What are you working on?

I've been working on stuff for the Etsy shop. Not making as much headway as I'd like but I did get a ton of kits cut out so I can just pop into the sewing room when I have a bit of time and start to sew. I think it takes me longer to pick out which fabrics I want to use than it does to actually sew the item.
Most of these will end up being wallets
And these are some travel pillow cases
And these are snap bags ~ they will be new to the shop
I've been sewing in bits and pieces. I've gotten all the stuff I can use orange thread on, done red thread, brown thread and almost done with the black.

There will also be some new screen bags including a couple of sleepover bags. They are larger than the ladies screen bag and have a matching travel pillow and a snap bag to keep your tooth brush, deodorant, etc. in. I've done a couple of these sets for some young girls and they are a big hit, especially when I embroider their names on them. I'm gearing up for the schools "Night of the Arts" cause I'll have a booth set up selling my stuff again.

I'd like to also add some burb cloths, bibs and maybe some taggies (thanks for the idea Sandra)... Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated!

So, what are you working on these days? Doesn't have to be crafty ~ I'd just like to hear from you!

The New Fall LIne Up

Have you all seen the ads for the new fall shows coming up? I love this time of year ~ so many new shows to check out. Looks like there are some good possibilities coming up.

They've really been advertising "The Event." It's got Blair Underwood (who I've liked since LA Law) as President and also features Jason Ritter (John's son) who I really like. Looks like a conspiracy theory drama.   They are saying it's the next "Lost."  Hopefully not quite as convoluted as Lost.  I think maybe more of a "Flash Forward" type show but hopefully it'll last a bit longer.

There is also "Chase" which looks to be promising. It's about a female US Marshall and each week trying to catch a dangerous fugitive.  She apparently comes with her own sorted past and baggage.  We'll see how this one goes.  Not sure how many more cop shows we need but again the cast seems to be a really good mix.

"Undercovers" seems to be a "Mr & Mrs Smith" for TV but just look at this couple.  They are beautiful.  Hopefully it won't be as violent as the movie, but if these two have any chemistry at all together,  it looks to be a good start.   Not that I need yet another show to get hooked on.

I'm really looking forward to "No Ordinary Family."  I've been a Michael Chiklas fan for a while although "The Sheild" while really well done was a bit too dark for me.  It'll be interesting to see him in something lighter.  It's basically a family that goes through something that turns them all into superheros.  We are not talking "Hero" here which, while great in the first season went straight downhill from there.  Think more "Incredibles."  Looks really cute and I"m hoping this one will make it.

Last but certainly not least, I just found out about this new show last night.  "Outlaw" looks like it just might be my favorite new show.  I base this on one reason and one reason only.  Jimmy Smits! Yet another LA Law alumni. He plays a supreme court judge who resigns to become a lawyer so he can change the system.  If I know Jimmy Smits (and I like to pretend that I do) the show will be unpredictable (hopefully) and sexy (definitely) and probably a bit dark.  I really like the show "Cain" that he was in a couple of years ago but that really didn't last and then there was his role in Dexter that was unbelievably dark but really good.

There is also Mike & Molly which might be cute and a few others I haven't checked out yet.   Of course, there are my current favorites like "How I Met Your Mother", "Castle", "Glee", "Big Bang Theory", "Medium" etc... and tonight is the announcement for the new season of "Dancing with the Stars" which is the one and only reality show I watch but I'm completely hooked on!

So tell me, what shows do you currently watch and are there any new ones you are looking forward to?  I need to know these things so I can program the TV to tape them all.  Don't want to miss anything!

And the Winners Are:

Just wanted to say "Thanks" to all of you who left comments. I really like hearing what you liked in the shop.
And now on to what you really want to know ~ The Winners ~ and they are:  Drum roll please......

Lola from Andsewon She will be receiving one of my favorites, my Tea Cups Screen Bag. 

"A" from A New York City Life
liked and will be getting my teal flowered wallet

And Michele from Nostalgic Cafe couldn't decide between my guitar travel pillow
 or the Martini Wallet~

Time to choose one now so I can send it out to you!

