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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



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'!



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!

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?

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? 

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.

 

it's Thursday, folks!

The last three days have been a whirlwind of activity for me!  When I try to sit down and think about everything that has been going on, it all comes out like a chalk drawing that someone rubbed their hand over.

It's been a little crazy!

 

 

Well, it's Thursday, so here we go!

 

 

Awkward 

 

~ Planning to meet a friend from Georgia at Starbucks and being completely oblivious to the fact that, while you weren't looking, a second Starbucks was put in on the other side of town.  Therefore, you end up at one Starbucks and your friend at the other.  Talk about feeling dumb!  I live here for goodness sakes!  You'd think I know these things...  This is what happens when you live so far out of town.  You have no idea what goes on. 

 

~ While waiting for your coffee, you reach for your phone and something goes terribly wrong and the phone ends up on the floor on the other side of the room.  I still have no idea how I did this!  I'm just glad it didn't hit somebody!

 

~ Having someone ask you what district you live in and not being sure if they mean the Commission district, House, Congressional, or Senatorial so you just blurt out the first number that pops in your head. 

 

~ Walking across a crowded room and tripping over a chair that you could have sworn was not there 2 seconds earlier.

 

(If you haven't picked up on it already, I am something of a klutz!)

 





Awesome

~ Finally seeing progress on a big Christmas project!  Ask me no questions... ;)

~ A friend giving you the most awesome pair of cream colored heels ever created!  Thanks, Leah!  I absolutely LOVE them!

~  Bandanna waves.  My new favorite go-to blog for hair styles.  This only takes about five minutes to put up (waaaaaay faster than rag or pin curls!!!) and it really works!  It's kind of hard to sleep on at first, but you can pin them so that they stay put and it's much more comfortable. 

~ Telling your three-year-old niece that you are rearranging the bedroom and when you ask her where she thinks you should put the bed, she solemnly points to the window and says, "Outside."

~ Having a clean, rearranged, semi-organized bedroom (no, I did not put the bed outside!).  It's still a work in progress, but it is much, much better than it was!  I now know exactly where things are instead of having five possible places where it could be.

That's all for now, folks!  I've got to get busy, again! 

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

an odd combination

 

Ohhhhh yes!  Peanuts and Coke.

 

I have heard that this is "a Southern thing", but then, I don't know many people who do this.  My aunt and uncle got me started on it a while back.

 

 

I get some weird looks sometimes, but it's good!  If you don't believe me, you should try it sometime!  :)

words

Auburn {as in my hair, not football}

Buttons {what little children are as cute as}

Coffee {mmmmm!}

Delicious {yes, coffee is delicious!}

Elephant {or “ephelant”, as I like to say it}

Faith {as in my name}

Glimmer {like stars}

Haberdasher {not an American word, but I just love saying it!}

Ingenuous {different from ingenious}

Jocular { hahaha! }

Klink {as in the Colonel}

Lovely {or loverly as we like to say}

Melodramatic {as we sometimes like to be at our house}

Notorious {as in Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman}

Original {everyone is!}

Percolator {best way to make coffee}

Querulous {something I have to work very hard at not being}

Ric-rac {love that stuff!!!!}

Simplicity {I say as we throw away and reorganize the house}

Thoughts {I have many of those!}

Umbrella {we’ve need those the past few days}

Vegetation {what I got when I asked Sarah for a fun word starting with V}

Words {!!!!!}

Xebec {look it up}

Yacht {the one word I can never seem to remember how to spell}

Ziegfeld {as in the Follies. It was the only thing I could think of other than Zebra…}

{friday faves}

In love with everything about this picture!  The colors, the patterns, the pillows!!! <3

Highbrush Heels from Anthropologie.  {swoon}  I need to start a

shoe fund.



Mr. James Cagney.  Seriously, how can you not love this guy?



Plaid, red nails, bandana, and coffee.  Perfection! 

{Totally copied this hair-do this morning! Bandana and all.}

a new series of randomness

I've seen several bloggers engaging in a series of blog posts that I find very entertaining, so I thought I'd join in!

It doesn't have a name that I know of, so I am going to call it:

Awkward/Awesomeness

Basically, I get to tell you awkward and awesome things that have happened to me throughout the week as well as throwing in a few random snapshots just for fun.  Like this one!

You can't get much more random than this... ;)

So, here we go.

Awkward

Spending 5 minutes frantically pressing the "steam" button on the iron only to realize that you failed to switch the iron on. 

