Winter Is Here

Me Thinketh Winter Be Upon Us! lol Hubby reported this
morning that the temp. was 1 degree! No wonder my
windows are frosty and my coffee tastes so yummy this
morning!

I've been getting ready for the holidays as of late, and
things are a bit hectic in my world. I just now finished
up a darling little stocking for a friend's grandson. It's
made of John Deere flannel, fully lined, and has batting
between the layers. I've tried to find a stocking
pattern that I really liked. I have a problem with the
shape of them. I like a nice full, rounded stocking, and
a pattern for such seemed to be ever elusive to me. I
found a tiny little free pattern on the net and loved the
general shape of it. My sister and I enlarged it by
200%, then I added a contrasting heel patch, toe
patch, and cuff.... walah.... the perfect stocking for
my tastes.

I also made stockings for my Grandmonsters, all in
John Deere print, blue background for the boy and
pink background for the girls. They are just too
cute for words. Everyone that's seen them just fell
in love with them. Now the real test.... will the
Grandmonsters like them?? Of course not, they'll
only be concerned with the treasures the
stockings contain.

My precious Hubby wanted a new tree stand, so
that's what I did for his Christmas. He got it
early so he could use it during deer season, we
also got him a new range finder.... much to his
delight.

Last week when I was getting ready to go shopping
Hubby came out of the bedroom with a sly grin on
his face. He then asked me if I was still wanting an
embroidery machine. When I replied that I was,
he handed me a handful of money and told me to
get myself one for Christmas! Talk about
surprise of surprises! I am impatiently waiting
for the UPS man to deliver it to my house! lol

We had an EMS (Emergency Medical Services)
dinner a few nights later and low and behold
I won the very first door prize of the evening....
a $100 gift card for Wal-Mart! So I'm saving
that to buy some thread and stuff for my
new embroidery machine. I am so
excited!!

Last week I churned out some more of the
soap that looks like popsicles. I had an
order for a few bars and decided I'd just
make as much as I needed to use up all
the packaging bags I had. Got that little
chore done! Now I also have some more
soap that can be sold on a moment's
notice.

I love lurking around on etsy.com and
looking at the unusual items that other
people create. I stumbled upon a neat
looking item the other day, Smores On A
Stick. They were very unusual, looked
delicious and caught my eye. I decided
to try making some. They turned out
so neat, everyone that had one thought
they were good and very neat looking.
Just take a wooden skewer, put 3 or 4
large marshmallows on it. Cover it in
melted chocolate and then sprinkle
graham cracker crumbs on it. Stick
them in the freezer until they set up. I then
wrapped each one in saran wrap and
twisted the ends around the stick. Turned
out really cute and the Grandmonsters
loved them. By the time Cookie ate
one, she was covered in chocolate, she
looked adorable!

Jaylan was with us over the weekend so she
helped me do some cooking. That kid loves
to be in the kitchen with me! I bought one of
those little two step kitchen stools a while
back to help me reach light bulbs, etc. Well,
it has turned into Jaylan's stool. If she stands
on the top step she's the perfect height for
my kitchen counters and she can reach my
stand mixer really good.

Soooo.... yesterday we mixed up some
chocolate chunk cookie dough, some Andres
mints cookie dough, some peanut butter balls,
some chocolate fudge, some graham candy,
and some rice krispy treats. I still have to
bake the cookies and dip the peanut butter
balls, but that shouldn't be a problem.

Today and tomorrow I have to make my
sister a couple reversible aprons for her gift
for Christmas Eve. She requested aprons, and
even went so far as to buy some fabric and a
pattern. Well, she's lost the pattern! lol Her
Hubby cleaned out their truck, the pattern was
in the truck, and now they don't know where
he put all the stuff.... her winter coat is
even missing! LOL Can you believe that???
Ok... back to the apron.... I tried to find a
pattern for these aprons to no avail. I had to
end up buying an apron kit, you got the
pattern and the fabric to make the apron
with. Wonder why you couldn't just buy
the pattern? So I waited for the "kit" to
arrive, and of course it seemed to take
forever. I finally got it Thursday evening
when I went to get my mail. I sure
couldn't sew anything over the weekend
with Miss Nosey Pants (Jaylan) here.

I've been hearing so much of the garbage
about Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
controversy. Why is wishing someone a
Merry Christmas such a problem?? I believe
in the old saying that "Jesus is the reason for
the season.". And why should it bother a
person for me to wish them a Merry Christmas?
How does that infringe upon their "rights"?
Don't I have the "right" to wish them holiday
tidings in any way I so choose? You know, I've
had people say and do things to me that I
don't particularly care for, but I sure didn't
make a stink about it, I just kept my mouth
shut and went on with life. What would I
accomplish by making waves? I have
learned throughout my 47 years on this earth,
that sometimes it's better to just keep my
mouth shut and eat a little crow. I believe
this helps me grow into a better person.
What do you think?

I'll try to post some pics of all the goodies
I've been making in a few days. But for
now I'm off to the kitchen to bake a cookie
or two!

Happy Holidays.... Noooo....
Merry CHRISTmas!!!

Good Morning World!!

Yes, it's really me... up and at 'em and it's only 3 am!!
Since Mike's been home I've been getting up between
3 and 4 am. During the week he leaves the house
at 4:30 for work, so I try to get up early enough to
chat with him a little and we drink some coffee together,
now my internal clock seems to think I need to get
up that early every day.

My car was acting up when Mike came home
Wednesday night, so Thursday I took it to the local
shop for them to diagnose the problem. It turned
out to be a wheel bearing, so we ordered one. I took
the part and the car back to the shop on Friday
morning to have it fixed. When it was done it was
making a noise, when I took it back and talked to
my mechanic, we discovered he'd put the part on
the wrong side of the car... the passenger side
instead of the driver side. Funny as all get out. But...
a blessing in disguise, the passenger side was all
messed up too and we thought it was alright. So
Friday we call the parts place again, pick the part
up on Saturday morning, get it fixed, and it's
making a noise when it's done. Hubby could not
hear the noise, no one seemed to hear it but me.
Finally after a few trips around town my mechanic
heard it. Pulled it in the shop, found the problem,
and now it's right as rain again. Woo Hoo!! The
car is finally fixed.

