Sixth and final bloom
The remaining, healthy stalks. No new bulbs yet.
Currently blooming is my Anastasia lily. This one, I believe, is my pride and joy of my small collection.. it is the most stunning, has the largest blooms, and the strongest fragrance. You can be four feet away from the plants and still smell their incredible fragrance. I purchased these solely for the large flower and the scent was an added bonus. This being their second year, they bloomed a week later than last year – even though they are supposed to bloom in July. I do not think they got enough sun last year, so they’re incredibly tall and lanky and had to be staked with thicker and thicker stakes as their blooms got larger. There was one point they were so heavy and there was so much rain that the previous stake began to bend under their weight. Three of the five buds have opened (all at once AMAZINGGGGGGGGG ) and one has been cut and brought to my desk at work so not too much longer and they won’t be so heavy. Hopefully they’ll get enough sun the rest of the season to be much stronger next year. There are maybe…six little bulbets in the pot.
First bloom
Second bloom
Third bloom
My hand for scale (no banana). Excuse the dirty finger nails, I was playing in dirt.
Silly plant with blooms bigger than itself. Only two blooms showing here, the third was already cut and put in a vase where I work.
Waiting to bloom next: My Sumatra. The darkest lily in my collection thus far. Dark reddish purple that is more intense when the plant gets the most sun. These, too, are a bit lanky and will need to be staked when the buds get bigger. There were six bulblets that sprouted this year, two from last year that came back… but I lost one of the newer ones this year…not sure what killed it. Probably lack of sun before I moved them in April/May.
Just because I wanted to, I found these little lilies that my dad waked down with a weed eater at his house… they were stubbornly trying to come back. Their next door neighbor has some lilies planted on his side of the fence. As all lilies do, they multiply and some made their way into my parents’ yard. I saved these little stubborn guys. They’re so wittle.
My Sumatra. I have 7 buds.
I have no idea what kind of lily these little ones are.
Aside from my lilies, I have a small collection of cacti….if you can call three types a collection. It’s a start, jeez, come on… I have a 3 year old Aloe Vera, a Kiwi Succulent (not sure what latin name is), and a MoonGlow succulent (not sure what latin name is). I’ve had the kiwi now for three years as well… It was so cute when I bought it but then it turned into these lanky trees haha. All of the off shoots kept rooting and growing downward, out of the pot….so I got a huge pot that was round and flat and buried each stem. They have all taken root and are growing upwards again. It’s so pretty!
The Moonglow was purchased for the sole purpose that it FLOWERS!!! AAAH so cute! X3
Three year old Aloe Vera (with smaller offspring :3 )
Kiwi
Moonglow (IT HAS FLOWERS!)
Next, I have an orchid,….that I’m struggling with – though, against all internet research, I’ve put it outside and it seems to be happier and doing better. I also have a Bromeliad (not pictured) and a beautiful, unique Begonia (not pictured) that has pink and white variegated rosette blooms unlike any I have ever seen. The begonia is not pictured due to the fact there is a bird’s nest with EGGS in it…so I stay away from it. My Bromeliad… I’m unsure of… it seems to be doing well one day, and then droopy the next. Tooky plant. It’s actually my husband’s plant, but we just haven’t figured out how to care for it yet or what its needs are. The Orchid is a typical, mass produced moth orchid – soon to be repotted. It was in bloom when I bought it and seemed fake until the blooms finally wilted. With the lack of growth or change in the plant, it seemed like it was fake yet again until I moved it outside. The leaves have lightened slightly and I’ve started seeing new growth of roots on top. I read online that you should not place them outside under any circumstance…but if a plant that is native OUTSIDE can’t be babied outside…then what good is it? My new pots should be in soon, so I’ll be able to try my hand at repotting this sucker.
My moth orchid that looks healthier and happier since placed outside where it’s humid with lots of natural, indirect light.
Even though it has lily in the name, it’s not a lily: introducing my new Peace Lily. It’s just the most adorable thing. My mother was given a HUGE, I mean HUUUUGE Peace Lily the year my grandmother on my father’s side passed away. I’ve adored it ever since. So, along with my yellow Asiatic lily, my mother-in-law got me a baby Peace Lily of my very own. Since I’ve gotten it, I’ve repotted it (in the pot they bought me for it) and seen a lot of new growth. I have several new flowers, all larger than the ones that it already had the day I got it.
Another new addition is my baby Airplane plant…This plant means a lot to me…just like my Aloe Vera, it came from a much larger, much much older plant that used to be my grandmother’s (mother’s side) before she went into the nursing home. The two plants are probably 20+ years old. So, to have my very own plant that was taken from these is a big deal. I’ve been waiting a long time to get my own Airplane Plant….and finally, here it is! It’s so adorable. There are actually 3 little off-shoots planted in the same pot to soon become one large plant. They are a year old and should produce offspring of their own by next summer.
