Relevant Top Ten - for My Roomies

When I heard that Brooke was hosting a link up of "Top 10 Things My Relevant Roomie(s) Should Know About Me," I knew I had to whip one of these babies up. I will be blessed with three roommates, as long as one of them doesn't give birth before hand. So, Aurie, Alle, and Stephanie (go put your feet up!), this is for you! *Edited before I even hit publish - Stephanie had her baby boy! Yay!

1. The later it gets, the sillier I get.

2. I snore if I sleep on my back. Funny sounding puffy snores. Please do not let me sleep on my back.

3. I am a night owl. I LOVE staying up late.

4. I sleep with a lot of pillows.

5. I love, love, love to sing harmony. So, if singing breaks out (Alle!) I will make a part up as I go along.

6. I LOVE to talk if I know you. If I don't know you, I will assume you don't want to talk to me until someone breaks the ice. I think that's been discussed as being an introverted extrovert. :)

7. I'm fairly easy-going when it comes to making decisions. "Where do you want to eat?" I don't care. "When do you want to get up?" I don't care. "What do you want to do?" I don't care. I mean, if I REALLY do or do not want to do something, I'll let you know. But by the time we get there, I will just be so happy to be there, I really won't care about the incidentals.

8. I drink Diet Coke like water. Which is why I can't remember anything. Wait...what was I saying?

9. My favorite fall snacky snack is mixing candy corn with peanuts. MMMmm.....

10. I can't wait to meet you for realz.

For everyone else going to Relevant, You can find me on Twitter @Butterfly_Genes and on Facebook, too! I still need just a little bit more help with getting to Relevant (for unimportant stuff like, you know, eating. But only on Wednesday. hee), so it's not too late to purchase a Relevant 11 Keychain!

Going to Relevant 2011

If you're coming over from Denise in Bloom, Welcome! And if you're not, Welcome to you, too! : )

Denise is hosting a sort of Relevant 2011 meet and greet today so I wanted to join in. I can't tell you how excited I am to be attending Relevant again this year. Last year was so amazing I prayed I would be able to go to this year's conference.

I won't go into why I call myself "Heathahlee" because you can read that here, but I'll tell you a little about myself, then I want to tell you about something God has done for me already regarding the conference. A lot of what is in this post is in an earlier post I did for the M.O.B. Society blog hop, so stop me if you've heard this before. : )

My blog is about my life...the good, the bad, and the crafty! And I throw a homeschool post in the mix every once in a while. I talk about my husband,(He ROCKS! We've been married 16 years. He's my best friend.)

my Kiddo,
(He is our only kiddo, much to his dismay most of the time. He feels like we have deprived him by not having any siblings for him, but I try to tell him that we really didn't have much to do about that and that evidently the Lord knew he was enough for us to handle. Heh. He rolls his eyes. He's eleven...'nuff said.)

my dog, (Isn't he cute? And SPOILED!)

my ministry, (I'm the alto section leader of our choir and direct every other time we sing. I'm also on the Praise Team. I adore what I get to do each week, leading our church to worship the Savior!)

my tassels,

(You can see more of them at my Etsy shop, Butterfly Genes. I lurve making, giving, and selling these pretty things for your home.)

...among other things like recipes, reading the Bible in 90 days (yes it can be done!), and other random stuff.

Back to what I said earlier about what God has done for me regarding Relevant. I needed a sponsor. I begged God for a sponsor. I wrote letters. I sent emails. I made phone calls. Nothin'. Nada. Zilch. Not one "yes." I wondered if I was doing something wrong since so many other people were successfully getting a sponsor.

I already had my ticket to the conference, but needed the sponsorship for everything else. So, I decided I needed to do something on my own to try to get the money. I started thinking about my tassels and how I could make them more marketable and came up with the idea of keychain tassels.

Oh. My. Goodness. I absolutely adore them. I was terrified at the idea of doing something I had never tried and had never seen done before, and I put it off for a long time. I finally realized I HAD to do something, and came up with this...
Squeeeeeee! Do you see what the ribbon in front says? Relevant '11! So, I put it out there and tweeted and posted (all this since Thursday of last week) and so far I have about 10 orders.

So, I was still nervous about getting all the money together to buy my plane ticket, like, NOW, when all of a sudden I got a phone call out of the blue from someone who is close to me, but I haven't spoken with in a while. She asked me how much I needed for Relevant and I told her. She said, "Well, I've got $300 or $400 I'll give you."

Me: "WHAT?????? Why would you do that?"

Her: "It was either that or get Botox and I figured it would be better spent giving it to you."

HA! She told me the Lord had put it on her heart to do this. Who am I to argue? :)

So, my plane ticket is paid for. Well, technically not yet, but it will be. God is so good. My husband told me he felt like God wanted me to step out in faith with these tassels and do the work, and THEN He'd provide.