Bow season is upon us once again, with Rifle
season on it's heels. Deer season is like a National
Holiday in my part of the world. Every Redneck
friend we have is out beating the brush looking for
that ever elusive 30 point buck and my Hubby is
the leader of the pack!!! LOL

So next week my work is cut out for me, I have to
load food, etc. into our camper, do some baking for
the occasion, wash all the camo clothes in their
de-stink 'um detergent, pack them all into a
trash bag... making sure they get the least amount
of human scent possible on them, and watch my
precious He Man pull the camper away from the
safety of our driveway into the Wild Woods to make
DEER CAMP! lol

At the months ago, pre-selected perfect destination,
a fire pit will be built, lawn chairs will emerge from
the back of the truck, the cooler of nutritious beverages
(beer, whiskey, wine coolers) will be strategically placed
at the correct distance between the fire pit and
the door of the camper. The lanterns will be
hung from just the right size branch at the
specifically designated distance from the fire pit
and the camper windows. Then the 4-Wheeler
is unloaded from the comfort of the back of the
truck.... the camo "dog house" is packed onto
the racks of the 4-Wheeler and He Man
Hubby will go to the "pre-specified", perfect location
and set up the blind. By the time he arrives
back at DEER CAMP, it's getting dark. He will
then crack the seal on his first tin of delicious
and tasty sardines, grab a handful of saltines
and have his delectable DEER CAMP dinner.
Then a nutritious beverage is needed to wash
down those dry saltines.... then another nutritious
beverage.... then another...... and finally just one
more boost of liquid nutrients. By this time he's
yawning so he makes his way into the cozy comfort
of our camper and envelopes himself in the
warmth of his sleeping bag, and before you know
what's hit you, the rumbling noises of snoring
begin to echo through the stillness of the night.
Oh my.... the first evening of DEER CAMP has
come to a close! LOL

This same scenario plays out in most of our friends'
homes just as it does mine. Now comes the good
part of DEER SEASON..... The men are gone so
we wives get to shop, visit at the local restaurant
and go without cooking for a few days!! :) We
call ourselves "Deer Camp Widows". lol

Jaylan is with us again tonight, was there any doubt
on that fact.... it's the weekend. lol Bless her heart,
she went shopping with me yesterday and she was
the best little thing, never gave me a minute's
trouble. She seemed to really enjoy her time
with me. The only thing she asked for was a new
movie and KFC for dinner. Of course we had
to buy a new Webkinz, we got the bat this time.

Well, I'm off to put on a pot of coffee... it's after
4 and Hubby will be getting up to go bow
hunting shortly.

Have a Blessed Sunday!!

Bad, Bad Blogger!

Has it really been two months since I've posted? It
certainly doesn't seem like it. Things are changing
around here again. Mike came home from Colorado
a couple weeks ago. He's now working in Missouri,
driving about 200 miles per day to get to work and
then back home again. But it's so nice to have him
around in the evening and on the weekends! Not
only am I enjoying him, the GrandMonsters are
thrilled that Papaw is back home. That Jaylan has
been like attatched at the hip to him. lol

Our local October fest was a three weeks ago, we
all had a good time. My two oldest GrandMonsters
competed in the tricycle race, Jaylan won her age
group but poor little Honey Wayne was doing
good to even reach the finish line. And of course
there was lots of junk food, ice cream, cotton
candy, the bounce house, etc.

Halloween has come and gone... it too was a
blast! The kids are getting older now and they
enjoy the holidays so much. It always tickles
me how excited they get over the little things.

I've been making hair bows lately. They are
so awesome to make. I love taking a few yards
of ribbon and a few minutes later I have a
darling hair accent for one of the kiddos! I've
made some that I put on lacey headbands for
the tiny ones and then some others I put onto
a barette for the older kids with lots of hair.
Either way they're great.... and so much cheaper
than buying them.

I will try my darndest to get back into the
swing of blogging. I just get side tracked and
don't think of it.

I'm going to give you a fantastic pickled egg
recipe. This recipe was passed from my
Grandma M. to my Momma, then to me. I
just got done mixing up a batch this morning,
they should be good and ripe by deer
season. Hubby loves them!

Grandma's Pickled Eggs

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled
1 cup beet juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 small onion, quartered
Place peeled eggs in a jar. Mix vinegar, beet
jui9ce, sugar, salt, and onion. Heat just to a
boil. Pour over eggs. Put lid on jar and
refrigerate for at least 2 days before using.

Happy Wednesday!!

Do I Deserve This??

Yesterday was quite a day! I certainly hope we don't
have a repeat anytime soon! lol

As usual Jaylan came to stay with me Friday
evening. When I woke up Saturday morning at 8:30
she was still asleep. I just rolled over and went back
to sleep, waking up at 9:30. I got up and went to the
bathroom. While sitting there Jaylan came in and I
noticed she had hair all over her arms. So it played
out like this....

Carmen: "Jaylan, you've got hair all over your arms
honey, where did that come from?"

Jaylan: "From the haircut."

Carmen: "Did you cut your hair again?"

Jaylan: "No Mimi, I cut yours!"

Carmen: "What??!!" I screamed as I slammed both
hands onto my head and started feeling my hair to
see how much I had left.

Carmen: "Where did you get the scissors?"

Jaylan: "I used my little scissors you got me at
Wal-Mart. They cut hairs really good Mimi."

OMG! Can you believe it?? After I got to looking
at my hair, she had cut a chunk out of the crown of
my head and left the hair about 3 inches long. She
cut a chunk out of the right side of my hair, cut
chunks out of the bottom of my hair in the back, and
made a nice straight cut along the base of my head,
making it almost look like a mullet!

There was hair on the bed, on the bench at the
foot of the bed, piled in the ashtray, in the floor,
in the trash can, and some even up under the
edge of the bed. Wow!! When it's all spread out
like that, it looks like A LOT OF HAIR!!!! lol

I knew spanking her would do no good. So for her
punishment she had to go home and can't come to
my house for a week, and she can't talk to me on
the phone. I'm hoping if she thinks I'm mad and
my feelings are hurt she'll remember this and
NOT do it again.

But, in all reality.... It's funny as all get out! Can
you imagine a 3 year old child cutting your hair?
She was so nonchalant about it all too, that's what
got me, she's not at all concerned.

Needless to say, everyone that knows what
happened thinks it's just hilarious. One guy got
so tickled he couldn't even talk to me, he just
kept giggling like a little girl!

I had to get my hair cut off, it went from being
about the middle of my back to being a bit
above my shoulders. That's all we could do to
make it look right. I'm telling ya, she really did
a number on me! And the wild thing is.... it's
not near as bad as it could have been!! :) It's a
darn good thing I love that little stink or I'd have
beaten her to a pulp! lol

Oooohhhh.... life with Jaylan is always an
adventure!!

He's Gone Again

My Mike went back to Colorado yesterday about
noon. He left two crying girls standing in the door
watching him drive away. Jaylan and I were both
boo hooing. Poor kid, she cried for probably a half
hour. She kept telling me she really needed to go
with Papaw, she kept saying, "Mimi, we get along
so good and I promise I won't be any trouble!
Please pack my clothes and tell my Mom I went
with Papaw."

I talked to Mike about midnight last night and
he was at the airport getting ready to leave for
the motel. He had to deal with the police before
leaving, someone had hit the company truck
while parked at the airport and he had to file
a report on it. He sounded very tired and
worn out.

We are getting some of Hurricane Gustav's
moisture today. It's been raining since
about 8 this morning and it doesn't look like
it's going to quit any time soon. It's been a
steady rain, not too hard. I'm hoping most
of it will soak in and not run off.

Our BBQ over the weekend was a great
success. Mike loved having all the
company and visiting with his family. The
Grandmonsters loved giving Papaw his
Birthday Cake! They were sooo excited!

All the kids played on the trampoline, in
the pools, and fished while the adults
visited and caught up on family news.
Everyone seemed to really enjoy
themselves. And the food.... oh my gosh!!
We had enough food left to feed an
army when we got done. I was afraid
I'd run out of meat, so I kept buying and
buying it.... we ended up having everyone
pack a goodie bag to take home with them
and still had food left. Oh well, better too
much than not enough.

