Speaking the Truth

Before you continue reading this, there are two facts you should be aware of:

• First, I started, and continue, to write this blog because it expresses my feelings at the moment. It's another way for me to get everything off my chest so I don't talk the ear off my family and friends about the same things a hundred times. I have feelings. I like to write. This works for me.
• Second, this blog isn't meant to "call anyone out". It's how I feel about people in general. It's what I believe and what's on my mind right now.

So, with that said, if you are easily offended or if you don't want to hear my opinions, stop reading now. This blog is what I believe to be true. Plain and simple.

There are two quotes that I live my life by. To me they explain everything. And I fully believe them to be true based on my past experiences. The first is, "Everything happens for a reason". And the second is, "People don't change". The latter of the two is what is really "bothering" me lately.

I firmly believe, and have seen my whole life, the fact that people don't change. If you're an addict, you are always an addict. If you are a cheater, you are always a cheater. If you're a selfish person, you are always going to be selfish. I have seen these personalities all my life and the story is always the same....

My father is an addict. He's been one for his whole life. It runs in his family. He started drinking at a young age. I remember him smashing his fist into walls in drunken rages went I was little. I remember seeing the empty beer cans hidden downstairs as a teenager when he was supposed to be sober. I remember having my husband search for him at all hours of the night because he was drunk and driving and no one knew where he was. He had an accident at work and started using painkillers. Always blaming the accident, he somehow found a doctor who would prescribe him meds whenever he wanted. There was never confirmed proof of it by my eyes, but I know he took to street drugs as well. He let one addiction become another and finally became someone who I no longer knew and someone who my children have no idea of. He let his addiction win. That's not why I don't talk to him... He's hurt me in ways that I'm not ready to forgive yet. And honestly, he makes me uncomfortable.

He's supposedly sober now. But I feel that even if he's sober, he still is and always will be an addict. It's part of who he is. It's part of his personality. 

Now I am not saying that people who are addicts can't change their ways. It is possible to become fully sober. You can be a recovering alcoholic or drug addict or whatever. But, you will always be an addict. That temptation is always there. It's always going to be a part of you. And often, there is always a replacement for addiction. Maybe it's food or lotto tickets or cigarettes. But, either way, it's an addiction. Something to drown your troubles in and take the edge off. Just because you are a reformed whatever doesn't mean that you have changed. You are still that addict.

The same goes for people who are selfish. Just because you have a baby or get married or get out of high school doesn't mean that you are going to stop being selfish. You will always be selfish. Same goes for people who are cheaters. They just cheat in different ways. Or they sink back into the starting of their old habits and pull themselves out of it before it gets too far. And liars will always be liars. It's a coping mechanism. Even if it's a white lie, it's still a lie. And those people who are shitty parents/siblings/relatives/brothers/sisters/ect, will always be shitty parents. Just because you post an, "I'm so proud of my daughter" picture or "Keep this picture going if you love your father with all your heart" on Facebook doesn't mean that we are fooled. There are people out there who know the real you and who know what you do off of social media. You are still a shitty person despite the fact that posted a beautiful, touching quote or picture. 

Plain and simple, people don't change. Your personality is still there. No one can change that no matter how hard they try. It's the reason why relationships based on, "Oh, he'll change once we get engaged," or "She'll be different once we have a baby," or "He just needs to get settled into his job and then he will be different" don't work. They are who they are and you need to accept them for their faults or get out. 

Now, at the ripe old age of twenty-seven, I honestly feel like I know exactly what I want out of life and who I want to tolerate in my life. I have no use for high school drama that some people thrive on their entire lives. I have no want to play nice with people on social media (that is why my friends list is so short...I don't want to be friends on Facebook if we haven't talked in ten years or if we have "bad blood" between us). I love my family more than life itself. I would do anything for my children. I want to be a teacher someday. I want to have a career and be okay with my financial situation. I want to get over my stupid fear of driving so I can be an adult and be there for my kids. These are all goals that I work on each and every day. These are all things that I try live my life by.

