the biggest secret in the history of me

One cannot keep anything a secret from my mother.

She knows everything!  We can't even let her see her gifts until it is time for her to open them because one look and...whamm!...she knows exactly what it is.  Not even our most clever attempts at wrapping can prevent this.

So, back in late September, when I started scheming about the Christmas gift I was going to make for her, I wasn't all that confident that I would be able to keep it a secret.  After all, when you create something that is so big that there is no floor space in the house big enough to lay it out on, you can bet that it won't be easy to keep hidden...

What is this secret project?

Well, I'll tell you.

For as long as I can remember, Mama has been saving every scrap of fabric from our old dresses, costumes, etc.  She always said that one day she wanted a memory quilt made out of them.

Well...

...and here you have my biggest sewing achievement to date.  :)

It started out small, but then I started thinking that she would probably want to put it on her bed, so I started drafting a bigger pattern.  It just kept getting bigger and bigger.  I wanted to be able to focus on each individual pattern instead of having all the fabrics mesh together, so I incorporated as much white as possible.

By the time I was finished drafting the pattern, my little quilt measured 100 inches square.  For those of you not familiar with quilt measurements, this is king size.

At this point, not only was I worried that I wouldn't be able to keep it a secret, I was also wondering if I'd even be able to finish it!

I shocked myself by finishing it in two months. 

Who knew you could piece and hand quilt a king size quilt in 2 months????

Needless to say, I now feel like I can do absolutely anything!

I am happy to say that Mama was completely surprised!  How I managed it, I have no idea.  She knew I was making something and the hours and hours I spent upstairs watching movies made her rather suspicious (I should have kept track of how many movies I went through while quilting!), but she had absolutely no idea until Christmas morning!

*happy dance*

Now, my fingers are itching to start another one...  I started drafting a pattern last night.

We shall see what happens! :)

********

 

Hope y'all had a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful time with family and friends!  I know I did!

the long road to recovery...

You'd think the dog was sick too... :)

After almost exactly two weeks, and despite still having a nasty cough and runny nose, I think I am finally, finally on the mend.  Thanks for all the prayers!

My biggest problem at the moment is that now I have lost two weeks of prep time for Christmas and so I am now faced with the task of cramming it all into one week.  Joy. 

Fortunately, I was able to hand finish my biggest project last week while I was shivering on the sofa.  (Can't wait to reveal pictures!!!  So excited!!!)  There are a few finishing touches to be done on some other things, cleaning to be done, baking, company coming, present wrapping...I'm sure you can all relate!

So, for now I will leave you to your preparations and I will get back to mine!

Merry Christmas!

oh yeah...i have a blog!

Please pardon me, dear readers!  I haven't forgotten you.

Unfortunately, I have been (and am still) battling the flu.  I am one of those lucky people that has a hyper-active immune system.  This means that I never NEVER get sick and on the rare occassion that I do come down with something, I come down hard. 

Therefore, I have been living on the couch with a fever and a terrible cough for the past 8 days. 

There was about a 24 hour period where I felt positively dandy and I was convinced that I was over it.  I was well just long enough to go to a Christmas party - now, I'm back on the couch with my tea and tissues.

Thankfully, I managed to drag myself to the library earlier this week, so I have C. S. Lewis, George Bernard Shaw, and The Lord of the Rings to keep myself occupied. 

Hopefully, I'll be good as new in a few more days and then I can get back to posting regularly again.

In the meantime, stay well and happy Christmas shopping!

a+a

Awkward

- when you suddenly realize that it's December 1st and it is warmer outside than in the house.  73.3 degrees, to be exact.  So, you turn the heat off and go around opening all the windows trying to air the house out.  To top it all off, just as you're opening a window, the radio starts playing, "Come on weatherman - give us a forecast of snow tonight..."

- when the entire family is outside trying to catch a stray (and very, very fast) chicken. Ahhh, memories!

-  a car full of mostly adults who are singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at the top of their lungs...

-  This one can go in either category, but I decided to put it under awkward. 
   When you intently stare at the guy behind the fabric counter at Hobby Lobby as he proceeds to CORRECTLY answer a couple of clueless college girl's questions about how to make and put letters on a hoodie.  After he finished, I simply couldn't resist such a perfect opportunity...I smiled and said, "So, you been sewing long?"  The look on his face was priceless.

