Jacksonville Boat Parade

There was one more wonderful thing about Thanksgiving ~ When Jen & Jeremy left Thursday night ~ they took Nate & Julz with them! We had a wonderful relaxing Friday. Unfortunately Richard had to do some work but then did some catching up with a new (for him) BBC series on TV and I worked on some Christmas gifts for 4 little ones I know.
Unfortunately Friday night Jen called us to say that Nate was not feeling well and running a bit of a fever. We offered to go up and get him right then but she said "no," he was fine for now and she would check in with me in the morning. I have to tell you, as much as I trust Jen, and I trust her with my life, it was so hard to sit home knowing he was there and not feeling well. I did check in with her on Sat morning before going to work at the quilt shop and she said he was doing much better and wanted to stay.
After I got off work at 3:00, Richard had talked to Jen again and we all decided we would head up to Jacksonville as soon as I got home and we all went to see the boat show. Since Jeremy works at the Jacksonville Times Union which is right on the waterway, we were able to park in his lot and sit right on the water. It was a bit cool so we brought blankets...
Most of the boats were really great. Unfortunately the pictures didn't come out too great but here are a few...
After that we went out for Wings and then back to Jen's where we all played Cranium and then Jen, Jeremy, Richard and I played Catch Phrase and had so much fun we didn't leave until after 2:00 am, which is bad when you are facing a 2 1/2 hr drive. We got home around 4:00 am and slept in on Sunday. In any case it was a good time for all of us and Jen, I am hereby challenging you and Jeremy to a rematch on Catch Phrase!

Turkey Day Report

I am happy to say that this was probably the best Thanksgiving I can remember in a very long time. It's the first time ever we have gotten to have Jen and Jeremy ON Thanksgiving. She usually ends up at her dad's so we've always done Thanksgiving the weekend before the official day. As she and I have always said, it's not about "the" day, it's about a day, together, celebrating and giving thanks.
Jen & Jeremy spent the night Wednesday and so all the kids got to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade together ~ with Hot chocolate, of course and working on their wish lists for Christmas.

Anyway... I also got my Mother-in-law, my "other" mother, Patty (she used to be married to my dad, but I kept her in the divorce!), my little bro Matthew and his adorable girlfriend Karina ~ and of course, Richard, me and the two little ones. And yes, we had a kids table this year

We ended up eating about 3:00 and all the food was yummy ~ and there was a lot of it.
I think Jeremy was happy too

Besides pumpkin and apple pies Matt & Karina also brought this which was a giant hit.
My favorite part was getting to spend much needed time with my family.
And I know my MIL loves that too
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well!




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Etsy Update

I know it's a little late in the game for fall but I put some new stuff in my Etsy shop last night. I've been working on these for a while now, in my spare time.
But then I figured if that's the color of your dining room, it really doesn't matter what time of year it is.
I also put some little baby doll quilts up there. I did them a while back. They are sewn on the machine but I hand tied them and hand sewed the faux binding.
I also made another one that I gave to the daughter of a friend for her American Girl Doll. Since they are made from 30's reproduction fabrics it worked with the "theme" of her dolls and I think she really liked it. I may make some more miniatures with fun bright fabrics next. They are too much fun.
Also found this at the store the other day. They are supposed to be turkeys. Think I might have another cake wreck photo?

A beginning, an ending and some stuff in between

So Girl Scouts is finally underway. We've had a couple of meetings getting to know each other and at this weeks meeting we had our official "sash" ceremony. Girl scouts are no longer required to wear an official uniform ~ It's basically khaki shorts or pants and a white shirt ~ but they are required to wear either an official sash or vest. Our troop has decided to go with the sashes. There are several patches that are required for the sash. The american flag, the girl scout emblem, the troup council and the troup number. So, our leaders decided we (and by we I mean I) should sew all the patches on as per the official sash template before we give them to the girls and then have a sash ceremony. These are six of the eight girls in our troop and in case anyone is counting that's 56 patches they wanted me to sew on. Now, my friend Sue in Jacksonville paid someone at the dry cleaners to do the badges for her son in boyscouts and they charged $5.00 a piece. Man that would have been some sweet money. Unfortunately I was asked to "volunteer" and I'm such a sucker I said yes. Now in all fairness it was asked as "do you think you could help sewing on the badges?" Of course, I can help till the box with the sashes and badges came and it was all sent home to me! YIKES. Fortunately they were all iron on's and thats just what I did. Still took me hours because you have to iron the sash to heat it up, place the badge down and press it for a certain amount of time, turn it over and press again for twice the time and then flip it back over and go over the edges one more time! I think I still want the $5 per badge! Anyway.. enough of that rant.
Soccer season has ended and we all got together on Monday night for a "farewell" party. We met at Pizza Hut and it was a lot of fun. I'm really going to miss the kids, the coaches and the other parents. I made a scrap book for the coach that really turned out cute and he was really happy. He said he felt closer to this team than any other team he has coached and I know they are supposed to say stuff like that but I think he really meant it. It was a great group of kids and there were no issues with any of them. They all got along, and played their hardest. The parents all bonded as well. Unfortunately the picture I took of all of them came out really blurry ~ sorry!