I'm worn out today, draggy as all get out.
I think it's the weather. I keep wanting
to lay down and take a nap or watch tv...
if I start watching tv I'll take a nap anyway.

My 4-wheeler mechanic just called, he's on
his way to pick up our 4-wheeler for some
repairs. When he gets done with it, I should
have brakes once again. lol I learned how
to down shift to get stopped.... out of
necessity! lol

Take care!! TTFN

Saturday Night Already??

Yeup! It's Saturday night, the meat has been precooked,
the salad fixins are all cut up, the trailer has been power
washed, and everyone's in bed.... except me! lol

Jaylan finally gave it up around 9:30, she just couldn't
keep her little eyes open any longer. She's had such
a big day. Mike went up town this morning and
returned with her in tow. He ran into LaDonna and
Teri at the gas station and Jaylan started having
a hissy fit, wanting to go with her Papaw. Sooo...
when he came home, she was with him. She's been
his shadow all day, taking almost every step he has
taken.

Mike decided to power wash the trailer today, it
most certainly needed it! It looks sooooo nice
now, all white and shiny. He did such a good job.
Bless his heart, he was absolutely soaking wet
with sweat and so hot, but after about four and
a half hours, he was finished.

I guess our company will start arriving in the
morning some time. We'll be eating between
one and two o'clock, Mike's doing all the
BBQing. We'll set up our canopy in the morning
and drag out lawn chairs, tables, and get the
inflatable pools set and filled up for the kids.
We're expecting between 40 to 50 people. It
will be nice to see everyone again.

Guess I'll hit the sack and catch a little shut
eye before the sun peeks out and I have to
start all over. Take care and have a great
weekend!

Is He Here Yet??

Today has been a little hectic, in fact this whole week has
been hectic. I'm preparing for Mike's holiday homecoming
and his birthday. Mike will be home sometime Friday
evening for a three day visit. He will fly back to
Colorado on Tuesday.

We've invited all his sisters, their children, and their
grandchildren to our house for a BBQ on Sunday to
celebrate Mike's birthday. He's pretty homesick to
see his family and we decided this would be a good
way to catch up with everyone. He seems to be
excited to come home and visit with everyone.... as
much as Mike can get excited. He's so laid back
and mellow sometimes it's hard to know what he's
thinking.

The Grandmonsters are VERY excited for Papaw's
arrival! Jaylan is just beside herself! She has his
whole visit planned out I think. And yes... it does
involve some fishing! lol

I can hardly wait for his arrival also. You know,
two months without seeing your Hubby Man is
a long time. We talk on the phone every night and
sometimes through the day and I get to see him
with the webcam, but it's just not the same as
getting to touch him and actually look him in
the eye.

Oh!! I almost forgot some amazing news! I read
Frank's blog a couple days ago, he's undergoing more
chemo, but was pronounced "CANCER FREE"!
Isn't that wonderful news!!?? The chemo will
help prevent any reoccurance of the disease, so
it has to be completed. I was absolutely thrilled
when I read this tidbit of info. God Is Good!!

Hope you have a great Labor Day Weekend!!

I'm Back Online!!

Greetings and Salutations! I've been without a computer
for two weeks. That's two weeks of boredom, withdrawals,
and craziness! lol I had been having some little problems
with my 'puter for a while, but they kept getting worse
and worse. I finally took it to my "computer guy" and
every time I'd call to get an update on the progress of
my wonderful machine, the diagnosis was so hard for
me to hear. Finally we decided it was terminal! It was
like loosing a friend, the thoughts of my computer not
coming home was almost more than I could handle.
I would no longer hear that loud whirling noise when
I started it up, yes, a bit annoying but a noise that was
music to my ears at times.

My "computer guy" thought he'd saved all my
favorite sites I had bookmarked..... not! lol Somehow
he didn't get everything saved, so now I have to go
back and try to find all my stuff I had bookmarked
and save it again. I'll never find it all again, I had
hundreds of sites saved, all neatly tucked away in
files. Gobs of soap making sites and recipes, tons
of sewing sites, free patterns, and tutorials, plus
all the other little odds and ends goodies I had
marked. Oh well, nothing can be done about it,
it's just one of those things, it couldn't be helped.

Soooo... the new computer arrived last night in it's nice,
sturdy box all wrapped up in clear packing tape. We
unwrapped it and slid it in the desk, hooked up all those
wires, cables, and phone lines, turned it on, and to my
surprise.... there was a tiny little whirling noise coming
from the inside of my desk! Ahhh... such sweet music
to my ears!! My pacing stopped, my tremors subsided,
and all was right with the world again!! :) And here I am,
ONLINE AGAIN!!!!!!!! YOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

My computer dilemma is just the last in a long streak
of mishaps! It's unreal what all has went berserk
around here the last little while. The lawn mower
doesn't want to start most of the time, the truck
battery took a spell of going dead every night,
the mower decided when it was running it would
just go whenever and where ever it desired... it's
run over my wrought iron table, a chair leg, the
Grandmonster's sprinkler, hit the flower garden,
and tried to climb the side of the shed! While
mowing I ripped out a rubber drain hose that
connects to the furnace, it came crashing through
the under penning of the trailer and wrapped
around the blades of the mower before stopping.
I've been battling ants all summer, the
exterminator believes he's finally poisoned them
enough that they won't come back this time. I
stepped on a snake, tangled the weed eater up in
some wires to the central air unit, the central
air quit on me the other day and was shooting
warm air into the house... had to get that fixed,
Cassie sat down in my favorite glider/rocker and
one side of it fell to the floor, the dryer has been
acting weird, and now my puppy is sick! Not
enough though... it spread to my Mike!! His
new lap top computer, after 30 days of
ownership got the dreaded "blue screen of
death" which means it was basically trash!
He took it back and they had to give him a
whole new lap top. Then last night I'm talking
to him on his cell phone and all of a sudden he
couldn't hear me! We thought it was fixed this
morning and low and behold it finally shot
craps too..... off he went to the store to buy a
new cell phone! When does it end???!!!
Hopefully our little crappy streak of luck is
coming to an end.... we can't afford much more
bad luck!! lol :) Oh! I forgot one! My digital
camera shot craps too... had to go spend
almost $300 on a new camera. Like I said,
I hope it ends soon.

Ok... on to better things. I made a bunch of
glycerine soaps last week. I had so much
fun doing these crazy little things. I made
most of them from the clear glycerine soap
base and added a light color so that you can
still basically see through them. They are
made in a popsicle mold. They are so neat
looking and so realistic. Honey Wayne kept
wanting to taste them and Jaylan kept
grabbing them sniffing. I'll try to post some
pics tomorrow. They are getting pretty
popular on the net, but haven't hit my area
yet, so I'm the first around here to have
them available. I took a few with me the
other evening to show a friend at the local
restaurant, ended up selling 6 of them
right there. I think they'll be a big seller
for the Octoberfest this year.