-  when a friend points at a star and asks you which one it is.  Not having a clue, you're encouraged to just take a wild guess, so you say, "the North Star".  This is followed by one of those "you've gotta be kidding me" looks...  So, you look at the star again and only then do you realize that the moon is hanging just below it...


Awesome

-  when you go evening gown shopping with your bestie for a Christmas party she's going to, and not only do you find the PERFECT dress (for a mere $25!!!!!), you manage to get it altered and a matching shoulder wrap made AND watch The Phantom of the Opera all in one day.  Yes, we are awesome. :D

-  when you send a toddler upstairs to wake up your sister.  She comes halfway down the stairs and says, "Mana, her not wake up."  So you tell her to go back and be a lot louder.  "Ok, I be more louder."  Then, a few seconds later you hear, "SAWAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!  WAAAAAKE UUUUUP!!!!"  I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!

-  when you talk to a very special life-long friend on the phone that you haven't seen in a couple of years and you end up going out to dinner the next day.  Awesome. :D

-  when you're home alone and get the uncontrollable urge to clean EVERYTHING.  It's a shame this doesn't happen more often...

- going into a local quilt shop and finding the most adorable airplane pattern!  I literally squealed when I saw it!  I know a couple of little boys who are going to have one of those in the near future!

-  when your 3 year old neice is "helping" you make aprons and says, "I wanna be like you, Mana."  My heart melted!

*******

 

Sorry about not having pics.  I'm having trouble uploading again. :\  Hopefully, I can get it all straightened out one day...

 

Hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

emails, Senators and icecream cones

In this, the last day before all the crazy Thanksgiving preparations begin (well, technically that all started today, but I wasn't here!), I thought I would do another Awkward/Awesome post since it has been a while...

Me and my favorite little sis. <3

Awkward

- The look on a dad's face when he asks his daughter if she wants an ice cream cone and she replies with, "Yeah, but I want ice cream in it too."  I nearly died!

- When someone comes up to you, thanking you for the reminder you emailed them and you're sitting there wondering if you should tell them that you have no idea who they are and you didn't send them any email... 

-  When you are at the (very crowded) fabric store with your buggy piled high with bolts and you're trying to arrange them just so in order to take a picture of them to send to your mother for her approval.  In the process, you go through 15 text messages, 3 phone calls, and about 13 bolts of fabric, all while trying to keep out of people's way and avoid knocking over the shelves...

-  When you come downstairs in the morning after sharing your room with your mother so she won't catch your dad's cold and being greeted with a glare and the very matter-of-fact statement: "You snore." 

    For the record: I do not snore.  I just take very deep and loud breaths in my sleep.  It's good for the lungs.

My new favorite mug :)

Awesome

-  When a State Senator buys your coffee.  Totally made my day!  :D

-  When a total stranger in Walmart goes, "Oh my goodness!  I LOVE your skirt!" and you proceed to have a conversation about sewing.  It is so much fun to talk about something that you love to do with complete strangers.

-  Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel while working on a huge Christmas project.  I can't wait to share the secret with y'all after Christmas!

-  Finding the perfect gift for a friend. :D

-  Buying office supplies.  I can't be the only one who absolutely loves this...right?

The fabric I'm currently working with.  I absolutely love it!!!!

Thinking about making myself some pillows out of the one on the far right after Christmas.

 

I probably won't have the chance to post again until after Thanksgiving, so I want to go ahead wish you all a wonderful and blessed day with your family and friends as we all pause to give thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us.

 

Love y'all! <3



my first "real" family shoot :D

I had the opportunity to shoot a family (other than my own) last week!

Aren't they adorable?  I've known Courtney for forever.  Seriously, I have to work really hard to remember a time when we didn't know each other.  So, taking pictures of her growing family was an honor and such fun!

Their little girl was absolutely precious! :D  She is little wiggle worm and chatter box all rolled into one.  Getting her to sit still for more than a split second was an adventure, but after about 2 hours and 400 pictures I got some really good shots. :)

I had so much fun with this shoot!  Their property was absolutely gorgeous and the lighting that day was better than perfect. 

Such beautiful people!  I can't wait to see their precious new baby!

it's just so...final!

This kills me.

No, really...  Deleting pictures is hard enough for me, but when it comes time to empty out the recycle bin, I get that sick feeling in my stomach and that little voice in my head starts saying, "You're going to regret this...."