As for the stuff in between, we were at Home Depot the other day and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this...
It's a tool box. It's a tool box with a built in stereo. It's a tool box with a built in stereo AND refrigerator! It's a tool box that costs almost $1700! I think for that price it should come with the tools. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised at this and as for the price tag, compared to the newest Bernina sewing/embroidery machine on the market for $12,000 I guess it's not too bad. Someone at the shop asked me if I was going to get the new machine. I told them for $12,000 it needs to drive me to the shop!
Also we received some more yummy food compliments of my mother in law (thanks Ginky!). This time it was fillets wrapped in bacon. They came yesterday and we will probably have some for dinner tonight. I'll let you know how they are. Nathaniel gets excited because they come in a container with dry ice and he loves to play with it. We put it in a bowl of water and watch it smoke and bubble and once he's bored with that he put a bit of dish soap in it. Talk about bubbling over. I'm not sure if you can see the smoke in the picture and please ignor the dirty dishes in the sink!
Also Julianne was home sick yesterday. I took her to the drs and she has strep! Poor little thing is feeling miserable. Not sure why she has her brothers quilt but if it makes her feel better, I'm okay with it. Daddy is staying home with her today since I have to work at the shop and he can work from home today. Jen probably also has strep. She's actually been sick for a few days and sounds horrible. She will get herself checked for strep today and I'll bet it'll come up positive too. My poor girls.

Well I'm off and running...

Happy Birthday Alex

Today is my Alex's Birthday! Alex and I met each other through the YMCA in Raleigh many many years ago and through a series of circumstances she ended up as part of our family. She has lived with us off and on through the years. Even though now she has a house and family of her own she is still a big part of our family and although we are separated by distance in miles we are still close in our hearts. In order here is Alex & Adam's wedding; Our North Carolina family; and Alex and Baby Bryce.



























Happy Birthday honey ~ I hope your day is as spectacular as you are!

S'mores anyone?

I finally finished the other sample I was working on for the quilt shop. I quilted it on the HQ16 but not without major issues. The tension on the back is still "off" in some places but it's done and I'm not messing with it. I think all in all it turned out pretty cute.
It's snowmen made of marshmallows, sitting on chocolate & graham crackers. I basically cut up two of the panels and then sashed them with the wavy striped fabric. The corner blocks are white with turquoise snowflakes that you can't see in the picture and the big turquoise swirls just remind me of snow.
This will probably go on Julianne's bed for the remainder of winter, once it comes home from the shop. I think that outer border would make a cute little purse, don't you? Maybe I'll have to work on that and put it in the Etsy shop!

Fun Friday Night

We had a really good Friday night. Good food, good drink and the entertainment was priceless!
After a crazy busy week I needed Friday. I even managed to meet my dear Hubster for lunch in "Historic Downtown Melbourne," which is actually pretty close to work for him. It's basically New Haven street, which runs a little over a mile, full of shops and restaurants. We ate at an "alternative" dinner. I had a great cuban sandwich and Richard had the hummus which he said was great ~ I'll have to take his word for it. All the people working there were young, hip, tattooed and pierced. The art work in the place was spectacular. It's definitely someplace I'd go back to.
Friday night we made a low key but yummy dinner. I made an avocado salad which turned out really pretty and most delicious. I love how the colors and the tastes of the avocado, tomato, cilanto, jalapeno and red onions just pop. The jalapeno was a little hotter than usual so I had to make sure I had plenty of Smirnoff Ice to drink with it! I also prepared some shrimp for Richard to grill They are brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with Adobo seasoning and then I squeeze a little lime over them once they are done. There is also lime in the avocado salad so it all goes together very nicely. I also made some yellow/white corn on the cob which was particularly good tonight. All in all it was a Party in my Mouth!
As I said the entertainment was priceless... can you guess what these pictures are?

I'll even give you a hint...these pics were taken at 7:55 pm on Friday night. I may even send a prize to the first person who sends me a comment with the correct guess.

Julianne loves my write on/wipe off board and was busy making a new drink menu ~ geeze, you'd think we drink a lot around here or something.

All in all a good day, doncha think?

Just too cute

I found these adorable elephants on Etsy the other day and fell in love with them. It just so happens that the artist lives right here in Melbourne so I actually got to pick mine up in person. Check out her adorable shop here. She's a real sweetheart too. Tell her Barb sent you.
P.s. The pink one to the far right is now home with me!

The final two games

We played our final games on Saturday and then on Monday night. We won both games and the kids played really well. While I look forward to an easier schedule I will miss the games and the kids and the camaraderie of the parents.
Here are a few highlights of the games


And to honor the team, both Julianne and Nathaniel dyed their hair blue!


Fortunately for me, this stuff washes right out and is pretty harmless. It comes in all colors and Julianne loves to get the gold one and put "hi lights" in her hair!
Next Monday we (the team) will meet at Pizza Hut for a party, hand out trophies and I'm putting together a small scrap book of pics from the season for the coach.

A visit from the grandpups

Jen & Jeremy were spending the weekend in Orlando ~ visiting the Wine Festival at Epcot and spending time with her dad's family. We met her at the intersection of I95 and I4 and picked up the dogs from her. They are both miniature dachshunds and both cute and very well behaved. Julianne just loves the pups

as does Nate
and Richard (otherwise known as Grampy)
I even like them just a little bit
Aren't they just the cutest?