Waking up in the middle of the night as you are hurling your pillow across the room at some phantom person in your dream.  I have no idea what I was dreaming about or why I was mad enough to throw my pillow.  What really made me mad was that I had to get up and search for it in the dark... lol :)

Having a teenage male cashier call you "sugar".  Um...ew!

Trying to use your laptop while laying on your stomach and then the dog comes and casually sprawls herself over your hands and will. not. move. 

Going to town and realizing that you forgot to take your apron off!  Luckily I discovered this before I got out of the car!

Going to a political meeting where everyone but me is over the age of 50 and being asked, first, how old I am, and second, "You aren't a radical, are you?"  Wasn't sure quite how to answer that one!

Awesome

Holding precious babies!!!  I got to hold my new nephew again this week!

The sisterly ability to think the exact same things at the exact same time and being able to tell that the other is thinking the exact same thing without saying a word.  At least ten times a day, something will happen and Sarah and I will slowly look at each other...wait a second...and then burst out laughing.  So fun!

Figuring out how to position your pillows and glasses so you can lay down to relieve your headache and crochet at the same time.  The specs were the most difficult to work out.  It's hard see anything with bifocals (don't laugh!) unless you are sitting straight up.  I had to pull them all the way down and balance them on the tip of my nose.  Might not have looked pretty, but it got the job done!

Jersey maxi skirts and an old tee.  Comfy-ness is awesomeness!

Needing to use algebra to figure out how much fabric you will need for a pattern that you created and remembering how to do it after five years!!!!  And I did it without a calculator to boot!

Having every window in the house open ALL DAY LONG!!!!  Loving this cool (er) weather!!!

Finding a scrap of fabric that is the EXACT size you need for a project.

Phone calls with friends you haven't talked to in a while.

Finding a bevvy of James Cagney films that you've been looking for for ages at McKay's.  I hated having to choose which ones to get!

Coming downstairs in the morning wearing your housecoat and your three year old niece saying,"Ooooo, Mana!  I wike you dwess!"

southern speak :)

People tell me I have a thick accent.

Okay. :)

All I know is that my Yankee, Mid-Western, and Florida friends get a kick out of listening to me talk.  Once, I even had a guy from Jamaica spell out words just so he could hear how I would pronounce them!

I have recently been told by several people that my accent has a lot of Alabama in it.  I guess I get that from Daddy.  It also explains why people in my own home town think I talk funny.

It's fun having a naturally thick southern accent.  Because of it, I can say things that non-southerners just couldn't get away with.  Let's face it, bless your heart and I do declare! just don't work unless you've got the proper accent. 

Not only do we southerners have amazing speaking voices, we have our own vocabulary to go with it.

For instance:

"Clodhoppers" are working boots or big clomping shoes.
"Chunkin" something means to throw it.
"Fixin' to" means you're about to.
If you're "laid up", you're sick.
"Sorry" is something that is inferior in quality, or someone who is lazy.
A "poke" is a bag or sack.
If you're upset, your feathers have been ruffled.
If something is overflowing it's "chugged full".
If someone has been misled or hurt they're a "stuck pig".
If something is "cattywampus" it's crooked.
Everyone older than you is "older then dirt".
Asking for sugar means you're asking for a kiss.
If you look like someone, you're "a spittin' image".
Temper tantrums are "hissy fits".
Lights are "cut" on or off.

I could go on, but then, you get the idea.  And, in case you are wondering, yes, I do use each one of these on a daily basis!

On second thought, all of them except "poke" and "stuck pig".  I use those occasionally, but only when I know I'm around people who won't give me weird looks!

I just love the southern language. :)

at my leisure...

I am currently taking an unintentional-turned-intentional break from blogging.  Why?  Because it's summer and that's just how things seem to work out.  :)  However, I decided to check in for a bit today and let you in on what's been going on with me.

I celebrated my 21st birthday a couple of weeks ago.  I have always loved having a summer birthday because there is absolutely nothing else going on and I can enjoy it without any interruptions.  And of course, my lovely family took over the dishes and the laundry for the day.  Awesome! 

Typically, I don't like bragging about gifts that I received, but I just can't help it!  Daddy managed to find a vintage rotary phone that actually works!  I love it!  It was actually in working order in my room for about a week before Sarah made me unplug it.  The loud ringing disturbed her...  Another gift that I am extremely proud of is the DVD of the 25th Anniversary performance of the Phantom of the Opera.  Let's just say I'm a huge fan and leave it at that. ;)

Artistically, no paintings to speak of.  I'm in the process of planning one, though, and I hope to start on it soon.  Most of my artsy time has been spent sketching randomly and attempting to hone my skills with the human face.  A very frustrating task at times.