Ladies, please send me your snail mail addresses and I'll get these out to you this week... and again, thanks for playing!

I have the Best Bloggy Friends

So remember back here when I told you I was meeting up with fellow blogger Jill of "Life With Nature Girl?" We had a great time meeting and exchanged gifts as bloggers are wont to do.

Imagine my surprise when I received the most amazing box in the mail yesterday. Can you believe all the goodies Jill sent ~ not just for me but for all of us in the family?   I knew she was sending me some more of her wonderful Zentangle patterns which all of us here love.  They are so inspiring and fun to do. She also sent some very cool Sharpee pens which I hadn't seen yet.    But then ~ she also made Zentangle bookmarks for all of us as well which we are all loving. 
Nate's isn't in the pic because he's already taken it and using it on the Harry Potter book he is currently reading.  What a great gift idea to go along with the books she sent for both of the kids.  2 each for Nate and Julz.  They both love to read so this was perfect for them.

She also sent us some Zucchini relish that Nate is dying to break into, some blueberry jam and maple syrup so that we could have a little of the North down here in the South!  She also knitted me a dish cloth which is beautiful and very soft.  I really don't want to use it to do dishes and Julianne keeps trying to steal it (the child is a kleptomaniac) just to rub against her face.  Weird, I know.
For me (that no one is allowed to touch) were some Tinkerbell stationary and some cards she "altered" to add Tink onto.  They are just adorable!

I have to say though, my favorite thing in the box was sadly not for me ~ but for the one and only Charlie!

Is that not the cutest thing EVER?  It's a soft taggie doll.  I think this may have to stay at Grammy's house so Charlie can play with it here!  The only problem will be Auntie Julz who, although she knows how to read insists that the card says "For Julianne!"  I'm telling you ~ this child has got problems.

Seriously, even though I have thanked Jill privately, I wanted to thank her publicly as well and tell the world WHAT A GREAT PERSON AND FRIEND SHE IS!  So, thanks Jill.  It means the world to me!



PS ~ Don't forget ~ Today is the last day to get in on my Blogiversary Give away!

It's GIVE AWAY Time!!

Believe it or not, I've been blogging for 3 years now. It's been absolutely amazing and I've made so many great friends all from all over the world that I never would have met otherwise. I wanted to do something to celebrate and to thank all of you for sticking with me for the last few years...

Just so happens that I am getting ready to put a bunch of new stuff into my Etsy shop and I'd really like to move some of the other stuff out so... here's where the give away comes in. In order to win something from me, go to my Etsy shop and then leave me a comment telling me what your favorite item is. This will also help me to know what items to continue to stock.

What will your prize be? I'll pick several winners (depending on the response) and you'll get whatever you said was your favorite item!

For another chance to win, become a follower. For those of you who already follow me, you'll automatically be entered a second time. And for a third chance, post about my give away on your blog ~ just don't forget to let me know!

Good luck to all of you ~ I'll be picking the winners on Sunday! Don't forget to leave me a way to get in touch with you!!!

A Very Cool Quiz

You really need to take this very cool quiz Here's what it said about me:

You think of art as a means of reaching out to others but, at the same time, you use it as a shield to some extent. It’s a way of participating in society, in a community. It’s the way you communicate with others and the way they can communicate with you. Seen in this light, creativity provides the basic materials to build a bridge between you and other people, so you can’t think of it as something that lies outside your relationship with others. You like the attention and good opinion of others. When you show people what you’ve made — a birthday cake, or a piece of music you’ve written — it’s your baby, so you are very sensitive about any criticism. You need to be able to distance yourself from the result, and allow others to enjoy it and feel part of it, without it reflecting on you alone. Your creativity allows you (or would allow you) to feel part of the world. You’ve got an inner exhibitionist and you think that this strengthens your relationships. What you really want is for others to see the good in you. You prefer to get on the stage than stay in the wings analyzing your inner life (although you do that, too). So let the show begin, but make sure your life doesn’t depend on the applause. •

Very cool! Pretty much hits it on the head for me. I'd love to hear if it works for you too.