I still need money for my room and other expenses associated with the trip, so I still need to sell quite a few more, but what a burden has been lifted! If you'd like one, click any of the links associated with the order post either in this post or at the top of my sidebar. You can also order them without the Relevant ribbon.

I look forward to meeting you at Relevant 2011 in October!

Keychain Tassels Available!

Edited to add: I have made a special post just to order the keychain tassels. If you would like to order, please go to this post. Thank you!

I am so stinkin' excited and nervous and scared and giddy all at the same time. I hope I don't wreck the internet doing this. Please don't kill me if I do!

I told you on Tuesday that I was making keychain or purse tassels to be able to buy my plane ticket to the Relevant Conference, but I wasn't quite ready with the other designs. Well, they are ready (for the most part...I still have a brown one I'm toying with but he's not wanting to cooperate) and available for sale. I will show you pics of each one, then you can choose from the designs by clicking on their individual buttons. EEEEEK! I'm so excited!

First, let me tell you a bit about them. They are about 5 inches tall from the top of the finial to the bottom of the ribbon, and about 3 inches wide at their widest. They have a sweet "Relevant '11" Ribbon on the front, but you can choose not to have that ribbon placed on them.

The burgundy one has brown, light blue, and burgundy ribbon with cream brush fringe.

The blue one has cream, light orange, light blue, and brown (with cute blue flowers) ribbon with cream fringe.

The coral one (I originally wanted this to be orange but this color seemed better) has cream, bluish gray, brown, and burgundy ribbon with cream fringe.

You can choose to have them made with a round keychain or a ball chain.

If you would like for me to leave the Relevant '11 ribbon off your tassel, I can do that as well. There is a special instruction place during checkout, and that's where you will let me know you don't want the ribbon.

Please allow up to three weeks for your tassel to arrive. I am making them as the orders come in so I know what colors to paint, so it will take a little while to get yours ready. Also, I'm using first class shipping to keep the cost down.

Am I forgetting anything? If I am and you think of it, please let me know and I will add it here!

Happy shopping! : )

Relevant Tassel - Burgundy

Burgundy Style

Round Keychain Ball Chain

Relevant Tassel - Blue

Blue Style

Round Keychain Ball Chain

Relevant Tassel - Coral

Coral Style

Round Keychain Ball Chain

Thank you for your purchase!

Tassel Tuesday - Relevant '11 Tassels!

This is the most anticipated Tassel Tuesday post yet. By me, anyway. I'm so stinkin' excited to show you what I've been planning, working on, scheming...okay, maybe not scheming, but whatever. I have been so nervous about this, and to finally see the outcome of it is so sweet. Especially when it turned out this cute.

See, I need a way to get to Relevant. I have my ticket, but I haven't bought my plane ticket. And no sponsor has shown up on a white horse to save the day. So, I turned to what I know. Tassels. But I wanted to find a new way to do them so that it was something that Relevant '11 attendees would actually like to have.

Enter...the keychain tassel...Is this not the cutest thing? And notice anything special on the ribbon in front?Yep! "Relevant '11"! I bought it from Namemaker, where they make personalized ribbons. Ever since I saw The Nester's personalized ribbon on a tassel I got as a gift, I've wanted to use them. I squealed when I opened my package. It's sooooo sweet!

But back to the tassel, you don't have to use it just as a keychain. You can use it as a purse charm: How cute is that?
The tassel, not the purse. But it was the best one I had...if anyone wants to hook a sistah up with a good deal on a bag, let me know. Wait...all my extra pennies are going toward Relevant, so nevermind.

So far, this is the only color I have, but I've already started working on light blue, creamy orange, dark brown, and more burgundy ones. Basically all the colors of the Relevant badge and website. I can't wait to make more of these baby tassels.

I hope more people than just myself think they are the cutest thing since puppies, and that maybe I'll be leavin' on a jet plane when October 26th rolls around. And by the way, you don't have to be going to Relevant to purchase one. I can just leave the Relevant ribbon off.

I also can make this a regular tassel with a ribbon hanger if you'd rather have that. I'm all about making it custom!

If you would like to purchase one, please let me know. Just know that I will be posting other colors later this week. I just couldn't wait to show you today!

I will not be putting these on Etsy (at least yet), so you can purchase them for $12 directly through the post when I have them all ready. Trust me...I'll let you know! That price includes shipping, and you can pay through Paypal. They take credit/debit cards, and you don't have to have an account with them. Just so you know.

So...what do you think? Cuter than puppies?

Kids Flag Page - and a Giveaway!

Last year at Relevant '10 I met Karis and Stephanie with Family Matters, a parenting and marriage organization founded by Dr. Tim Kimmel . They were such sweet ladies, and not just because they offered each blogger a Kids Flag Page! Yes, each one of us who wanted a copy could take one with the promise of a review.