Yes, I'm strange.

Those 777 pictures I deleted were the product of an entire day on the computer shuffling through JPG files, editing and discarding.  Hardly a drop in the bucket compared to what has accumulated on my laptop in the past three years, but it's a good start I guess...

So, that's what's been cooking the my photography department.  However, in the sewing department, something a bit more fun (and less stressful!) has been developing....

Ruffles!!!!! <3  (Aren't the fabrics pretty?)

I love making ruffles!  And seeing as almost all of the Christmas projects on my table have ruffles, I've got the process down to a science.

Unfortunately, that's all I can reveal about my sewing ventures at this time. ;) 

Speaking of which, I gotta get back to the cutting table!

See y'all later! :D

time to buckle down...

You know those weeks where you are insanely busy, running here and there and everywhere, doing this and that and everything in between, then when it all finally stops you feel like you haven't done a thing?

Yeah...that was last week for me.

I'm blaming it on the election.

However, I was able to end the week with a lovely and relaxing shopping spree/vacation in Gatlinburg. :)

 

(Said shopping spree may or may not have included visiting every candy store in town...)

:D

 

It was lots of fun, but it's good to be home.  And now, it's time to buckle down on my to-do list.  I've got hundreds of pictures to go through, edit, and put on discs.  If I'm not done with my big sister's pics by the end of the week, I'm afraid she might just take my laptop home with her...  Mama also gave me a deadline for all homemade Christmas/birthday gifts to be finished by or before Thanksgiving.  Yikes!

 

Do y'all realize how close Thanksgiving is?  It didn't really hit me until last night when Mama and I were shopping and we picked up the turkey. 

 

Thanksgiving...and the Christmas will be...

 

No, I'm not going there.

 

In the words of Miss Scarlett, "I think about that tomorrow."

 

So, I have one week...

 

OoO

  

See y'all later! I gotta get crackin'!



roots

 

When you think of your roots, what comes to mind?  People?  Places?  Things your family did when you were growing up?  For me, it's all of the above. 

 

Places from my past hold a special spot in my heart.  Ginormous houses that somehow managed to shrink with age.  Streets that were well traveled.  Stores that used to be...(I still call the Belk store in Athens "Profitts").

 

I've always dreamed about one day taking my children to all of my favorite spots, the houses I grew up in, etc., so that they will see the places where Mommy grew up instead of just hearing stories.

 

Unfortunately, I recently discovered that one of my favorite places, and one of my deepest roots, will soon be gone.

 

 

When I was born, my Daddy was a preacher, and this is the little country church that I was brought home to.

Those of you who pass through Riceville, TN on occasion might recognize it.  It's sort of a landmark on Hwy 11.  It was built in 1901 and has the loveliest (though very tiny!) sanctuary. 

When I found out that it is being torn down, I nearly cried.  I love this old church.  Though I was only 3 years old when we moved, I still have lots of memories aided by Mama's extensive photo albums.  We've also been able to visit from time to time over the years.  The last time I was there, I walked into the nursery.  Not only was I shocked to realize that it was about the size of my closet, I couldn't believe that I recognized every single toy!  Absolutely nothing had changed.  The same was true for the rest of the church.  Although, it did seem to shrink every time I walked through the doors and the piano was always a little more out of tune.

I wish I could have gone inside and gotten pictures of the lovely stain glass windows, the beautiful woodwork in the sanctuary, the nursery, the itty bitty Sunday School rooms, Daddy's office, etc., but I'm content to have at least these few pictures and the old ones of the inside that Mama took to show to my children one day.

One consoling thought: the little house we lived in (literally, three yards from the back door of the church) is still going to be around for a while yet. :)

I absolutely love taking pictures of kids!  They are so much fun and I really don't have to do much posing with them.  They pretty much just do whatever they want and I keep my camera on sports setting.  You end up taking 6 million pictures that way, but it's worth weeding through them all to find the good ones.  Kids are just adorable.  Period.

Of course, with these kids, I'm a bit biased.  :) 

What can I say?  I'm a proud auntie!

 No front teeth!!!! I love it! <3

 



 Miss Haley.  Almost 11 years old!

 

 Sisters <3

 

And last, but not least, Baby Luke!  He's getting so big and he's the

happiest baby I've ever seen.  Preciousness! <3

it's November!