I finally got my new bedspread, shams, and
curtains put on. My bedroom looks
completely different! I washed all my walls,
every piece of furniture was washed and
lemon oiled, everything glass was washed,
and I de-junked the whole place. I keep
thinking I'm in the wrong house! lol Now
the sad part of all this, I've had this new
bedspread for a year and a half, but didn't
want to put it on until I gave my bedroom
the once over, can you believe it took me
so long to do? I should be thoroughly
whipped with wet noodles!!

Jaylan spent the night with me last night
and went home this evening. She didn't
want to go, but my nerves couldn't take her
spending another night. I love her to pieces,
but she requires so much of my attention that
I can't get anything done when she's here. If
I turn my head for a second she's found some-
thing new to investigate. But she is a lot of
fun and actually pretty good company. We
went on a 4-wheeler ride yesterday and came
up on an apple tree. She thought it was so neat
that we could pick her an apple off that tree.
She ate her apple as we went down the road.

Ok... gonna hit the sack for a few hours! My
eye lids are starting to get pretty heavy.
Hope your week is filled with
Sunshine and Rainbows!!

Thinking of Frank....

This is a little special post that I've felt for a while
I needed to share with whom ever is reading my
blog. While you're reading this post, you might
think I'm just rattling on. But I promise there is
a story here and if you read the entire post you
will see it all falling into place and understand
what I'm saying. Soooo... here goes.

During my life, I've met people that have touched
my soul with such impact that I know I'll never
forget them. Whether it's been with bravery,
thoughtfulness for others, courage within
themselves, or any other reason that is not
coming to mind at this moment. But, I'm sure
you know what I'm talking about, you've
probably met people like this yourself.

These people that have touched my soul have been
added to my personal list of Heroes. My list isn't
real long or of any significance to anyone but myself.
But to me, this list is very important. It gives me
hope in times of despair, along with strength and
courage when I need it. These are the people that
I strive to model different parts of my life after.
And of course the first Hero that any daughter
has is her Precious Daddy! :) Yes, Daddy is my
NUMBER ONE Hero.

Nowdays with the spectacular device called the
Internet, we can come in contact with people that
are so different from ourselves. They might be
from a totally opposite side of the globe, have a
different lifestyle than our own, or whatever, the
possibilities are endless.

I've come in contact with just such a person. I
belong to a wonderful sewing group, that is basically
all women, but we have a guy there also,
his name is Frank. These women (and Frank) are
some awesome people. Their main concern is their
family. We're from all over the world, all different
religions, all different shapes, sizes, and ages,
but we all have a common bond... sewing.

Well anyway, now that you have a bit of back-
ground info I can go on with my story. :)

Frank... he and his partner have adopted a
darling little boy, have a happy life and then
what most people would call a "disaster" hits.
Frank was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma.
It hit him quick and it hit hard! This was
concerning to me, so I started to pray for Frank
and reading his blog on a daily basis. Or I
should say, checking his blog daily, some days
he doesn't feel like posting.

He is very open and honest about his disease
and the treatments he's going through. He
has the attitude that he will kick this
"Squatter's" ass!! Squatter is what he calls
his cancer. He is very brave about this part
of his journey through life. He is almost
always upbeat, joking, and courageous.
I can't help but admire this man for
his determination!!! He's an awesome person
in my opinion!!

Frank is the latest on my list of Heroes!!

I've never met Frank in person, but certainly
would like to some day. I continue to pray for
him on a daily basis. And yes... I do believe
he will beat his "Squatter"!!! If anyone can,
I think it will be him.

I'm sending an email to Frank, asking permission
to post a link to his blog. If he okays it, I'd
like for you to "meet" this amazing man and read
about his war on his "Squatter. And when
you're finished, you too will see the Hero
in Frank!!

Thanks Frank!! Woo Hoo!! I got the okay to post
a link. I know it's a public blog, but I felt like
asking first was the right thing to do. Here
ya go, meet Frank!!

http://franknotes.wordpress.com/

A New Month

Yeup, another month has come and gone! Where did July go?
Is it really August? Does school start in two weeks? Wow!!
Next thing you know we'll be doing our Christmas
shopping, hustling and bustling around like a bunch of
mad hatters.

There hasn't been much going on around here, nothing that
was blog-worthy anyway. The heat has kinda put a stop
to me being outside very much. The heat has been bad,
the humidity has been worse. A few evenings ago as I
was driving home, the humidity was so thick it actually
looked like smoke in the air. I kept looking around for
a house or brush fire... and fully expected to see one.

Baby, my little pup is growing by leaps and bounds.
Unfortunately I've had to start keeping him in the dog
pen so he doesn't run off. He's just too lonely around
here with no other animals to play with. I kept having
to go round him up from my neighbors' houses. He
doesn't paticularly like the pen, but is very good about
going back in at night. I try to let him in the house
for a little while every day, feed him good so his belly
is huge, and the little guy will lay down on the kitchen
rug in front of the sink and take a 2 or 3 hour nap.
He certainly enjoys the air conditioning. Barkley
still isn't crazy about him, but tolerates his presence.

I had to go outside and dig through the shop for a
mold a little while ago. If all goes well, I'm going to
try a new "just for fun" project in a bit. It is
chocolate covered oreo cookies. They look delish and
I know the Grandmonsters will like them. Here's a
link to the instructions I found.

http://www.teachsoap.com/oreos.html

Yes, Yes!! I'm stalking the soap making sites! lol
I've taken a hiatus from making any new soaps for
a couple years. We had soaps piled up and I had
plenty for the few craft shows I do, so it was
sensless to continue making it. So I focused my
time on sewing. But, lately the soaping bug has
been nibbling on me. I keep looking at all those
cute soaps on Etsy and keep thinking to myself,
"Old gal, you can do that. Why are you stalking
everyone else's products?". One of the newest
things to make is the Soapsicle Soaps. They are
just adorable, but expensive in my opinion. I
know my Grandmonsters would LOVE them! As
would my cousin's children, kids in our community
and the numerous kids that call me Mamaw,
Grandma Carmen, and Jaylan's Mimi. lol

The Soapsicles are made from the glycerine melt
and pour soap bases. I have a few pounds of it
in the shop from my earlier soap making runs,
but I didn't have enough and I could not, for the
life of me, find a popsicle mold. Oh yeah, I found
one on ebay that would work, but it's like the
bomb pops we used to eat as kids. Remember the
red, white, and blue popsicles? The regular
popsicle molds I found weren't really what I
wanted. So... I ended up ordering one from a
soap supply company. But I couldn't just stop at
the mold, I ended up ordering a few more pounds
of glycerine soap base, both the clear and the
opaque. So hopefully, this time next week I'll
be up to my elbows in Soapsicle Soap!! :)

While out in the shop I also dug out all my soap
recipes.... the pile of soap books and all my notes! lol
Quite a pile when I got done. But, you know me,
I do nothing in a small way, I think I need to
over-do everything! Yes, one of my faults, I'm
completely aware of it, Thank You. :) So cold
process soap making is also in my future. I've
been collecting supplies for a couple months now.
Buying up olive oil, vegetable shortening, lye,
and all the fixins.