I'm so very thankful for this game! Kiddo and I did it together a few months ago and I've been reading the book that comes in the game to better understand his personality. It has helped both me and my husband be more patient with Kiddo, as well as helped us know how to encourage him.

Each Kids Flag Page comes with enough pieces for four kids, which I thought was a great idea, because who has just one kid these days? Oh, yeah. Us! :)

The basic premise of the game is to help your child find their home country and their adopted country, or their main personality type and their secondary one. It's the best way I've EVER heard of to do this...the other ones I've seen are for adults. I could explain how to play, but I think the expert does it so much better, so I'll let him do it.

Kiddo had fun discovering his countries, and I really shouldn't have been surprised by the results...his home country is Perfect and his adopted country is Fun. His favorite sticker was Music. Shocker, I'm telling you. NOT.

According to the Kids Flag Page, this means he is one of the world's entertainers...um...yeah. This would explain why he sings ALL THE TIME and why he tries to make us laugh ALL THE TIME, and also why he gets so down on himself if he doesn't do something perfect the first time he tries. I'm telling you, this was so eye opening for me!

Reading the enclosed Kids Flag Page book helped me that much more. I was able to really delve into each country, as well as his unique combination.

Even though I was compensated for this review with a free game, if I had known how much this would help me learn how to better understand my child, I would have gladly paid for it. I highly recommend it to families with any number of children whose ages are 3-12. If you have more than four children, you can purchase refills!

Now, on to the giveaway...one Butterfly Genes reader will win a copy of the Kids Flag Page! Woot! I was so excited when Karis told me! There are a number of ways you can enter.

Leave me a separate comment for each thing you do!

• Leave me a comment telling me how your family could benefit from the Kids Flag Page. (The only mandatory entry)
  

• "Like" Family Matters' Facebook Page.
• "Like" Butterfly Genes on Facebook. (This is NEW! It's not my Tassel page!)
  
• Subscribe to Butterfly Genes (if you already do, let me know).
• Subscribe to Family Matters Blog.
• Tweet this giveaway by copying and pasting this: @Butterfly_Genes and @Family_Matters are giving away a Kids Flag Page game to one lucky reader! http://ow.ly/5zYyj
  

Giveaway ends Thursday, July 21 at 11:59 p.m. CST. I will draw a winner Friday, July 22.

I was given a free copy of the Kids Flag Page game in exchange for an honest review. The opinion in this review is entirely my own and not influenced by Family Matters.

Deja vu - TVP edition

My last post was about The Vintage Pearl. This post is about The Vintage Pearl. Spooky, huh?

Not really. I just want to win $75 IN TVP JEWELRY! The Nester is hosting a HUGE giveaway day and The Vintage Pearl is one of the wonderful participants.

Have I told you how much I love my TVP Relevant necklace? Well, I do. I wear it all the time now.

So, in order for you to have a chance to win some great jewelry, head over to The Vintage Pearl's Blog and enter to win.

The Vintage Pearl Giveaway at 10 Million Miles...

One of the wonderful things about Relevant was meeting so many amazing women. Some, I had read their blogs. Others, like Laura, I had not. I'm so glad I got to meet her as well as hear her story. She shared what she and her family have been through this year as she introduced Angie Smith Friday night. I will more than likely tell more about Laura in the days ahead because she blessed me so much Saturday night. More on that later.

Right now, I'm here to say that Laura is hosting a giveaway at her blog, 10 Million Miles, for a $50 gift certificate toThe Vintage Pearl!
I love TVP's stuff. They graciously donated 200+ necklaces to add to the AWESOME giveaway bags we got when we signed in. Imagine my glee when I took hold of the pretty black bag and opened it to find this beauty. Squealing is the only word I can use to describe what came out of my mouth. (BTW, the brown and pink pin was also in the giveaway bag...it's from the wonderfully awesome Kelly Joy Boutique. If you visit her page and see the University of Memphis hair clip...I sent her that fabric! Hey, I gotta have my 15 minutes of fame somehow...)(oh, and the turquoise flower pin behind it? It's from the wonderfully awesome Ashley at Our Daily Chocolate. It was NOT in the giveaway bag but I did get it as a giveaway. It's a long story. : ) And she really is wonderfully awesome!)

ANYway...back to the subject at hand. Look at this necklace that I am drooling over.LOVE it! It's called "vintage lovebirds" and even though we're not quite vintage (no matter WHAT Kiddo says), I think this is perfect for Sound Man and me.

If you'd like a chance to win the $50 gift certificate to The Vintage Pearl, hop over to Laura's blog to enter the giveaway. I know you will like her as much as I do.

My Blogging Has Purpose?