...and I am lovin' it! 

Awkward

- When you look up and see your brother standing over you with a suspicious grin and holding an electric razor.  "Um...can I help you????"

- When you are in the grocery store and a 5 foot cowboy comes up to you and says, "Ma'am, you're a lady, can you tell me if this is self-rising?"  Then you look at the sack he's holding and it's a sack of sugar...

-  When your sister tells you that you have a bug on your face and then proceeds to peel a Daddy Long Legs off your face.  What??????????  How did I not feel that????  I am now paranoid and constantly brushing phantom insects off my face.



Awesome

- When you pass a little golden haired girl and her mother in the store in the late afternoon and she looks up at you with her big blue eyes and the cutest smile you ever saw and says, "Good mornin'!"

- When you compliment a little princess on the glitter in her hair and she says, "Ya, I got sparklies! And I got stuff on my lips too! And my eyes are sparkles too!"  Gotta love little girls!

- Listening to choral music (live) that brings tears to your eyes.

- Vacation planning! :D I can't wait!

- Finally figuring out how to rearrange your sewing room/closet/storage room so that it doesn't look like a ginormous heap of stuff.  Still a work in progress, but I'm getting there!

i spy

 

Spying on Sarah petting the outside dogs. 

 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!  Go out and enjoy the chilly temperatures!  Hats and gloves, here we come!

{friday faves}

Well, I came home from Joann's with only four pieces of fabric.  Only four!  You should be very impressed considering that I actually had more money that I could have spent and went through about 30 bolts before I narrowed it down to only four. :)

So, today I've gotta roll up my sleeves and start cutting....after I go down to the early voting station and stand on the corner holding campaign signs and waving at random people.  Not my favorite job, but somebody's gotta do it!

In case you are wondering, I will be posting pics of some of the projects I am working on.  However, seeing as they are all Christmas/Birthday gifts most of the pics will be of the gifts for the little ones since there is no danger of them reading their dear old auntie's blog!

 

******

 

 Grey/blue walls and a yellow screen door. <3

 

 I am thinking about using a pattern like this for a quilt for my bed.

After Christmas, of course!

 

 Howard Keel.  If I were a guy, I would want his voice.

Love his films!

 

Found this the other day and laughed till I cried!  Take that,

vampire people!

 

******

 

I hope you all have had a wonderful week and are enjoying a lovely Friday!



reality sets in...

I just had a major reality check...

ONLY 9 MORE SHOPPING FRIDAYS 'TILL CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Gasp*

Of course, in my language, this translates as approximately 8 weeks to get all of my gifts made (I've hardly started yet!).  It's actually less than that because we usually have Christmas with my siblings and nieces and nephews a week or two early.

Can you feel my stress?  Lol it's only temporary.  I hope to go to Chatt later to pick up supplies so that I can get started on some things.  I'll feel better then.  I hope... :)

 

Awkward

- When your dad sends you to the Maytag parts store to pick up a new part for your dying drier. Of course, he is thoughtful enough to send the broken part along, just to be sure that you don't come home with the wrong part. So, you walk into the store carrying this dusty bowl looking thing, you set it on the counter and, not knowing what to say, you look the clerk square in the eyes and blurt out, "I have no idea what this do-hickey is, but I need another one". If only I'd had my camera to capture the look on his face.

- Going to the store and the buggie you picked out decides not to reveal the fact that it has the squeakiest wheel ever created until you are already halfway done with your shopping and it's too late to exchange it.

- When a random man stops you and asks your name. You tell him, then he proceeds with, "Were you at......do you work at.......do you know.....etc." for 5 minutes. The answer to all the above is "no" and he finally scratches his head and says, "Then how do I know you?????" Beats me.

- When a well meaning lady asks if you are married and you laugh just a little bit louder than you meant to and everyone turns around to look at you.
Just as a side note: I only laughed because just a little while back someone asked me if I am a student at the county middle school. It's nice to know that I don't always look that young!

- When you haven't seen people in several years and you are confronted multiple times with the question, "So, what are you up to now?" Not having the quick answer they want like, "Oh, I'm working...still in school...etc." you start running down the long list of things that you are currently "up to".