And while stalking all these soaping sites, I've
learned several new techniques. The techniques
for soaping change all the time. Things that I
did a couple years ago are becoming outdated.
I guess I'm going to have to go with the flow
and update myself. Soap Cupcakes.... can I
really make those and have them come out
looking like cupcakes?? According to the
tutorial I found I can. lol I'm gonna try them,
if they flop, I'll just melt down my base and
try them again. They'll eventually turn
out right, I suppose. :)

Ok... 'nuther subject. My precious Hubby is
getting homesick I do believe. He went
through a spell where he was calling me in the
middle of the night, he couldn't sleep. Well,
when he does that, it throws my sleep
pattern off and I start to become a night owl
all over again. It's been several nights since
he's called so I'm starting to rise earlier now.

A few weeks ago Mike called me and was soooo
excited. He and some of the guys he works
with had been to a bar. Someone came around
and asked them to put their names in the pot
for a prize. Well, low and behold, my Mike
won the prize. It is a two day white water
rafting trip for 4 people. He was ready for me to
pack my bags and fly out the next day. Oh no!!
That's not my cup of tea, but right up Mike's
alley. He's still holding onto the certificate,
trying to decide what he's going to do with it.
I keep encouraging him to go on this trip, he'd
absolutely love it. Besides... how many people
get a free offer like this? I'm keeping my
fingers crossed that he will do it. I'm sure
some of his friends from work would go
with him.

I'm working on a care package for him again.
Hopefully the shipping part of this project
will go smoother than the last time! :) I
found him a couple western shirts to put in
our box and of course I'll be baking some
stuff for him. And of course Jaylan will
have to "write" him a letter and draw several
pictures for him.

Ok... I'm off to drag out the double boiler
and get started on this oreo cookie project.
Wish me luck!! :)

Busy Week

I can't believe it's Thursday already, the week has
just flown by for me! I've been a busy girl it seems.

I've accomplished quite a lot this week, the yard work,
cleaned the house, crocheted 68 scrunchies, started
listing items in my online store, and went
grocery shopping today.

I LOVE the fact that Hubby has his new computer!!
It sure makes being alone easier since I can
actually see him now via our webcams. I always
get a little pick me up when I talk to him, but
there's just something about being able to LOOK
at him that makes it even better. Isn't that
silly?? And Jaylan thinks it's great that she can
see her Papaw. Aaahhhh.... the wonders of
modern technology!

I had some surprise visitors yesterday evening.
Mike's oldest sister Annie and her Hubby came
by for a little while. They were just out riding
around and decided to come by here. She didn't
even know Mike was in Colorado, I didn't
realize that though. Anyway, we had a nice
little visit. We haven't seen her since last
Thanksgiving. I realized something
yesterday too... the older Annie gets, the more
like Jane she looks.

I have an overnight visitor at the moment,
she's eating cheez-its and watching cartoons while
sitting in the middle of my bed. Jaylan is here
for a visit. I enjoy her being here so much, at
times it's such a disappointment when she has
to go back home. Other days, I almost want to
push her out the door before her parents get
out of the car! LOL Oh well, ya gotta love 'em!!

Ok... gotta go find me some dinner. I have a tv
dinner in the microwave that's half done, I had
to abandon it when Mike called. Yes! Of course!!
I'll pick Hubby over dinner any day!! :)

Another Weekend Bites The Dust

I got a sweet little birthday card from Aunt Ronda
yesterday, she always remembers me!! She always
sends these little surprises in her cards and letters.
Yesterday she sent this darling little packet of
glycerine hand therapy, it has 3 applications in it.
Of course I had to use an application last night
before going to bed.... ooohhhh laaaa laaaa! It
felt wonderful and this morning when I got up my
hands and elbows felt like they belonged to a
complete stranger. They sure didn't feel like mine.
I LOVE getting these little surprises from
Aunt Ronda!! Thank You Auntie Dear!!!

I got to see one of my favorite people in the whole
wide world today. Mike!!! We got the MSN
messenger downloaded tonight on his lap top,
we turned on our web cams and actually got
to look at each other. It gave me a warm
fuzzy feeling. I sure do miss him, at times it's
worse than others. Jaylan will be so excited
when she finds out she can see Papaw on the
computer.

I was digging around a few days ago and found
a tote bag with a bunch of that fun fur and
confetti yarn in it. I'd kinda forgotten that I
even had it. Sooo... I dug out the elastic pony
tail holders and started crocheting around them.
I thought I'd just use up the yarn and get it
over with before I drag the sewing machine
back out. This type of scrunchie sells really
good at craft shows, especially in the summer.
It's a cheap item, plus people buy them because
they don't have anything on hand to put their
hair up with. And believe me, it gets hotter
than all get out at the outdoor craft shows.

Well, today was a crazy day around here. If
it could go wrong, it did! I got up this morning
and Baby was gone. He still hadn't come home
by noon so I went hunting him. I figured he'd
gone visiting the Great Pyrenees dogs in the
field behind my house. Sure enough, that's
exactly where I found him. I brought him
home and low and behold, Barkley was gone!
I went to his girlfriend's house and there he
was, just like I knew he'd be.

Some friends of ours have the cutest little
Sheltie dog. Her name is Dolly and she is
so sweet. For some reason she and Barkley
have become friends. If he's missing, he's
normally visiting Dolly and if she comes up
missing, she's usually here in the yard with
him. It's so cute the way they play together.

This was just the beginning! lol It just gets
worse from here. By 6 this evening I
was so hot and aggravated that I just came
in the house, closed the front door behind
me and soaked in the bath tub for a while.
The lawn mower wouldn't start, I found
Lucky Red dead in the dog pen, someone
kiped all the blackberries in my honey holes.
Someone took the biggest blackberries
from the vines up my driveway, I ran over
a big ole black snake while riding the
four wheeler, I noticed a bunch more mole
tunnels in the yard, and the list goes on! lol
I deserved a good long soak in the tub,
don't ya think?? :)

I hope everyone has a good week! I'm
off to crochet more scrunchies! TTFN!

Happy Birthday To Me...

Yeup, it's that time of year again. I'm another year
older and hopefully a bit wiser too! lol My birthday
was a bit lonely this year, with Hubby working away
from home I felt kinda left out. There was no one
here to fuss over me and make it a big deal.

My Cassie and I went out today and did our
weekly shopping.... with all three Grandmonsters
in tow. It was so hot and humid it was absolutely
miserable. The kids were a little cranky and
honestly I wasn't too far behind them. It was
a day that was meant for hibernating in the
air conditioning or flopping around in the river.

I met my sister and her hubby at the
local restaurant this evening for dinner. As
usual we had a good visit. And my Jaylan is
spending the night with me, which is always
fun.

I belong to a group called Sewing Mamas, here
on the net. Everyone in our group sews
beautifully and I've learned so much from these
ladies. Well anyway, this evening I read in one
of the threads that a member's husband is being
deployed to Iraq, I believe. This kinda put me
in a thinking mood. I can't imagine the turmoil
this Mama must be in. I can't imagine my
loved one going into such a dangerous situation.
And you know, it's not only her Hubby that is
doing the sacrificing, it's her entire family. She
will be left alone with her children, worrying
about her Hubby day and night and their
children will be missing their Daddy for several
months. I guess I never really thought about
it all. So tonight when you say your prayers,
please, don't only pray for our service men and
women, include their families also.