This post is not about all I got from Relevant. It's been over a week since I returned home, and I still have yet to write it all down. Fear not, though...I will write it down. The men are going hunting this weekend so I will have some time to just sit at the computer to my heart's content.

But I will say that the Lord taught me several things that weekend. He taught me (through Ann Voskamp) that my blog has a purpose. It's not just random thoughts that I think no one really cares about. Well, some of it is, but it has a higher purpose.

"This is what I blog. Because this is who I am. I am a mess – who often doesn’t want to get out of bed. Who struggles and preaches ugly self-sermons to herself and some days just really doesn’t know how to go on. I don’t have it all together. I blog about not having it all together. And you know what? I’m almost willing to hazard a guess that there a whole lot of other women out there like me who are a bit of a mess and who don’t know how to get out of bed some mornings and who have to fight. Hard. For. Joy.

"...And when you sit down to your keyboard, and you write a blogpost — you are writing for me. You are writing for messed up me, and the messed up woman next door, and the messed up woman sitting beside you in church and messed up You. We need your messy stories. And you need your messy stories." ~ Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience

The Lord is showing me that even though I started out this blog with no real purpose but to put some random thoughts down, I want it now to bless other people. To bless me. So...I will be making some changes. Not that many of you will see them...but I will.

So...for now, please go read Ann's keynote speech. As soon as she opened her mouth to speak, I knew God was going to speak to me. And guess what? You can hear her read her speech (I HIGHLY recommend you do this! Her voice is like buttah) or you can just read it yourself. My guess is that you'll find yourself written on her page.

My Soul is Full!

Okay, I know you want to hear ALLLLLL about Relevant. And I want to tell you ALLLLLL about it. But there is just too much. I have to write everything down, and process all I wrote, and filter, and pray, and praise, and, well...it's going to be a long process.

I will say that this weekend was better, more life-giving, more restful, than I EVER thought it would be. I met so many amazing women I lost count. I agree with Kristen when she says, "Know this: the weekend had very little to do with blogging." It was more about meeting God.

There are so many posts out there about the weekend I'm sure you can find one, but the one I've read so far that sums it up best for me would be Kristen's. Read it here.

And if you don't already subscribe to Ann Voskamp, do it. NOW. No...I mean it!

Never fear. I will post. And post and post and post. I'm telling you...it's too much.

Relevant!!!!

I can't believe it...I just can't believe it. It's finally here. Tomorrow morning (before the crack of dawn...I have to leave my house about 4:30...IN THE MORNING!) I leave for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to join 199 other women for the Relevant Conference.

Oh, how I'm looking forward to this. I can't wait to share my experiences, not to mention pictures. My husband bought two extra camera batteries just for the trip. I take a lot of pictures.

Most of all, I'm looking forward to resting. Sure, I'll probably stay up later than I should, and eat junk all weekend, but I will be getting soul rest. And maybe a little body rest, too.

See you when I get back!

Relevant Bound!

Have you seen that button<--- over there? At the top? The one that screams "I'M GOING!"? I have it there because, well, I'M GOING! Now that we have that cleared up, let me 'splain to what I am going.

Relevant. A Christian bloggers conference that I cannot wait to attend. Sweet Sarah Mae's brain child. Well, Sarah's and Jessica's and Dana's, the latter two I have yet the privilege to "meet." Someone asked me why I wanted to attend Relevant and at first I couldn't really say. It took me a minute to really think about why I was so excited to go.

Well, for one thing I'll get to see her and her and her and even sing with her. But seeing some of my favorite bloggy peeps is only part of it. I think we as Christian bloggers have such a bond (does that sound inexplicably cheesy?). We love the same things, and I'm not talking about paint colors. Well, maybe a little bit. No, we all love the Lord, and there's just something about gathering together with women who share that love. We also love fellowship with other believers, or we wouldn't be spending our time and money to go. We also love learning more about this vast universe called Blogland and how to use it to spread the Word.

Are we perfect? More like perfectly imperfect! But it's those quirks that make us who we are. I just hope no one asks me if my laundry is caught up or when the last time I vacuumed was. Am I nervous about traveling so far away from home by my little lonesome? Kinda, yeah. But I know (at least I HOPE) that I'll soon be surrounded by other ladies in the same boat. I can't wait to meet you.

For those of you heading to Relevant: If you're traveling through Memphis by air, let me know! I'm planning on flying and hitching rides everywhere once I get to Harrisburg.

Now that I've committed to going, I have to figure out how I'm going to pay for it! HA! I do have a back up plan, but my goal is to sell enough tassels to fund my trip. If you'd like to help "sponsor" little ol' me, head over to my Etsy shop and see if there's something you'd like. Or, you can always ask for a custom order.

I can't wait! Hope to see you there!