- Having a conversation about cars with a guy friend, which is weird in and of itself, and after he finishes his long tale about his car trouble going into extreme detail about what was wrong and how it was fixed, you say something brilliant like, "That's why I'm glad I have a mechanic for a daddy. Wait...that came out wrong...."

 

 

Awesome 

-  When state politicians remember you name.  :D

-  Running into a friend that you grew up with and talking about sewing, babies, and home decorating.  Such fun!

-  Spending an entire evening indulging in an Clark Gable marathon.  Actually, I wouldn't really call two movies a marathon, but when Gone With the Wind is one of them it sure feels like it!  And of course, one cannot have a Gable marathon with out topping it off by pulling up Judy Garland's performance of "Dear Mr. Gable...You Made Me Love You" on YouTube.

-  That fateful day with you discover dry shampoo.  Life will never be the same.

-  When you're at a festival on game day and you see more Romney/Ryan stickers walking around than orange. 

-  When your two year old nephew runs up and gives you a big bear hug (around the head) and won't let go.

-  A car comes rumbling down the driveway and while you're standing at the window trying to figure out who it is your phone starts ringing upstairs and instantly, "Oh, it's Leah!"  I love that girl. ;)

-  When you and your older brother have the exact same personality and the exact same brand of sarcasm and the look he gets on his face when he's trying to hold it in because he knows better than to mess with little sis (muah ha ha).  It's hilarious.  Unfortunately, having the same personality and sense of humor, I usually know what he's thinking whether he says it or not, so he still gets in trouble! lol

- The look an a sweet disabled lady's face when you ask her if anyone has ever told her that she looks like the Queen.  (She really did!) She laughed so hard, I thought she might fall out of her wheelchair.  Then she pulled out a long necklace with a crown dangling from the chain and said, "My husband always called me 'the queen'."  So sweet!

-  Having a comedienne for a sister.


Just Plain Hilarious

- When out of the blue your little sister says, "I just love my imagination.  It's so imaginative."

- When you are painting the fence and you glop on a bit more paint than is necessary so you start brushing faster to keep it from dripping and you end up flicking paint onto your mother who is on the other side of the fence.  After this happened several times she yelled out, "Stop it, you paint flicker!"

 
So, what's going on with you this week?  I'd love to hear about it!

it's over

After four straight weeks of setting up, tearing down, wearing unflattering work clothes, washing hundreds of pounds of potatoes, hitting Walmart at 10:30 pm, frizzy hair, smudged makeup, coming home dusted in powdered sugar and reeking of hot grease, we are finally done and I am exhausted!  It was fun, but I am so glad it's over and we can get everything packed away and out of the kitchen!

And so, things get back to semi-normal around here. 

I got up this morning and put on my new accordion-pleated maxi skirt (Goodwill find!), fixed my hair, and put on some make-up, just so I could enjoy looking nice for a little while.  It was pleasant while it lasted, but now I must go change and braid my hair so I can spend the rest of the day scrubbing coffee stains out of the carpet, painting the fence and cleaning out fryers... 

Yup.  We're back to normal! ;)

So, what are you up to this lovely Monday?

a frolic through the alley-way

Yesterday was a very cloudy, blustery day.

Perfect for pictures!

So, after fighting our way through the crowd at the Panera in downtown Chatt, my friend Leah and I headed to the art district.  They have the coolest alley that goes through some of the restaurants and coffee shops.  I absolutely love it!

 Isn't she lovely?

 

 I reluctantly agreed to hand over Knightley for a little while.

I have much more fun playing photographer than model.

 

These are just a few out of about 275.  Yeah...lol!

 

 

We really had a great time.  Rarely do we do anything with just the two of us, so it was a nice treat to go out and do a little shopping, take some pictures, and get coffee.  Hope we can do it again!

it's official

Fall is here.

Okay, it's been here for a while now, but we now have chilly temperatures here in the Tennessee Valley and we finally got the fall decorations put up around the house.  That makes it official!

We have two festivals down and two more to go this month.  Needless to say, it's a bit crazy around here.  We've got monstrous loads of dishes to wash after every weekend, a trailer to unload and reload, set up, tear down, not to mention the normal stuff: house cleaning, cooking for 5 sometimes 8 people (I never seem to know anymore...), making sure that the laundry gets taken down instead of compacted into the hamper, keeping up with my reading, the weekly shopping, Christmas planning (some presents are already a work in progress.  It's killing me not being able to share!), keeping up with phone calls, emails, and events (with the election closing in, there seems to be something going on all the time.), etc., etc., etc. 