A simple Project

For quite some time we have been wanting to get a "Lazy Susan." So finally a trip to Ikea and we brought one home... one problem though. The only one we saw was a white wood which not only does not match our dining room ~ it sticks out like a sore thumb.

So what's a crafty gal like me do ~ I made a cover for it!

Ah, that's much better ~ fits right in doncha think?


BTW ~ I tried looking up where the name Lazy Susan came from and really wasn't able to come up with anything definitive. I did find out that it's invention is attributed to Thomas Jefferson and that it dates back to the 1700's.  It was originally called a dumb waiter ~ before the contraptions we now know as dumb waiters.  By the way "dumb" as in silent not stupid.  Where the name Susan came from remains a mystery.  One theory is that female servants were known as Susan but there is no proof of that. Weird, right?

You Can Go Home Again

So the other part of visiting my past came the next day after meeting with my high school peeps.... and sorry ~ no disrespect to you both ~ but this was DEFINITELY the highlight of my visit...

I got to have lunch with the most special person! This is Del. She was my neighbor from the time I was 3 until I was 14! Del actually used to babysit me when I was little and I still remember the hamburgers she made me for lunch. Del worked at Mary's Restaurant on 7th ave and was married to Joe ~ chef extraordinaire, who also worked at Mary's.

Mary's is legendary if you grew up in North Miami. They had the best garlic bread sticks EVER!
Anyway.. I digress... It was so amazing to be with Del again.  It really felt like I was home in my heart.  I could have stayed and talked to her for hours and hours.

Del has 5 kids ~ I honestly don't ever remember her  when she wasn't either pregnant or just had a baby.  Her house was so much fun to be at ~ but crazy!    I did get to see one of her daughters while I was there.  Del lives with Mary Jo (who still has the biggest dimples ever!) and Mary Jo's husband ~ both of them are real sweeties!

Actually one of the last times I saw Del or her kids, I had just gotten my driver's license.  I drove over to the old neighborhood and stopped in to see Del.  Took all 5 kids for a ride in my brand new Chevy Vega ~ and got in an accident.   I was crossing a busy street, my car stalled and a big ol' Cadillac came barreling down the street, didn't see us (she was turned yelling at her kids) and took the entire front end off my car.   For those of you who remember the Vega, it was basically a tin can on wheels.  Sheered the front end right off the sucker and the rest of the car never moved.  Thank goodness we were all fine ~ scared but fine.  I think I was more scared of what Del would do to me for getting in a wreck with all her kids.   I would have lost it, for sure but she was really glad everyone was okay and said "accidents happen" and never held it against me.

Anyway... It was so great to see her again and I have to say, I felt like I had traveled back in time, to my youth and got to spend time with someone who means so much to me... and I can't wait to do it again. 

Catching up with my past

A couple of posts ago I eluded to the reasons behind my trip to South Florida. I was able to time travel back to the past... My first trip back was to high school. Miami Central High School to be exact. I really haven't had much contact with my friends from high school. That is, until Facebook came along.

Thanks to Facebook I've been able to reconnect with so many of my friends from high school ~ see pictures of them now and find out what they are up to. Most recently one of my best friends, Margie signed on to Facebook. I couldn't have been more excited. We were inseparable for both 11th and 12th grade. There wasn't much we didn't know about each other and we still keep those secrets to this day! We kept in touch for a while after high school but jobs, marriages, divorces and life in general took it's toll and we just lost touch.

These days we are both mothers ~ I have 3 and she has 4. We are both grandmothers ~ we each have one. Today I'm the crafty stay at home mom, PTO member etc.
 Margie is the Personnel Director for the City of Plantation by day and Motor Cycle Mama on the weekends. We lead completely different lives but the connection is still there. Unfortunately my camera spazzed out on me and the only pics I have from that night are really blurry ~ but here are a couple of her from facebook.

