Blinking

I have come to a realization...this blog is a lot like my life...or rather , how I treat this blog is a lot like my life...I know it's here and I like it, and I'll get to it when I get to it...but I want to do it and make it a better, closer friend. I simply get easily distracted AND I am usually not equipped to say things the way I want to say them, anywho...I had a wonderful Christmas, but mine's not over...more family on the way with more PRESENTS!!!!! Yay! I will be catching up with you all very soon...I have some Marine Comfort Quilt labels to finish...say a prayer for 'our guys' too.

Meaning of Christmas

Technology...pffft!

It amazes me how I can disappear for a month...

My computer effed up and then all my kids came, left, and came back...

computer got fixed and the kids are due again...

so after this weekend I won't be on here again but

you will find me hovered over my sewing machine and

hopefully NOT being trampled in the shopping store frenzy.

And now for some of the prettiest babies in the world..

and some of the people they belong to...TA DA!

I think Olivia and Haley are discussing the dysfunctional family!

MY mom and Haley and Olivia...can u believe she's a great-grandmother??

These are the MEN in the family...my hubs, my 4 boys, my brotha, and my daddy.

The Giving Season

A small donation of just $5 buys 2 pair of shoes...WOW!

I think I can do that weekly and not lose a thing.

http://www.50000shoes.com/

The goal is 50,000 pairs of shoes

and I know times are hard right now...but it will make you feel better and

$5 really does make a difference!

BEDHEAD

Ssshhhhh, don't mention this, but I don't know which twin this is! They will be here Friday and I get them to myself for 3 days! But first, I better study their pics again...I haven't seen them , they've gained some POUNDAGE!

Trying NOT to watch TV

I made an apron for my swap over the weekend. It's really cute ...

the fabric says MERRY CHRISTMAS in gold...simple and sweet.

We went hiking Sunday...Crowder's Mountain, Gaston County, NC

The mountain is awesome to hike and takes everything I have...thus very few pics because I was so worn out I could barely hold the camera steady.

The lake is being drained and I am not sure we will even get it back for next summer. It is beautiful when it's full, but cleaning it out and restocking it will be fantastic...and we will get to canoe on it without running up on a sand bar!

Boo'd

Aunt Pitty Pat

is trying to scare me...didn't scare me too bad though.

So now I am going to scare a few people myself!

Happy Halloween

Now snag the pic, add it to your blog,

and BOO your blog friends!

Whoo...time flies

Because I lost my license (somewhere in my house) I had to go get a duplicate license this morning. Last time it took 30 minutes...today it took 2 and a half HOURS! The place was packed! I'm not sure why, but most everyone I talked to had plans to come yesterday and decided today would be better...hahaha, NOT. And while I am talking about the DL office...why do they ALL look the same? If I had not known what town I was in...I would have sworn I was in Asheville, or Wilmington, or Gastonia, or Durham (all the places I have previously gotten licenses). All NC ones must look the same...I am sure they were all built at the same time and obviously by the same people! After making some life-long friendships AND finding a nice plumber, I went off to ..... VOTE Not many people were there...until I finished my paperwork...and then the place was packed...everyone was so nice and having a great time and I LOVE voting early...next Tuesday I am sure they won't smile and laugh quite as much...before I left my pic was snapped and we downloaded it to my phone so I could post it...I look a little sneaky if you ask me and maybe I feel that way...voting early seems a little sneaky! But yay...now I can get on with my life for a week ...came home and didn't feel like cleaning or sewing ...so I decided to BAKE ...I used a new biscotti recipe that I won't use again...it sounded so good, Chocolate-Cherry Biscotti..mmmmm, but well I need to find another one, they look great, but the taste, no...they can be way better. So off to find my old chocolate biscotti recipe and make them the right way! I also made a few doctor's appts...I got my son in tomorrow (shock) to check on his deep-sounding chest cough (and he came home from school and his left side is hurting) ...I had pluracy as a child and I sure hope that's not his problem ...I'm guessing pneumonia...but he has no fever...hmmmm. I also made my 1000th cancer check-up...ok, exagerating...but it feels like 1000th...plus my flu shot in the morning...and that's just the start. I'll have to call dentists and gyno docs tomorrow. I remember telling my parents a few years ago that all they ever do is dash out the door to a drs appt...and now here I am...always dashing out the door for a drs appt. Blecch!

a mish-mash

I have been working on a few projects....and have some that I can do the finishing on tomorrow. I think it's way fun to do a bunch of projects at the same time...lol. I am nuts too.

The LAST of my flowers....boo-hooooooooo

I believe Fred....

http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/checker.aspx?v=e46UkUDkDk

I was all ready to go vote today....I lost my driver's license and also discovered my bank card gone too! Tomorrow I will go vote and get a new DL and have the bank issue another card...hate it when a plan doesn't come together!