My very own, baby Peace Lily!
My Airplane plant. Isn’t it the most adorable little thing?
Last, but certainly not least, I’ve tried my hand at rooting new plants from cuttings!
1. I got a cutting from a Devil’s Ivy plant. I love Devil’s ivy, it’s so pretty. The variegated leaves are amazing. I love variegated things. Where I work, there are several people that have their own pot of Devil’s Ivy and they let it grow all around their cubicles. I asked one of them if I could get a cutting from it since my husband wanted some. I chose to start with Devil’s Ivy since ….it’s kinda hard to kill… My mother-in-law gave me a spiral stair case plant stand just…because ha. I have displayed on it my Aifplane Plant and several little marigolds…I thought it would be cute to have my Devil’s Ivy vine up the spiral railings.
2. Even though I was going to try my hand at cutting a Devil’s Ivy first… I couldn’t help it and I cut a bunch off a HUGE Gardenia that is in our trailer park. From the cuttings, I have several little plants, so maybe one will root. I used a rooting hormone with these so we’ll see. These cuttings are to produce three plants: one for my sister, one for my cousin Carli, and one for myself.
3. A co-worker has a Wandering Jew…I expressed interest in one the other day and I came into work to find a cup full of 6 cuttings from her Wandering Jew sitting on my desk. These are not pictured since I just got them, but I will pot them up and they will debut in the next post.
My Gardenia cuttings that I cut and potted on 6/14…. Yeah, they’re just that big.
My plant display showing off my Marigolds and my Devil’s Ivy freshly potted and ready to vine up my spiral stair case.
The rain rain rain came down down down
In rushing, rising riv’lets,
Here we are, halfway through April and into the rainy season………… Although, it has rained so much already that the threat of getting my car stuck in the yard is creeping up mighty fast.
Easter has just passed and with it the chance of freezing until fall/winter. With spring comes the onslaught of sneezing and snotting your brains out from all the pollen in the air and popping allergy pills like candy – but, the rain has kept down the pollen some what. My poor black car has been yellow for weeks until the latest thunder boomer…. It will be yellow again soon.
Watching the trees start turning green and flowering and coming back to life has always been my favorite part of spring. I love all of the seasons, but the transition from fall to winter and from winter to spring are my favorite times. Coming out of the coldest parts of winter and seeing life anew… It’s indescribable… It brings such an amazing feeling – one of joy and of hope. The sun spreading its long missed warmth. Dead, silent trees suddenly having tiny, little bitty buds of green or white or pink or purple. The grass turning from brownish green to a bright brilliant color and growing faster than the groundskeeper can manage. Birds flying to and fro and butterflies fluttering across fields – or in my case, in front of my car while driving…. Just my luck….
My own, personal excitement in spring is watching my lily pots go from lifeless containers of dirt to having greenery everywhere. I can be a little obnoxious showing off pictures of the same pot every day saying, “Look! ANOTHER ONE!”; but, it’s my own little joy. My poor husband takes all of it – but at least he is a good sport. Why shouldn’t I get excited? Plants are amazing and if it makes me happy, then all the more reason for me to be excited – it is the only way to stay sane. I can’t explain the joy and excitement to walking outside in the morning to see if they need water and seeing another tiny, white or green tip of a sprout poking out of the black soil. It’s been raining so much lately, that I haven’t even needed to worry about the pots getting enough water even though I check them every morning.
My lilies are growing at a rather impressive rate and life has been seen in the second pot. On April 2, the first of the Anastasia popped up. I am taking a chance here and saying the first group were the Sumatra, and the second group were the Anastasia. As mentioned before, I was a dummy and didn’t mark the pots before cutting them back for winter. Another epic fail was when I originally planted my bulbs, I messed up and bought the wrong style planter… I got the “Self watering”. But, before I realized my mistake, I was at home digging in dirt. Oh well, I plan to re-pot them this fall….but that just means another spring and summer filled with carefully tipping the pots over to drain the caught water. It’s easy now, as they are short enough to not be bothered and are not blooming. But, the taller the stalks get, the easier it will be to break one…. and when they flower, I run the risk of staining my clothes with pollen…
I have been taking pictures of the growth daily since the first sprout popped up in the Sumatra pot on March 20. It’s amazing the change in just two to three weeks can make.
