Summary Sunday: Let the Challenges Begin! Edition

The day has arrived! It's June 1st...that means it's Etsy shop opening day! That's right...I finally bit the bullet and did it. It has been a long time coming, but the shop has officially opened as of this afternoon!

Right now there are only three items at ErraticProjectJunkie, but it will grow. There are a few projects in the works that got delayed due a busy week, but pieces and parts will be coming together little by little over time. You'll be able to see some of the items in the shop by checking out my Etsy Mini in the right side bar. And if there's anything you've seen around the blog that you'd like to order, feel free to shoot me an email. I'm happy to do custom orders.

Since it's June 1st, it's also challenge day! I have been eagerly awaiting this day. All of the challenges up in those little tabs at the top of the blog are now officially underway. I'm a little overly excited. There are a few changes that will be happening with Summary Sunday posts because of the challenges. But...I'll get to that in a minute.

First...let's do a recap of the week.

Posts I Posted: It was another semi-quiet week around the blog. We have adjusted to our summer schedule and made a quick out-of-town trip for a graduation. Now it's back into the swing of things. I won't be posting daily like that craziness I had going on for April and the first half of May, but I should be around here about 3 times a week, plus Sundays.

 
This week I did a 3-for-1 review of the Divergent trilogy. It's a really good set of books and an absolute must-read if you're in to YA dystopian fiction.

I also put up an update of my 2014 Book of the Year bracket and included some sample brackets for you to use if you're wanting to get in on the 2014 BOTY Bracket Challenge. If you read, it's an easy one. Come play with us!

Recipes I Tried: I busted out the CrockPot this week for an attempt at something completely new. I made the Slow Cooker Greek Pork from Your Homebased Mom.

I didn't make her yogurt sauce, but instead used some pre-made tzatziki dip from Costco. The pork was freaking delicious. Collin and I both agree. We ran into a small snag putting it altogether. Turns out my fridge had a small stroke and my produce wasn't being chilled properly. I lost 4 tomatoes and a cucumber. It was a sad day. We ended up just eating the pork mixed with the tzatziki in a bowl. It was good, but we both agree that it will be better in pita with tomatoes, cucumber and feta. Next time...

Books I Read: I'm hanging my head a little low on this one. I let myself be consumed by Sims 3 this week. There was no reading. Not even a page. I find that my addiction to video games goes in short waves, so I rode this one. It was kind of nice to do something different with my evenings, even if it was a total time suck. But...this will be quickly changing. You'll see why in just a few paragraphs.

Projects I Worked On/Finished: I got those aprons finished up for the shop, made some flyers for the office, and did some minor photo editing. Then I undertook an OCD nightmare. I put new vinyl lettering and numbering on our mailbox. We previously had a painted version. While getting the vinyl designed and cut out was a breeze with my Pazzle, I just about had a meltdown getting it onto the mailbox.

Why? Well...because I didn't pay attention. I put down some masking tape to keep myself a straight line and moved my letters over from the vinyl sheet to the mailbox. Easy peasy. And then it began. Because at that point I realized that I'd put the lettering on the wrong side. Ugh. Really? How did I not recognize that there was no flag until I was completely done?

I peeled the numbers and letters back off and moved it to the correct side. I got it all put down, narrowly avoiding a panic attack, only to realize that the flag height on this mailbox is higher than our old one. Instead of the flag resting below the numbers, it sits right smack dab on them. Crap.

Well...I left it. Instead, I bent the flag just a little so that it sits against the mailbox at an angle just above the lettering. It may not be all the way down, but it isn't up. It doesn't look messed up and you can read the address. I'm calling it a win.

Pin of the Week: I only pinned a couple of things this week, but my favorite was this pallet bed swing from The Merry Thought. One of these days we'll have some land and I'll be able to do things like this. I've wanted some kind of a hammock ever since I was about five years old and got to play in the one at my friend Lindsey's house. We loved that darned thing.

Doesn't that look pretty and comfy? I admit...I'd be slightly afraid of it dumping me on the ground, but I love it none the less.

Alrighty...now how about something new?

Since I'm going to be undertaking all of those fun challenges, I'll be keeping track of some of my progress on Summary Sundays. From now on, I'll be adding a Challenge Progress section to Summary Sunday posts. There will be links to the challenges I've made progress on and a brief description of any challenges where milestones have been reached. Tada! Oh...I'll also be posting my picks for my Deal Me In Challenge and Classics Spin. The Deal Me In will be happening every Sunday. The Classics Spin I'll be announcing on the Sunday closest to the 1st of every other month (that's a little bit odd to say, but hopefully you understand what I mean).

Since today is the first 1st...we get to do both. And the picks are...

Deal Me In Challenge: 5 of Diamonds - American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

Classics Spin: #6 - The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Let the challenges begin!!!