More stuff....

I went and did a little shopping Friday...hit quite a few stores and didn't find much...got the twins a coat...and a 'stuffy'...

...and I didn't see anything in Hobby Lobby but a few pieces of flannel and a few remnants...a few patterns...and well, quite disappointing when I was ready to SPEND!!!!

This and that...

Oh gee...it's supposed to be close to freezing tonite... I'm kinda ready...Picked some flowers today and put on my tables...and moved some flowers into the 'shed'...and took a few pics of some pretties...a little mum and pansy love...

I got the Christmasy things done...well, sort of...I made name placemats for the girls and one for their mom and dad...Kaylin can set the table...I have napkins made to match...but the names were bigger than I needed, so the placemats are 18"x 14", too big really but I suppose they can use them wherever they need a mat...lol!

....the babies and Kaylin and Mom are coming in tomorrow...Patrick is on a training mission, so he won't be here...but they won't be staying long...apparently Patrick got some big news and will need to talk it out. So they will head back early! I can never catch a break!

Fall into Fall WINNER

I have so enjoyed doing this giveaway...Thanks Debi !!!

I waited for my hubby to get here to do the draw...BUT of course, he's way late...so I ran out and got my mailwoman to do it...she didn't want her pic taken though...so the # she pulled....is......

#98... that # belongs to....Grammie at l.........r at gmail dot com

I'll be sending you an email...so I can get your prizes out to you!



Hope everyone had fun and hope you all won something! I know I found a lot of new and fun bloggy and bloggy friends to visit...when will I ever get anything done other than reading blogs and ..oooohing and aahhhing?

Another start!

I had the NEED to do something with Christmas fabrics and colors....right now it can be a few different things, but I will show you tomorrow what I end up with. Do you have a guess?





AND ...OH MY....LOOK what my sons brought me this morning...now I KNOW they really,


REALLY LOVE ME!!!!






It's beautiful here today...gotta go back outside. Have a wonderful day, y'all!

I need touch-a-vision

I am sewing, really I am...but I keep getting distracted...hehehehehehe

Fall into Fall Giveaway!

My first giveaway and just in time to celebrate my favorite season. I am one of many quilters hosting a Fall into Fall Giveaway. Sign-ups start with this post and will end on October 14th at midnight. I will post winner at noon on October 15th. Just leave a (nice) comment and a sure way for me to contact you and let the fun begin. The prize in this giveaway includes Mariner's Medallion Quilts book by M'Liss Rae Hawley, a Christmas color homespun fat quarter bundle, and a Double Feathered Star pattern (Little Bits) by Cindi Edgerton. Have fun and good luck!











Be sure to visit Debi's blog at http://fallintofallquilters.blogspot.com/ or click on the scarecrow to the left after you enter my giveaway. There are many more participants with giveaways to enter...now go!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!!!!

Fibro and Politics and no more excuses

It's less than 90 days till Christmas and my BIG plans to have my Christmas gift sewing has been deterred...again, happens every year. Why is that? This is my favorite season - FALL - it is the season that rejuvenates me and makes me feel I can do anything. It's the season I WANT to be outside, walking, looking, breathing, waiting for leaves to change, jumping every time an oversized acorn falls (I am being targeted), mums showing up on everyone's front porch. Last year my next door neighbor cut down 2 huge trees that were in between our houses...I miss those trees...I would sit on my patio and watch squirrels until I lost track of time...then the squirrels would spot me and start hulling their nuts right above my head and I would get bombarded with remnants and missed bites...well not this year...the squirrels had to go find new trees and a new person to annoy in their own squirrelly way.

The last 3 to 4 weeks has been a foggy nightmare...and I couldn't shake it. The political madness had me in knots. Innocent conversations would turn vile and ugly. I normally keep my mouth shut so when people would ask me how I was planning on voting I would just say that I was still weighing the possibilities of both sides (I HATE JUST 2 SIDES). People that I trusted were just like me (in that they also didn't like turmoil and heated discussions) became belligerent and name-callers (things that were said by candidates and bloggers and reporters) that were totally uncalled for and untrue). My sons would come home from school and want to discuss what they had heard and read ...too much political brain overload based on rumors, gossip, and outright falsities.