The other friend I met up with was Barry.  Barry dated one of my good friends back in high school and we went on a double date with my boyfriend Robert.   We didn't hang out much more than that at the time but we've been communicating on various school sites and of course, facebook and he's such a great guy.  I'm glad we have taken the time to get to know each other again.  

It was great to sit and chat with them both ~ talking about old times and all the dumb things we did as teenagers.  No pretenses of being what you never were.  They lived it too and we all came out okay.  We also caught up on the gossip about other old friends.
We'll definitely do this again and hopefully some more Miami Central High School alumni will be able to join us. 
In any case, I do hope this is just the beginning of new/old friendships. 

Sadie gets a hair cut

Our dog Sadie, for those of you who don't know is an American Eskimo ~ part of the Spitz family. Basically she has very long white hair that sheds EVERYWHERE! They are very cute but she gets to looking pretty shaggy and much heavier than she really is... We have a "new to us" groomer. The place is called FANGS here in Rockledge and they are fantastic. Kristen does Sadie's grooming for us and she does a wonderful job. We like to keep her hair really short ~ She's 9 yrs old and still looks like a puppy!  I have to thank my friend Janie for telling me about this place.   They are very reasonably priced and even more important seem to genuinely like the dogs.  I've seen too many places being too rough with the dogs they are grooming. 

And just so you can see what Sadie is "supposed to" look like....

This is NOT Sadie but a pic borrowed from Dogster.com

Julianne to the rescue!

A couple of weeks ago the kids and I went up to Jacksonville to play Mommy for Jen who had to go to a 3 day conference in Denver. Jeremy has to work during the day so we got Charlie all to ourselves.

She is growing so fast ~ and doing so many new and cute things. I can't believe she is going to be 4 months old already. She is quick to smile and also quick to let you know when she is NOT happy.

We went up Tuesday night and Wednesday morning we were on our own. Charlie woke up about 5:30 and I changed her, fed her and then (according to Charlie) it was playtime! She coo'd and smiled and all was well ~ for a while. I was really enjoying myself... she got a bit cranky and I remembered that taking her out on the balcony always made her happy. We went and sat out there for a bit and she fell back to sleep. There is nothing better than holding a sleeping baby except it was like 90 hundred degrees outside so I brought her back in and put her down where she slept for another half hour or so.

She did NOT wake up happy this time and there was nothing Grammy could do for her to make her happy. I changed her, I fed her, I walked her, I talked to her ~ NOPE ~ nothing was making her happy. To the rescue came Auntie Julz. She asked if she could hold her (First off, I'm impressed that a 11 y/o is willing to hold a screaming baby). I didn't think it would work but sure, go right ahead. Wouldn't you know it, little stinker stopped crying immediately! That's pretty much how it went the rest of the week.

Not that Charlie was unhappy all week ~ she was fine 90% of the time but when she wasn't ~ all she wanted was Auntie Julz. Julianne is now a master diaper changer (yes even the poopie ones) and bottle maker and all things Charlie.  I just know the minute Charlie starts to walk, she'll be following Auntie Julz every where she goes. I honestly don't know what I would have done without her.
By the end of our stay she said she was ready to go home although 5 minutes down the road she said she was already missing Charlie!

Nate did help a little but mostly with the pups ~ or keeping their video games played








I did feel a bit guilty since it was their last week of freedom before school and we really didn't go anywhere or do anything cause I didn't want to chance taking the baby out in a strange car (the seat is permanently in Jen's car which she left for us) and in a city that I'm not used to so we pretty much stayed in except for the night that Jeremy took us all out to dinner at Red Lobster (yum!)


We did sleep when we could ~ where ever and when ever we could.

They really didn't mind though and since we had already done all their school shopping (clothes and supplies) they had the entire weekend to run around with their friends and were actually looking forward to going back to school.

Me, I miss Charlie too. She is the most adorable little thing ever... BUT she wore me out! This is why people my age do not have babies!!