Have a good weekend!

The Weekend In Pictures

Brandon holding a fish the kids caught at
the pond.


Brandon holding Honey Wayne's catfish
caught from the pond.


Jaylan getting help from Papaw, baiting
her hook. Notice the tutu layered over
the swim suit. She picked out her own
clothes. lol Miss Diva!!


Cookie watching fireworks.


Jaylan playing ball....swing that bat!

Time Passes Quickly

Papaw reading a book to Jaylan and
Honey Wayne

Time passes so quickly! Mike made it home Thursday

evening and left today around noon. He just wasn't

home long enough in my opinion! lol He called a

little bit ago and let me know he'd landed

safely in Denver and was getting ready to go

on to Frisco to the motel. I'll talk to him again

tomorrow and find out how everything went for

him tonight. I probably won't see him again

until Labor Day..... two months away.

Our July 4th celebration was wonderful! Cassie

and her family spent the day with us... what a day!

The kids were so excited to see Papaw, plus all

the excitement from having to wait to do the

fireworks! It was a little crazy around here. lol

But everyone had such a good time. Our fireworks

were spectacular. Mike stopped on his way home

from the airport and picked them up for us. He

got quite a variety! And some really BIG ones!!

The kids just loved them! Everyone was so tired

that we finally called it quits around 11:30 that

night. We still have several little ones left....

we'll do them another day!

Here's our Cookie celebrating her first

Independence Day!

Here's our Jaylan using champagne poppers

for binoculars!

And our Honey Wayne trying to catch the

goodies coming out of the champagne poppers!

We had Jaylan Friday and Saturday night. She
got sick in the night on Friday, felt pretty crappy
all day Saturday, but just wouldn't give it up.
She'd sleep a while, the Tylenol would kick in and
she'd be up for a while. She was pretty sick in
the night again Saturday and then Sunday
morning she went home.

Saturday we went fishing at the pond. The kids
caught a few fish, pretty good size ones. They
were both excited about that. Mike was helping
Jaylan bring in a catfish and her little fishing pole
snapped in half! lol I have strict orders that when
I'm at Wal-Mart I'm to pick her up a new one.
She'll be needing it when Papaw comes in again.
She loves to go fishing with Mike.

Yesterday Mike and I went to Current River.....
first time I've been in the water this year. It was
soooooooo cold!!! It would literally take your
breath away if you tried to get in too quickly.
After you were in for a while and got numb, it
was okay though. lol Mike got to play a few
games of horseshoes, much to his delight. We
ended up getting home about 9 last night and
then it was a mad dash to get his laundry done
up for his return to Colorado.

Cassie and the kids came up early this morning
and we decided to go to the restaurant for
a big breakfast. Cookie had a taste of eggs,
she wasn't too sure about it at first, but
ended up eating a little. Then it was home
again to finish packing up Mike.

LaDonna came here for lunch and played with
the babies for a little while. She always
enjoys seeing the little Monsters. lol

With all the company I've had for the past
few days and all the activity that's gone on
around here, it certainly is quiet tonight.
It's almost too quiet in fact.

Hope you have a good week! Take Care!

What We're Eating On Independence Day

Here's a quick and delicious recipe for your July 4th
barbeque. This is one of the dishes we'll be having
tomorrow.


Here's a close up for you to get a good look at it.


Ranch Cukes and Onions
Make 1 packet of dry Ranch Dressing as the package
instructs. Make it will real mayonaise, not Miracle
Whip or something like that. Set this aside in the
refrigerator.

Wash 5 large cucumbers. Cut off the ends and
cut the cukes in half lengthwise. Now slice them
into 1/4 inch pieces. Put them in a large bowl.

Clean 2 large onions and slice them into 1/4 inch
slices. Now break the slices up or leave them in
the rings, but seperate the rings. Add them to
the bowl with the cukes and mix them all up.

Pour the reserved Ranch Dressing on the
cukes and onions in the bowl. Stir it all real
good and make sure everything is coated well
in the dressing.

Pour into a smaller bowl and cover with a lid
or saran wrap, etc. Let set at least overnight.
Stir well before serving.

Eat, Slurp, & Enjoy!

I was thinking after I got mine all made up
that it would look prettier if I had made this
dish with the purple onions. Whatcha think?

Our local restaurant serves this dish every
Friday night on their all you can eat fish
buffet and they're a big hit, I think they're
absolutely delicious! I had to play around
with it a little, but now mine's as good
as the restaurant's. The secret was using
the real mayo.

HAPPY FIRECRACKER DAY!!!

Hubby's On His Way Home!!!

Woo Hoo!! I just talked to Mike, he's in a cab at the
moment going from the St. Louis airport to his job's
main office to pick up our car! The car has been parked
on their fenced in yard since he's been gone. Sooo...
not only do I get to see Hubby, I get to visit with my
car also! lol

After he gets the car, he still has about 3 hours to
drive to reach home. Plus, he promised Jaylan
he'd stop somewhere along the way and buy her
some fireworks, so it's still going to be a while until
he actually arrives in the driveway.

I just finished up two chocolate pies for Mike. He
adores chocolate pies! He should be set for a day or
two on dessert. The house is sparkling clean and I'm
just killing time at the computer until he gets here.

I've decided Mother Nature is bi-polar! lol She will
be in a wonderful mood and allow the sun to shine,
then someone gives her a wedgie and she gets angry
and sends in the rain! This morning the sun was
shining, but now the thunder is rumbling in the
distance and it's raining again. It sure doesn't
seem like July with all the rain we've been having.

Although, the rain has been good on the blackberry
crops. The vines along my driveway are absolutely
loaded with berries. And to my delight, a few are
starting to ripen. I LOVE blackberries, I LOVE
picking blackberries, and I LOVE eating blackberries!!
As a child I never wanted a birthday cake, I always
requested that Momma make me a blackberry
cobbler and homemade ice cream. I'd go out the
day before or the day of my birthday and pick
lots of berries and sure enough, Momma would make
me a delicious cobbler topped with ice cream. I
haven't had cobbler like that since Momma
passed away.

Oooohhh... if the berries are getting ripe, that must
mean that I have a birthday looming in the near
future! Yeup, a week from tomorrow and I'll be
forty-seven years old. I truly can't believe that
I'm that old, it seems only a week or two ago and
I was graduating from high school. Maybe a few
days ago that Cassie was born. Time has just
flown by for me. Funny how some of the
memories from our past stand out in our minds
and are so vivid, yet others are fuzzy and hard
to remember. There are parts of my life that
I don't remember too much about, I think
maybe those are selective memories. I'd rather
not remember those times so I've just kinda
blocked them out.

And the people... I wonder about people I've
known in the past. I've stayed in touch with
many, but there are a few that were very
precious to me at one time and I've now lost
track of them. I often wonder where they're
at and how they are.

Have a Happy Independence Day!