We've had a big change in our house.  Well, the upstairs of our house.  It has been completely turned upside down, rearranged, and reorganized.  I'll spare the details except to say that Sarah and I (and Elly) are now occupying the garage attic/bonus room/ whatever-you-want-to-call-it.  It's ginormous!  Especially after living in my tiny windowless sewing room for a month.  I now have a nice large window with a lovely view of the huge tree in the back yard.  Love it!

Sewing?  Most of it has been devoted to expanding my Grammy's wardrobe.  I might post pictures in the future.  We shall see...

The rain this summer has been absolutely ridiculous!  I mean that in the best way possible.  Green grass in July is rare.  Green grass in August is simply unheard of, but we have it!  It's absolutely gorgeous outside!

I have recently become quite obsessive over nail polish.  On my hands, that is.  I have always worn it on my toes to cover up the ahem deformities, but rarely did I wear it on my hands.  Now, I love it!  Although, the Bon-Bons look done by a three year old isn't quite my style...

We are patiently awaiting the arrival of the new nephew/grandbaby!  He should be here any day now!Can't wait for you to get here, Luke!

These are the random highlights of my summer.  It's been a relatively busy one.  Tomatoes, green beans, and field peas galor, people coming and going all the time, random shopping trips, etc.  But, I've also had lots of down time which I have been enjoying to the fullest and I intend to continue to do so until we get back into the full swing of things.  (Just a couple more weeks.)

Until then...

...I'll just be chillin'.  :-)

signs of summer

 Luscious green leaves.

 The it's-too-hot-to-go-outside-we're-so-bored-so-we're-going-to-steal-the-

camera-and-take-goofy-pictures pictures that are clogging up my

memory card... ;P

 Sigh....lol :D

 Peppers, anyone?

 Nice refreshing swims in the pool.  At least, it would be refreshing if

the water wasn't so hot!  We've been freezing buckets of ice to throw

in, just to make it semi-cool!

 The yummiest, sweetest, juicy-est, most amazing peaches EVER!!!!

And no, I'm not sharing!

 The tomato patch.  Just don't get too close, unless you want to be covered

in green slime!

 Precious little boys playing ball.  <3

The hanging out of the laundry... :)

What does your summer look like???

my dad is the awesome-est!!!

Today, the day before her birthday, my mom awoke to find, not one, not two, but NINE DOZEN ROSES in the kitchen.

Yes, you read that right!  108 roses.  We counted 'em!

I don't think I've ever seen her that dumbfounded before!  Sarah and I were rather speechless ourselves!  We spent all morning arranging them and now we have huge bouquets of roses scattered around the house!  I love it!  :D

Oh yeah, my Dad is the greatest!

moving on...

What are you doing to enjoy this last day of April?  :)

I'm feeling rather blue...

Have you ever taken a good look at the clothes in your closet? I don't mean just when you're trying to decide what to wear, I'm mean throwing open the doors and taking a long, scrutinizing look. If you've never purposefully done this, you should. It's a eye opening experience.


I accidentally had this experience earlier today. I was mindlessly going about my business, taking down the dirty laundry and putting away the clean clothes, when suddenly, it struck me:

Most of the blouses that I was hanging up were blue.

Normally, this wouldn't seem so odd because it's a well known fact that I tend to unconsciously gravitate towards varying shades of blue as well as black. Not that blue is my favorite color (I don't have one! I know...shocking!), but I just like the way blue looks on me.

But today, I stepped back and took a good look at what was hanging in my closet. What I saw shocked me. Half of the blouses in my closet are blue! This is not an exaggeration. If you were to measure the space taken up by all of my blouses and then remove the blue ones, half of the original space would be empty.

Call me strange, but for some reason this bothers me. I guess it's because it proves that I have no imagination whatsoever when it comes to fashion. I can't help it that I like blue clothes, in fact, the blouse and even the skirt I am wearing at the moment happen to be blue, but something simply must be done! I suppose I am going to have to forbid myself to buy anything blue for at least a year. That should give me enough time to add some variety to my wardrobe! I hope...

At least now that I am aware of the "problem" I can try to switch things up a bit from day to day. We'll see how that goes! With 50% of my closet consisting of blue, I might have to make a chart telling me what colors to wear on what day to prevent my wearing blue every day of the week, which I am sure I've done before and never realized it!