Sumatra:
Anastasia:
The Sumatra and Anastasia are sprouting for their second year since I bought them. I bought them back in the Fall of 2012. With the hoopla over the wedding, I did not get a chance to add to my collection; but, they seemed to have graced me with clones to make up for it :’D yay! Only sad part about the Anastasia….there are four parent bulbs, but only three have come up… There are actually three small bulblets growing very close together right where the fourth parent bulb was supposed to be…. I’m wondering if I lost the big one…
In addition to the little bulblets popping up in the pot around the big bulbs, I ordered two new types of bulbs: Longwood and Black Eye. Both are Asiatic lilies – where the Sumatra and Anastasia are Oriental Hybrids. To be specific, the Longwood is a pure Asiatic, scented, with orange/yellow petals; Black Eye is an Asiatic Hybrid, unscented, with black petals turning to white on the tips; Sumatra is an Oriental Hybrid, scented, with rich, reddish purple petals; and the Anastasia is an Orienpet Hybrid, scented, with pink petals fading to white on the tips. The two new breeds will start popping up in the next few weeks, hopefully. Since they were planted in spring, they will bloom later than they are supposed to…
This January, I began to feel the love of Valentine’s day a little early. So, I decided to make myself a little Baymax. And, as a request from my sister’s boyfriend, I made him a companion cube. All patterns were found on Ravelry for free.
Baymax took me a few days to make — I do not work consistently, so I can’t give definite hours of how long it took me. I did struggle with the embroidering of the lines.. I can’t seem to make circles :).
Baymax – waiting patiently
I used a felt heart instead of foam
I think his little feet and his heart are the cutest things about him. It took longer to make than it originally should have…. When I started to make the arms, I accidentally chose the wrong shade of white from my box…. So, I had to redo them in the correct shade to match the body. You can see a seam going up the inside of his leg, and if I were to have taken a picture of his back, you would see a nasty seam going up his back and on the back of his head. Only on one of the arms do you not see a seam…. and that was because only AFTER I made all but the last arm did I learn how to do a seamless join while working in the round — well… I learned how to… just gotta practice not losing stitches while using it.
Baymax actually rode as my little “Car Companion” for a while; he sat on my dash as I drove to and from work. It was nice to get into my car and have utter cuteness staring back at me… made the hour drive not so bad – especially after a long, tiresome day.
Next up is the Companion Cube, from Portal – as requested by my sister’s boyfriend. My husband found it very odd that I was making a little cube with pink hearts on it for my sister’s boyfriend close to Valentine’s day. I had to explain it was from a game he liked and he did ask for it lol.
A little overstuffed, but still cute. The pieces were a bit off center and crooked, but I don’t think he cared. I’m not very good at sewing freehand and am too lazy to properly pin things. Oh well.The pattern was strange; instead of making six sides, you make eight corner pieces – starting from the point and working out. Confusing; but, an interesting method. Made it easier to put the pink seams through – even if they are uneven.
Patterns can be found here: Baymax Mini Companion Cube – the site where this pattern is seems to be down at the moment, but I’m sure if you contact the author of the pattern, they will either fix it, or find another way to get you the pattern.
Ravelry is a free site, but requires an account to access their library of patterns.
Friday, March 20, 2015 marked the first day of spring! I cannot even express how excited I am. However, at first I was not as excited as I should have been. Friday morning started off normal… What couldn’t be great about it? It’s Friday! But, as I stared into my lily pots… I became very sad – nothing was happening. No sprouts, no signs of life anywhere. My sister would tell me how every pot she owned had some kind of activity, but mine did not. I was so worried I messed up in Fall and killed my lily bulbs… So, I went to work sad but still kinda hopeful that maybe…. just maybe they would sprout soon.
Wouldn’t you know it, I came home that afternoon to a large, purple tip poking out from under the remainder of last years stalk! I yelled inside the house for my husband to come out saying “IT LIVES!!!! IT LIIIIIVVVEEESSS” channeling my inner Frankenstein.
Saturday morning, I was up a little late, sleeping in and enjoying no work. I ran outside and wouldn’t you know it!!! ANOTHER purple point popping up from the other bulb in the pot. As I stared in admiration at the second new sprout and the crazy growth of the first, I noticed two little bitty white nubs coming up from little bulblets. By Sunday morning, I counted 4 little ones mixed around the two parent bulbs that sprouted first…. Later that evening, after looking back at the pictures from Friday, I noticed there was a bulblet sprouting Friday afternoon…but I had missed it in the excitement.
This morning, Monday, March 23, I have counted 6 little ones mixed around the two first parent bulbs… still nothing out of the third bulb in the pot… Fingers crossed that I’ll see something soon!
I’ve taken a picture every morning since and will post them maybe…once a week, to twice a week … I can’t do the everyday thing. But, about once or twice a week I’ll post several pictures of the bulbs progress.