Countdown To Hubby's Arrival

Yippie Skippie!!! Mike will be home for a visit!! I can
hardly wait!!!! I'm soooo excited!! By the time he
gets home he will have been gone for 10 weeks... that's
a long time to go without seeing your Man!
In my opinion Thursday can't come soon enough!
And Monday afternoon when he has to leave will
come too soon!

I've been pretty busy in anticipation of Mike's
homecoming. I wanted to get as much done as
possible so I can spend as much time as I can
with him when he gets here. I have banana bread,
mushroom meatballs, meatloaf, homemade rolls,
and pancakes all made up and tucked away in
the freezer. Now all I'll have to do is nuke them
and cook our veggies or make a salad. Should
be pretty time efficient for us. Of course, some
things I can't prepare in advance, but this will
help some.

Friday, July 4th, the kids should be here to spend
the day with us. We've planned a BBQ and
Jaylan has decided fishing at the pond should
be an event included in our day. That child
loves to fish with her Papaw! I bought a new
BBQ grill a few days ago, it's still in the box in
the front yard at the moment, but I think
tomorrow I'll get out there and try to figure
out the instructions so I can get it put together
and Mike won't have to bother with it. We have
a nice size round smoker, but I was afraid it
wouldn't be enough room to grill everything
at once... besides, you can never have enough
BBQ grills sitting around. LOL

My house is shiny clean, the laundry is all done
up, and the yard is next. It usually takes me a
day and a half to do the whole thing because I
normally try to mow down the sides of the
driveway also. And the weed eating... it seems
to take forever!

My new puppy looks and acts completely
different than he did when I got him. The little
guy was one of 11 pups and he wasn't very
chubby, his little hip bones were protruding
and you could count his ribs. He didn't have
much energy, he just laid around most of
the time and shook constantly. Well he's
not shaking now!! He has turned into a very
animated little guy, he is soooo sweet. He
follows me everywhere. I've been feeding
him a mixture of pouch dog food, the kind with
the chunks and lots of gravy. Plus mixing it
with soft dog food and raw eggs. He LOVES
it! He just grunts and snorts the whole time
he's chowing down. His coat is even looking
differently. When I got him it was kinda
rough looking, now it's starting to lay down
and looks more shiny. Plus, he got wormed
and oh my goodness! The little guy had a
horrible case of worms! He still has no
name. I just can't decide on one for him,
none that I've come up with seem to fit
the little guy... who won't be little for much
longer. He's a Great Pyrenees, so he'll be
a big guy when he's full grown. I've been
calling him Baby since I got him and I'm
afraid that name might stick.... Big Baby,
huh?

Barkley isn't impressed with his new
counterpart at all! He sniffs him and walks
away. He also tries to stay between me and
the puppy when ever possible. And the
craziest thing Barkley's done in a while was
marking ME! Yeup, the crazy thing came up
to me, hiked his leg, and went potty on my
leg and foot. Then just walked away with
this majestic canter. I guess he was telling
Baby that I was HIS momma!

Cassie and I went to a few yard sales on
Friday. I LOVE to go to yard sales! I'm
always amazed at what people have for sale.
We found some pretty good stuff for the
Grandmonsters too. I got Jaylan a pair of
Roper boots for $5. The bottoms of them
weren't even dirty! The lady said that she
bought them for her daughter and she
outgrew them very quickly and only wore
them a time or two. I believe it too from the
condition of the boots. They're a little big
right now, but by fall they should be the
perfect size. I also found Honey Wayne
the cutest little 3 piece suit. It's a size
bigger than he wears right now, but by
Easter I think it will fit perfectly. The man
where we got it said that his son only wore it
once for a wedding. I got this for $5 also.
And we found a Jumparoo for Cookie for
$20, very cheap compared to a new one.
It too looked brand new. Sooo... it was a
good day! lol Cassie also bought several
items for the kids and her home.

I went to Current River for the first time
this summer. I had a great day down there
visiting with friends and some people I
haven't seen since last year at the river.
There are people that we've met over the years
and we only see them on the river in the
summer. But our little camping area seems to
draw people back year after year. It is
beautiful there and if you want, you can
camp directly on the gravel bar or you can
camp in the wooded area. Yes, it's primitive
camping, but it's just too much fun to
worry about that. LOL

I just have to tell this little Jaylan story,
it's too funny not to share. Jaylan is the
source of so many of my stories because
she's just hilarious without trying to be
funny. She's so nosey it's not funny, is
bad to eavesdrop on conversations, and
only gets part of the facts. Then she adds
her own "facts" and repeats the story...
too funny. Ok... so we're at the restaurant
a couple evenings ago. Jaylan is sitting
between me and my friend Cindy. The
TV is on and Jaylan looks up and sees a
commercial with Larry the Cable Guy on
it. She then says, "There's Peter Dumb."
Cindy says, "Who??" Jaylan says, "Peter
Dumb." Cindy: "That's Larry the Cable
Guy." Then Jaylan says, "Well on my TV
he says, Peter Dumb... Peter Dumb.".
Cindy gets this funny look on her face and
starts to snicker then says, "I wonder if
that's anything like Git 'Er Done?" Then
we both busted out laughing. Everyone in
the free world knows Larry the Cable Guy's
name is NOT Peter Dumb, and his famous
saying is, "Git 'Er Done"!! That child is
absolutely NUTS!! But I sure do love her!

Hope you have a good week and try to
stay cool!!

One Word

I read an article the other day about the way our minds
retain certain things about our loved ones. And I started
the dangerous process of thinking. lol I decided to try
and associate just one word with each family member.
After I finished I looked at the list and it was a bit
interesting, thought you might like to see my list. If
you know my family, you'll understand most of this. If
you don't know us, you'll just think I'm stark
raving nuts! :)

Mike - Mate (My Hubby)

Momma - Love (She was the Love that bound our
family together)

Daddy - Work (The Workaholic of the family)

LaDonna - Goobies (Daddy's nickname for her)

Teri - Food (He enjoys eating soooo much)

Cassie - Rat (Daddy's nickname for her because
he couldn't remember her name when she
was born)

Cody - Underoos (I can still see Cody running
around in his Ninja Turtle Underoos as a kid)

Brandon - Goofy (He's always acting Goofy)

Jaylan - Chatter (It never shuts up!)

Honey Wayne - Thumb (The resident thumb
sucker)

Cookie - Baby (My last Grandmonster)

Grandma M. - Seamstress (Could sew anything!)

Grandpa M. - Whistle (Whistled under
his breath all the time)

Grandma S.- Hat (When she wanted to dress up
she always wore a hat)

Grandpa S. - Tobacco (He always had a bump
in his cheek, a chew of Beach Nut tobacco)

You ought to try this with your family and people
you're close to. Some of the people you have to
think about before you can come up with just
ONE word.

Our Newest Family Member

The newest member of our family has arrived. I got an
email from Aunt Ronda that she's a Grammie again.
The precious bundle's name is Liberty Marie... isn't
that the cutest name? Hmmmm.... I'm wondering if
she's named after her Grammie... Ronda Marie?!

LaDonna and I went to Rolla today, she had an
appointment she had to keep, but after that it
was Katie bar the door!! We went shopping in our
normal crazed haze! lol At one point in time I
had her laughing so hard in the Wal-Mart parking
lot that she couldn't drive the car to park it. We
were just hee-hawing like a pack of donkeys!
Needless to say it was a good day.

