BagyJen

I have been married to my best friend for 18 years and am the mom of two teenagers. My daughter is a senior in high school and my son, a freshman. They keep us running with their school and sporting events year round. My husband crop farms for a living even though we moved off of the farm 5 years ago and onto the lake. Here in Minnesota living on the lake is a very popular thing to do, seeing that we have so many, and I now know why. This is my dream location, so peaceful and beautiful. I also own my own embroidery and screen printing company where I get to use some of my creative energy up on a daily basis. My favorite jobs are those with baby items like blankets and diaper bags and onesies and more! After 15 years of having a mall retail store I followed my dream and moved the shop to my home where I built a studio. Best choice ever! I have two pets, a cat who thinks we live with her, not vice versa, and the most lovable, yet neurotic, beagle/terrier mix. (Do not worry, the animals stay out of my crafting areas!)

I enjoy scrapbooking, but struggle with keeping on top of it! I adhere to this school of thought: quality over quantity when it comes to my scrapbook pages. I think it is about the creative process, not necessarily seeing an entire album done in a given amount of time. I have to believe this or I could get kind of depressed looking at the amount left to do! I recently discovered Project Life and feel like I have found the loophole I needed! :)

Photography. I have a good camera, but need to take a class and figure out how to use all of the features! I really enjoy making photobooks & altered books with photos and journaling and art add-ons and trinkets and such for my loved ones. I am currently working on one for a gift for my daughters graduation.

I like to write as well and have been working on a novel for way too many years to mention...I am obsessed with editing and it really slows down the process at times. My goal is to have a finished draft to give for my mom's birthday gift in July 2013. She has been very patient :)

Do you see a theme here? ha. But do not worry, I will get my swaps done on time, I promise!

I could spend hours in craft stores looking at all of the things available for smashbooks and altered journals. LOVE all the extras.

I love to read! I have been throwing around the idea of starting a book blog in the next few months. (That is the English major in me.) I am always open to suggestions or recommendations from people on what to read next. The only genre I have found that I do not enjoy as much is science fiction, although by saying this I am sure I am missing out on some great books. Every year since 1990 I have received the anthology "The Best American Short Stories" and I devour it. I am still a "purist" you could say and love the feel of a good book in my hands. My daughter has been trying to get me to read off her Nook, but I am not quite ready for that. I also have a hard time getting rid of books once I have read them. Something about a full book shelf makes me happy!

We turned off the Dish last March and have never looked back. Really the only thing I have missed is the Evening News and NFL Football. We do cheat by having a NetFlix account where we can watch TV Series that they offer. My favorite shows always seem to include criminal investigations or spy themes. Flash Point and Burn Notice are top of the list right now. Okay, truth be told, I guess I do miss HGTV & Food Network channel a bit.

I really am pretty open with my music tastes, but for some reason Rhianna has always grated on my nerves! I think if I could see Eric Clapton, Garth Brooks and Aerosmith in concert my music life would be complete. This is probably terrible for a mom of 40-something to say, but I really like Lil' Wayne. My secret and now yours :)

We have hosted teenagers through Rotary, International the last two years. So when I say I have 2 kids, I really have 4. Santiago from Mexico stayed with us 8 months and Maria from Brazil stayed for 5 months while they were exchange students. We love them like our own. I highly recommend hosting if you are given the opportunity.

I love to travel! When I was growing up, I had two foster brothers from Vietnam. My family also hosted a girl from Mexico, a girl from Guatemala, and a boy from Spain. Because of these connections, I have become much more interested in the world and global communities. When I traveled to Europe twice, visiting 8 countries, and to Mexico several times, I was able to stay with native families in these countries. I mention this because it has really sparked my interest in diversity and made me an open-minded person. As a family, we have also been trying to see as many of states as possible with our kids.

I am not so much expecting these things...but sharing a list to show what my style/interests typically are.

-I always try to keep God first in my life. But I am not a pushy Christian for lack of a better term.

-Discovering New Authors and their Debut Novels

-Decorating and rearranging rooms in my house

-Scarves

-Reading Cookbooks & dreaming of someday being able to cook well.

-Elephant and Owl items if not too cutesy.

-Sheep or Ram figures when created in the primitive style of art.

-Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan

-Pinterest Ideas

-Getting inspired on Etsy

-black, grays, browns, ecru, sage, brick, rust, taupe, denimy blue, forest green, wine type colors

-Facebook

-rings, bracelets and necklaces with natural elements

-fabric stores

-Chunky, clunky Jewelry

-Silver jewelry

-Hand stamped jewelry

-Dept 56 Christmas Village collector

-Dressing up and going to one of the theatres in Minneapolis/St.Paul to see plays and musicals. Les Miserables is still one of my favorites.

-Fantasy Football, yes I have a team, and yes I did win the SuperBowl last year in my league, thank you very much, hehe :)

-Making To-Do Lists

-Paper, Blank Books & Pens make me very happy. So do notecards.

-Homemade Envelopes

-Pepsi!

-M&Ms

-Writing & Receiving Snail Mail. I love stationery and notecards.

-Making embroidered gifts for people. And even better, seeing their reactions.

-True Crime Books

-Spending time with my family

-Taking Online courses offered through Free Online Colleges like Yale and Stanford just for fun. It can be humbling for certain.

-I just love animals in general. In another life I think I would open a no-kill shelter.

-Being stuck at home during blizzards with the kids and hubby is my favorite part of Minnesota winters.

I feel slightly selfish by writing this, but while I look forward to seeing anything you come up with, and I will value it, if you are wondering what I do not like as much, this should help:

-Not a big fan of skulls, gothic themed items, zombies, etc.

-Hate occult items

-I'd like to avoid Disney or Looney Toon items or anything young/child like or commercial. (I am a 42 year old mother of teenagers.) Exception: I do like Curious George ;)

-And please don't hate, but I have never really gotten into Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings.

-Don't wear Earrings very often because I am allergic to most :(