It looks more exhausting all typed out than in reality...

Awkward

- Sitting in a pediatrician's waiting room and suddenly realizing that everyone - the way cool high school dudes, little kids, teenage girls, moms, dads, grandparents - are all staring intently and open-mouthed at the television which is showing a Disney princess movie. 

-  Attending a political debate and having a gentleman come up to you and ask, "So, why are you here?"  Once I recovered from the rather strange question, I told him why I was there.  He obviously wasn't pleased because without uttering another word, he promptly turned around and strode over to the other side of the room.

- Working on the counter at the fair and having a lady come up and say, "I want a funnel cake with sugar on only one half of it, a ribbon fry, two...no...three teas, one sweet, one un-sweet, and one half and half, no ice in the un-sweet, two cokes and a water."  I just stood there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot, trying frantically to do the math in my head.  I had to ask her to repeat it slowly two more times before I got it right.

-Trying to carry 4 gallon sized buckets of mustard through Walmart because your mother ran off with the buggy and left you.

Awesome

- Being able to wow your little sister.  Earlier this morning, I was sitting in the living room and I could hear Sarah tapping her pencil rhythmically on the kitchen table.  After a while of listening to it, I said, "Sarah, stop it.  It's too early for Jingle Bells."  There was a few moments of silence, then I heard, "How'd you know that's what I was doing?  I didn't even know that's what I was doing!"  *sigh... I'm just that good. ;)

-  Going to the "big city" (otherwise known as Knoxville) and gaping out the window at the strange city folk and buildings.  It was on this trip that we noticed that there are seriously three or four of the same fast food chain per square mile.  Sarah kept saying, "Is all of this really necessary?"  It's fun to look at, but boy was I glad to get home.  Driving through Knoxville is a bit too stressful, even when you have a GPS.

- Finding a pair of suede mustard-colored flats for $3.  Oh yeah!

-  Waking up to find out that your wonderfully awesome mother baked blueberry-lemon muffins for breakfast.  I've got the best-est mama!

-  Seeing another random skirt-wearing family out and about and striking up a conversation with, "Hey, I really like your skirt" which leads into gabbing about clothes, where I bought such and such, sales, thrift stores, etc.  Such fun!

So, what's been going on with ya'll? 

{friday faves}

 Chocolate chip cookie dough stuffed cupcakes.  <3  If you aren't drooling, you should be!

These are soooooo good.  You can find the recipe here.

Coffee.... <3

 Braids.  I am currently hooked. :)

Cookin' in the kitchen.

zombies, Elvis, etc....

 Pictures are back.  I'm not sure why, but I've decided not to question it so maybe Blogger will keep being nice to me.

Well, it's late and I've got a lot to do, so let's get going...

Awkward

- Sitting behind the counter with Sarah at the fair and having a lady come up and ask Mama which of us is the oldest.  It's been bugging me ever since.  I mean, it's ok to look younger than you really are, but six years younger?  Sigh....

- Overhearing two teenage boys discussing how they would respond to certain situations if they were zombies.  Yeah...

- Going to the used book store to find a certain novel and finding out that there is no "non-fiction" section.  I wandered in bewilderment from "best-seller" to "recently released" to everything else and eventually ending up in the "romance" section.  That's when I gave up.

- The hard stare you give your mother as you come down the stairs as you try to read her face to tell whether or not she likes your outfit.  I did this the other day and she glared back at me and said, "Why do you do that?!?!?"

(My new favorite pic of Daddy and Mama. <3 )

 

Awesome 

 

- Picking up an Elvis CD to surprise Mama and  the two of us going down the road singing and giggling all the way.  The real fun was when we got home and she and Grammy started playing it and dancing.  I thought Sarah was going to fall in the floor from laughing so hard!

 

- Seeing old, very close friends for the first time in years and picking up right where you left off.  We spent 3 hours in McDonald's just gabbing away.

 

- Good hair days.  Of course, according to the general public, I always have a good hair day.  But when I think I'm having a good hair day, that's awesome!

 

- Finding a recipe on Pinterest for cupcakes with cookie dough centers.  They are sooooooooo good!!!!

 

- Having Sarah back home after 3 days in North Carolina.