Friday – March 20:
First sprout of 2015
Saturday – March 21:
Sunday – March 22:
Monday – March 23:
Yes, yes, I know that one of the bulbs is slanted… I messed up when I planted them since it was only my second time to plant bulbs. I will fix them this fall… My other pot of lilies is even worse…….. x.x
So, my lovely cousin convinced me to switch from Blogger to WordPress. I have to admit, there are a lot more features available… However, it will take me a while to take advantage of everything….
I currently have two passions: Crochet and Lilies/Flowers (mostly lilies). I hope to be able to update all my crochet blogs and gardening in one place, while still separating out the two, completely different loves.
My crochet means a lot to me.. I don’t sit and crochet every single night; but, I crochet very often… To me, it’s a way to connect to my grandmother. She taught me at a very young age how to crochet. I didn’t start crocheting heavily until she had a stroke and was admitted into a nursing home. Her ability to crochet has ended…She cannot use her hands anymore due to arthritis, and cannot even remember simple patterns on most days. I crochet what I can and take each piece to her to see her smile and her pride. It warms my heart.
My lilies, on the other hand, are more of a selfish joy. I’ve always adored lilies; their beauty and fragrance are entrancing. It’s always been a dream to have a large, walk-through garden full of every variety of lily I can find… Add in a dash of roses and a seating area surrounded by an arbor covered in vines and honeysuckle. Maybe one day I can make this dream come true, but for now, my miniature garden is portable (all in pots).
Please enjoy my posts, which are mostly just for me to ramble and ogle my pretties. Feel free to follow and/or comment.
And, without further ado, my first Spring 2015 post shall be magically transferred from Blogger to WordPress!
Christmas is just around the corner and what do I decide to do at the last moment? Make a BAZILLION ADORABLE SNOWMEN for all my co-workers, THAT’S what. Man… I really need to stop doing that….. BUT
Here’s what I got so far. I’ll continuously update this one (in as timely a manner as I possibly can) with all the little cuties I make. I think the best part about this project is I haven’t bought any new yarn…. I’m using yarn from my stash and scrap yarn that I had left over from larger projects.
Materials used:
1. Red Heart Super Saver
2. Caron United
3. Fiber fill — I kinda over stuff my plushies because fiberfill is so soft…. I think it makes them hold their shape better… Also, before we get into the utter adorableness, here’s the link to the wonderfully free pattern on Ravelry~
Let the adorableness begin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, this little guy here was made for a local coffee shop called: The Scarlet Cup. The colors were inspired by their name and what I always ordered haah. The scarf is for the scarlet, and the hat is for the cup. Cute huh? The little pom pom represents the espresso mixing in with the steamed milk… you can’t tell in the photo that well…but the hat is a cream color. Yeah, I know…need to work on my french knots….
Terrible lighting on this one… but…. he’s got a dark blue hat with light blue trim and a light blue scarf with dark blue trim. I’ll probably replace this picture later. I think he’s got the best french knots for eyes yet! Getting better!!!!!
First two made…EVAR~
These were actually the first two snowmen I made. Yes…that’s a car door… I’ll post a final picture of them all (sans the one for the coffee shop) when I’m done…
The smaller one on the left, with the olive green hat and scarf…. is actually for a co-worker who is active in the military. I tried to make it look kinda like it’s from M.A.S.H. :’3 I used Caron United yarn (which donates a portion of your purchase to College for their((fallen patriots’)) children … thought it was appropriate.
Wink~
AAaaannd this one is probably one of my absolute favorites. I messed up on the french knot eye and it turned out to look like it was winking. It’s SOOOO adorable that I couldn’t bring myself to take it out and redo it.
ENJOY THE CUTENESS.
More to come~ :’3
And now!!!!!! They’re all finished!!!!
I’ll explain the fox in a moment
OK, so, you’re probably wondering what that little fox is doing over there….. I’ll get to it..
Mah box full of cuteness~
Well, I made 14 little snowmen for my co-workers, one for the coffee shop, and three for a good friend of mine (not pictured). But, two of my co-workers can’t have any of the little goodies I bring, none of hte cookies or doughnuts other co-workers bring.. They have severe food alergies. I don’t like people being left out because I know what that feels like. So! TO make up for it…. I made them something else ^^
LITTLE FOXES AAAHHHH SO CUTE~ So I made them foxes because their last name is Fox. And, wouldn’t you know it..all the people I made snowment for were jealous. So I had to put my foot down and say WHY they only got a snowman. They get to have all the goodies and treats, but these guys don’t — so they can deal with it lol
They’re soooo cute! OMGAH. I love their little tails.
Christmas project is now complete ^^~
Project started: November 30, 2014.
Project finished: December 15, 2014.
