Wednesday, August 6, 2014

On the move!


For a while now I've been considering moving my blog and I've finally made up my mind to go for it. There are a few reasons I want to move it, but the primary reason is that I don't just want to blog about making jewelry, so I feel like a blog called Sela Designs Jewelry is no longer fitting. Anyone else agree? You will now find me here - www.ashleighbecker.blogspot.com. 

I will still be taking about my adventures in jewelry making, but let's be honest, my life is 90% spent chasing toddlers and praying they won't kill each other in their reckless endeavors (kill may be a strong word, but I'm telling you, Liam is the brain & Henry has no fear it's a dangerous combo). I want to talk about real world issues like orphans going hungry, human trafficking and whatever else is on my mind. And so that's what I'm going to do in my new spot! I hope you'll join me. 

XOXO,
Ashleigh

Sunday, August 3, 2014

You know you're from Wisconsin when...

Green and Gold means something to you! Only in Wisconsin are fans so serious about their team. Through thick and thin, Green Bay Packers Fans are like none other, loyal and die hard to the end. Ok, reality check, we aren't that crazy, but we do like the Packers and I know a few players names - Aaron Rogers, Clay Matthews... that's about all I can think of at the moment. HA!

Anyway, the Packers hold a Family Night every year before pre-season games start. Tickets are a mere $10 and sell out very quickly. We decided to take our boys this year. The tickets said the events started at 5:30, so we got there a bit early and were some of the first people to enter the great Lambeau Field (some people worship this place, I kid you not, but I'm just not that into it). The place is like Mecca to some. Here are some photos of us enjoying the festivities:

Henry's just trying to steal the show with his abs of steel back there and well, Liam has mastered his fake smile in order to get me to stop taking pictures.

I told Bill we should take a nice selfie together and finally, Liam insisted on being in a picture after refusing for the last hour.

Henry was really getting into the wave and beach ball passing through the crowd.

Proof that we really were at a real Packer event. Aaron Rodgers was there!

Our pathetic attempt at a family selfie. Notice the photo bombing kid between my and Bill's heads, well done kid, well done.

Success at last, we got Liam out of the pic and have a nice, heads partially cut off, couple's selfie.

Some highlights of the night:
Upon arrival, Henry insisted on a jumbo popcorn. After eating a few handfuls, in a very desperate voice he said, "My body is thirsty! Daddy, my body is THIRSTY!" So, of course we had no choice but to pay $4.25 for a single bottle of water. 
When all of the quarterbacks came out wearing red jerseys Henry shouted, "Look there's the Henry team!" Because his favorite lego car and fire truck are red, he thinks all things red belong to him. 
Liam really enjoyed the blowup stick things (is there a proper name for them?) and occasionally smacked the girls in front of us with them. Ok, maybe he did it a lot more than occasionally.
You'll notice we were probably the only ones there not fully decked out in Packer attire. I showed my Packer spirit with a nice goldish tagua necklace and green tagua earrings. I go all out. Liam lucked out when a friend's mom offered to give him a Packer shirt to wear. He was happy since his lame Mom didn't buy him one. 
We only lasted until about 8:20. Henry asked if we could leave about 20 times so we decided it was about time. Note to self - next year, don't skip naptime to get there early; show up at 7:00pm when the Packers actually take the field. In the end, it was a fun experience for all, but we now know what to do next year!


Thursday, July 31, 2014

The COVER!

Well, where to begin? It's been a while. I think I start a lot of posts with that phrase. It's not intentional. I want to be a blogger, a jewelry designer, an awesome mom, an advocate for those without a voice, an inspiring worship leader, a church administrator and about 10 other things, but for some reason I get overwhelmed with it all and something's got to give. That something is usually the blog. However, for the past couple months I keep thinking I should get back to the blogging world and do this thing right. Today, I had just the push I needed to get dust this ol' blog off...

Ladies and gentlemen, I made the Fall 2014 cover of Jewelry Stringing Magazine!


Yes, it's true, me, Ashleigh Becker, made the cover!!!! (is it terribly annoying if I add a few more exclamation points?) !!!!!!!! Ok, I'll stop now. I haven't even received my copy yet, but you can order it here or wait until it hits the stands at your favorite craft store in the next couple weeks. I have 3 necklaces in this issue and 3 pairs of earrings.

I have so many things I want to share with you, but I'll leave you with just a few highlights and save details for future posts. My goal is to stick with this blogging thing, but in a very real, Ashleigh sort of way. My pictures may not always be the best you've ever seen, probably mostly from my iphone. My stories will probably be laced with toddler mischief, lego building and food fights. This is my life; it's messy, it's crazy, it's fun (I'm the fun mom, ha!), it's hard at times, but it's my life and I want to keep it real. So, this isn't only about jewelry, it's also about motherhood, social justice issues, fashion (dare I call my wardrobe fashion?), faith and whatever else comes about. Join me on this journey, won't you?