I have been voting since I was 18. I never knew what party my parents belonged to until I was 25. It was a very personal and private and an extreme thought-provoking privilege to them. I remember the first time I voted. I rode with my dad and on the way there he asked if I knew who I was voting for, not to tell him , just did I know who...I said yes, I knew and before I could say who, he said "Just vote for for who you trust the most". He did ask me how I came to decide and I told him that I looked at it like the US was one big family...the Pres would be the dad (the tiebreaker) if the family (Congress and Senate) was undecided. I told him the Pres to me would be responsible for all outside forces ( like foreign policy, helping other countries, world business) just like my Dad would do making sure all ran well around the perimeters of the USA (family) with the Congress and the Senate. The state offices would be like my Mom who made sure my day-to day life ran smoothly. He just smiled and that was that. I always thought my parents were the opposite party of what they are...they do look at things in a very different way than I do but it's funny we end up wanting to vote for the same candidates.

My decision is done and not without pain and I mean literal pain...the political turmoil this year caused a stress factor like I haven't had in over 3 years which was the last time I had a fibromyalgia attack as bad as the one I am in now. So my absence, foggy brain, lack of projects completed has been explained. Fibro sucks and it sucks even more when stress is added to it, or maybe stress is the real factor in fibro...don't know , I am still learning and coping with this extremely weird, unexplainable condition. But I am feeling better and it's FALL!!!!

I'm almost OK

Wow...I've been out of it awhile! and I still am really but I will come out of the funk for a few minutes...I've been tagged by Marcel over at http://auntpittypats.blogspot.com/

SEVEN THINGS ABOUT ME THAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW

1. My 4th son was exactly 3 months premature, weighing in at 1.5 oz. I held him in the palm of my hand and there was room to spare. He is now 16 and 6' 2", still growing.
2. I failed my driver's test the first 2 times...I was so nervous...the third time I passed and surprised the instructor and hugged him in front of all the highway patrolman. I have only had one wreck that was my fault (and the slick, wet, oily road - no one hurt) and no tickets.
3. I am 50 and I simply cannot wrap my brain around that number...I do not feel it. Both my grandmother's are alive and in their 90's.
4. I wore a pair of shoes today that my mom bought me when I was a junior in high school.
5. My favorite comfort food is .... don't go ewwww.... Velveeta cheese slices on toasted bread with a glass of Nestle Quik chocolate milk...when I was in grade school my dad would leave his work early during the week to be home when my brother and I got off the school bus (my mom worked till 5) and he always had our afterschool snack ready...most days my mom left 'healthy' snacks for us...but at least twice a week we got Velveeta and Quik or my dad's 'infamous' spoon fudge...and we learned NOT to tell on him!
6. I am just like my moma and dad...and I am finally happy about that.
7. I would marry my husband all over again and the only thing I would change would be to tell him 'I love you' more often...I didn't tell him much with 4 little boys running around...who had the time. He does hear it now.

And there it is...I don't do these often and now I am thinking of all kinds of things....I would love for anyone else to do this and let me read yours....

My Marine just called and got a 5-day leave, altho he is not supposed to go farther than 100 miles (who's counting?), he and DIL and Kaylin and THE TWINS may be coming for the weekend...which means I have to hustle to get my sewing room and the office and the den and the dining room cleaned up...I have surprise sewing laying everywhere and I have to hide it from them!

I hope to be back this weekend and show you lots of stuff and tell you about my breakdown!

Chompers....

How did my babies get so many teeth in 3 weeks???? My how my grandtwins have grown...and my how much fun they look...I want to be on the beach with them although they may have to scoot out of town today because of the hurricane blowing through Wilmington/Camp LeJuene!!!!
(say a prayer) So here a a whole post of the latest pics from Steph and I hope to be there in 3 weeks! Miss you Kaylin!!! Miss you Olivia and Haley!!! Miss you Steph and Patrick!!!

MY Carolina Blue Girls!!!!!

I love apron swaps!

I received my Fall Sassy apron yesterday...it's so neat. I absolutely love the color and fabric...and if anyone can identify and tell me what the fabric name and manufacturer is I would be so grateful! Jennifer S...thank you, thank you, thank you...and for the Cranberry pie recipe too...love. love. love. (I sound like Rachel Zoe there).

...and look at the cool ribbon/button and applique embellishments!

I am also going to show the apron I made for my partner...I have never made one this style and was so excited how it turned out! I will make this one again! She should get it today.
Thanks for the swap fun...and I have to get back to sewing now...lots of projects to make...

September already?????

Last month I actually won something!!!! and then I proceeded to forget that I had won ....but I got it in the mail last week... Isn't it cute? It is actually very nice and thick and much larger than I expected! and I chose preppy colors in honor of the days when I "knew" exactly what I liked...hehe. The giveaway site was http://preppypinkcrocodile.blogspot.com/ and the sponsor was The Palm Gifts at http://www.thepalmgifts.com/ . Super super cute stuff! (I see a lot of little girl twin monogramming in my future!