Knowing what I want, and who I want, in life makes it unbelievably hard to "play nice". I have gotten to the point that I no longer want to be the "nice, goody-two-shoes". I don't want to be a doormat anymore. I'm not saying that I let people walk all over me, but I also let people take advantage of my niceness. And I honestly see no point in being a good person to those who treat me like crap. I just want to tell everyone how I feel and then be like, "To hell with you,". I can't be around people who bring me down or people who are self-absorbed or people who take advantage of the fact that I will do anything for them. I am literally sick of it. It's frustrating.

But, here's the thing. People don't change. I believe that about myself as well. I'm not just going to turn into a raging bitch who cuts everyone out of her life. I'm too nice. I will always be the girl who gives someone her last penny. I will always be the person who plays nice. I will always be the person to offer advice even if the person I'm giving advice to never, ever takes it. It's who I am. I have been this way since I was a little girl and I will continue to be this way until I am a ninety year old woman. But, this doesn't mean that I am always nice or always will be. I can call people out and tell them where to go every once in a while. But, deep down I am who I am. I am the "nice" girl.

And even though I have accepted the fact that people don't change and I don't change, it still bothers me so much. It makes me so sad and frustrated to see those I love not reciprocating in the same way. It feels like no matter how nice I am or how hard I try, there are certain people who will never return the favor. They will forever take advantage. They will always be selfish. They will always think that they are right and I am not. It's disheartening. I wish things were different. I wish I could just tell them off and then they would change and be equal in the relationship.

But none of that is going to happen. I can talk my head off time and time again (and I have) and nothing will change. Because people don't change.

Lately I Feel Crafty...

*Just want to make a small note before I do my thing! Any products or stores mentioned in this post are just stores and products I like. They have in no way paid me to write this post, nor asked that I do so. Also, this page is just what I did and any pictures or anything that I show or write is my own work. I did not copyright anyone and any coincidences are just that; coincidental.*

Ok, now that I have my bases covered, let's get started!

Lately I have a small problem... I CANNOT STOP pinning pins from Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/)! I must have created about three boards in the past few days and pinned about a thousand pins. I have sent pins. I have looked at pins. I have shared pins on Facebook. It's just bananas! Seriously... I went on a pinning spree! If you don't have Pinterest, go sign up! And if you do, then you understand my addiction.

Well, like my book blog that I posted a while ago, I decided to turn my obsession into something positive. I am going to share my craftiness with you lovely people (if anyone reads this blog) and possibly create a pin of my very own on Pinterest! I hope you enjoy it and maybe find some inspiration!

This upcoming week is Teacher Appreciation Week at my daughter's school. The school is throwing a bunch of little events for the teachers, assistants, staff, ect... all week long. I volunteered to bake some yummy chocolate chip cookies for the staff room and they are also hosting a teacher's breakfast on Monday. But, I like to show Amelia's favorite teachers a little extra love. So, I let her pick the teachers that she wanted to give small gifts to and then we made some homemade cards. I love crafting so we got creative and used stickers, construction paper, pom-poms, and sequins to create personalized cards. My daughter did most of it herself and wrote some of the things she liked about each teacher on their card. We got $15 gift cards to Target and then placed each gift card and homemade card in cute gift bag and Voila!, we had a cute, inexpensive gift. But, I wanted to take it one step further for the teacher who is there for her throughout the day; her kindergarten teacher.

I went on Pinterest to gather a few ideas and saw a pin about getting a reusable cup, filling it with tea packets and making a sign that says, "You are a "tea"rific teacher!". I thought that was adorable and as it so happens, I had a cute mason jar at home that doubled as a cup with a straw. Perfect! I decided to get to work...

For this project, my supply list included:

1 mason jar cup (I obtained mine in a four pack from Zulily, which is another GREAT website btw)
Crystal Light "On the Go" drink packets (I got a great deal at Target... Buy three boxes, get one free and each box contained 10 packets)

• I used Natural Pink Lemonade, Peach Mango Green Tea, Natural Lemon Iced Tea, and Raspberry Lemonade

1 Target gift card (mine was $15...just a little something extra)

1 piece of heavy-duty scrapbooking paper (Which can be obtained at any craft store, such as A.C. Moore or JoAnn Fabrics, in packs or as single sheets of paper)

1 set of alphabet letter stickers (Which can also be purchased at any craft store)

1 pair of scissors

A length of string in any color (I used white...just what I had lying around the house)

1 hole punch (if available)

Scotch tape or glue (depending on preference)

I set up all my supplies on the dining room table and got to work.... Please just use caution when attempting this craft. We are using scissors and hole punches so be careful!

1. First, I got my heavy duty scrapbooking paper (I chose green) and started applying my alphabet letters (silver because I thought it would stand out nicely on the green). I started at the top left hand corner as close to the edge as I could so I wouldn't have to make as many cuts later on. Plus, it would give me straighter edges.
2. I placed "You are a" on the top line and then switched to the second line. This is all a matter of preference. I had a small mason jar and didn't want the sign to be too large, so I put only a few words on each line. Just be creative and think about how you want the final product to come out.
3. Next came the play on words... the "tea"-rific part (instead of terrific). Since the Crystal Light packages came with cute little tea leaf pictures on the box that said "tea" I figured that would be cute to put on the sign. I opened up one of my Crystal Light boxes, emptied out the tea packets and grabbed my scissors. I cut just the "tea" part out.
4. To place the "tea" on the sign, I just used some scotch tape. I cut off a small piece from the roll of tape and taped the "tea" on the second line of the sign. Now, you can use glue so you don't see the tape, but that is up to you. I thought that using scotch tape would be one, fairly transparent, and two, it wouldn't need to dry like the glue would.
5. Once the word was placed, I continued with my alphabet stickers. I placed the "rific" part next to the "tea" and started on a third line. The only thing I had left was teacher. Now I had a completed sign that read, "You are a tearific teacher".
6. Finished with that part of the gift, I cut around the wording with my scissors until I had the size sign I wanted. Again, think about your final project and cut accordingly.
7. Now, here is the part where you use the hole punch. I actually didn't have one so I improvised. If you have a hole punch, I would punch one single hole in the middle of the sign on the very top. If you don't have a hole punch, you can improvise like me. I took my scissors, opened them all the way up, and placed one blade, point side down, where I wanted the hole. Then I turned the scissors in a circle until I saw that I had a decent sized hole.
8. Once your hole is punched, or made, use the scissors to cut the length of string you want. I took the string and measured against the rim of the mason jar to judge how far I wanted the sign to hang down. Again, this part depends on how large of a jar or glass you are using. It's up to you!
9. After the string is cut, thread one end of the string through the hole you made. Keep threading through the hole until you have an even length of string on both sides of the sign. Put the sign aside. It should look something like this:
   
10. Open up all your Crystal Light packages and decide how much tea your cup or mason jar can hold. Again, this part is up to you. I chose four of each kind just to give variety.
11. Then take your scissors and cut out the directions from the side of the Crystal Light package. This way, whoever you are giving the gift to knows how to use what you are giving them! : ) Another idea is to cut out the nutrition facts. 
12. Once you selected your teas and cut out the directions for the tea, open up your mason jar and start adding whatever you want to include in the gift. 
13. I first added the Target gift card since it was kind of "bulky". Then I placed the directions in the jar and added all my teas. 
14. Before you close the mason jar, grab your sign and loop the string around the top of the jar. Double knot the ends together so it hangs the way you want it to on the jar.
15. Place the lid on the jar and seal tight.
16. Now you have a beautiful gift for a teacher! Here's my finished product:

What you do next is up to you! You can leave the gift as is and hand it to the teacher that way. Or you can put it in a nice gift bag wrapped up in tissue paper. That's what I opted for. Since the mason jar is glass, and I have a kindergartener, I thought the bag would be a safer option!

The great part about this gift is that it doesn't have to be just for teachers! It can be for friends, family members, co-workers, grab-bag gifts! Whatever you want it to be! Just change the "teacher" part and you are all set! You can even write out the word terrific and use the "tea" cutout for the "teacher" part since it begins with the same letters. Instead of iced tea packets, you can use teabags. The possibilities are endless! Be creative!

I hope this gave you some ideas for the future. It's a relatively inexpensive gift that shows that you care And make sure you check out Pinterest! Or tell me to stop... Maybe I need an intervention?!