Then the bad part of the day hit... I had to bring
all those groceries and wonderful treasures into
the house and put them all away.... Yuck!! Oh
well, that's the price I pay for finding things I
just don't think I can survive without. :)

I have this strange shaped lump laying in my
bed, on my side no less. Hmmm.... could it
possibly be a stray Grandmonster?? OMG I
think it is a Jaylan!! Bless her heart, she's had
a good evening. She tried on her new clothes I
found today, played with her new Webkinz,
chased poor ole Barkley all over the house and
tried out her new sippie cup. We even watched
SpongeBob while we ate our Pringles and cottage
cheese. Such a nutritious dinner! :)

She later decided I am cooking breakfast for
us in the morning instead of going to the
restaurant. What I'm cooking she hasn't
decided, but she's definately decided I'm cooking.

Earlier this evening Honey Wayne was in the
truck with Jaylan and I and he'd pooed his
diaper. I said, "Man oh man, something
stinks!" He grinned real big and volunteered,
"ME!". I get so tickled at him sometimes!

Have a Great Weekend!!!

Hubby's Coming Home!!

Darn! I didn't realize it'd been so long since I posted on
my blog! I should be beat thoroughly! :)

Hubby's phone call last night was fantastic!! If nothing
goes wrong or changes on his end, he'll be coming home on
July 3rd and get to stay until the 7th. I can hardly wait!
Our Jaylan was very excited when I gave her the news
also. She immediately wanted to know if she could
talk to him, the little thing thought he was home now.

My yard is absolutely beautiful! My flowers are
flourishing, the lawn is nicely groomed, no undesirable
items laying about, it doesn't look like the same place.
But I've worked my hiney off getting it all spruced
up too. I'm just thankful it's finally done.

I'm getting an addition to my little family in the next
couple days. I'm getting a Great Pyrenees puppy. I've
been wanting an outside dog for some time now, to help
deter the critters carousing around at night and
hopefully this new pup will do the trick. It's been a long
time since I've had a puppy so I'm a little excited
about his arrival. Hubby wasn't too thrilled when I
told him what I was getting, but I guess he'll learn to
live with it.

I've been sewing this evening, making some more of
the burp cloths from cloth diapers. I had a few diapers
left and decided to get them all made up and just get it
over with. I got a bunch of new ribbon when I went to
St. Louis, so these look completely different than the
last bunch I made.

After almost four months, I've finally made my first
sale on Etsy! Yippee!! I was really starting to wonder
if I'd ever sell anything. I sold 2 bingo bags last week
and low and behold I sold another one today. Maybe
things will start looking up now that I'll start getting
some feedback for people to look at. I really think that
was my main problem, people didn't have any clue as
to what kind of a seller I was. Now they'll know.
These sales have kinda given me an incentive to start
sewing more and post some more items. That'll be
my project for tomorrow, I have lots of stuff in boxes
hidden in the closet I can sell.

Two weeks ago my sister and brother-in-law took us
all to Branson. It was a lot of fun, but by the time we
got home I was completely pooped! Silver Dollar City
was absolutely nothing like I expected it to be. I
thought I'd get to see people doing their crafts, NOT!
The only thing I really got to see was a man working
with glass. I enjoyed shopping though! We went to
a Ben Franklin store that was exactly like they used
to be when I was a child. It was a fantastic walk down
memory lane. And of course my Sister took me to a
wonderful fabric store, I found some fabric I'd been
looking for and got some new ideas for projects. And
we went and saw the newest show in Branson, "Noah".
It was awesome! I enjoyed it soooo much. At first it
was a little slow, but about half way through it picked
up and I was mesmerized.

I'll try to be a better blogger, but I'm not gonna
promise anything! LOL

Bad Blogger

Repeat after me, "I will blog more often... I will blog more
often..." Yeup, that's me, the bad, bad blogger! :) I
honestly didn't realize how long it had been since I'd
put anything on my blog.

Last post I wrote about Honey Wayne's shorts I'd
just finished. I'll finally post a pic so you can see my
finished product. He was absolutely thrilled with
his new duds. He wears his Lightning McQueen shorts
quite a bit, apparently they're his favorite.




Oh my goodness, I've been soooo busy lately! Planting
flowers, cleaning the yard, raking leaves, you name it
and I've done it. The whole time I'm working in the
yard, Jaylan is running around turning over every
flower pot, stick, or anything else she can find to
flip over. She is obsessed with worms! She looks
under everything hunting them. She then collects
them into any small container she can find and
carries them around for a while, talking to them,
petting them..... then she forgets and sits the
container down, usually in the direct sunlight. Now
mind you, these worms have no dirt on them...
you can imagine the outcome of this saga. When
she thinks of them again, she's always quite put
out with me because she has crunchy worms and
somehow I'm to blame in all this!! :)

My Hubby Man called tonight and told me he's
getting snow again! I'm wearing shorts and
cutting the grass and he's plowing snow! lol The
snow got so heavy there today that they ended
up letting everyone off work a couple hours early.
Bless his heart, I hate it that he's in the middle
of all that weather. Summer is his favorite time
of year.... fishing, pitching horseshoes and
spending time along the river. And here we got
this new camper and can't even enjoy it yet.

A very dear friend of ours has a very heavy
heart due to the death of his Grandson, about
21 years old, I think. This young man did two
tours in Iraq, was wounded once, and finally
came home to the states. He hadn't been
home but a very short time and he was killed
in a motorcycle accident. Our friend left St.
Louis Monday to go to California to escort his
Grandson's body home, he will be arriving
next Monday and the funeral will be Tuesday
afternoon. We are concerned for our friend
and his wife as they aren't in the best of
health, and our concern includes this entire
family during their time of loss. Please keep
our friends in your thoughts and prayers.

On that sad note, I will close for now. Keep
your family close.... Kiss Your Hubby, Hug
Your Kids, and Pet The Dog.... You never
know what tomorrow holds.

Lots of Little People Shorts

Being the good Mimi that I am, I finished up 4 more
little pair of summer shorts for our Honey Wayne.
They all turned out so cute. He now has a pair of
Nemo print, John Deere print, Porky Pig print and
of course Sponge Bob print shorts. That should do
him for a few days. I was digging around in one of
the drawers and found a green tee shirt that Jaylan
is about to out grow and the green matches the
John Deere print so well I laid it out to go with
his shorts. The shirt should fit him perfectly. I'll
post a pic of the shorts later.

The weather started out cold this morning, but
by this afternoon it was absolutely gorgeous! As
baby bear would say... "Not too hot, not too cold,
it was juuussstttt right!" :)

Cassie and I went on a little shopping excursion
this afternoon. I ended up buying a beautiful
hanging basket at Wal-Mart, it is a Fuchsia plant,
with two different colored plants in it. The one
plant is hot pink and deep purple, the other is red
and white and a solid red. When I saw it I just
fell in love with it. I was afraid it'd get a little
cold outside tonight so at the moment it's sitting
in the middle of my kitchen table.

After Wal-Mart we went to MFA's Green Spot.
Of course, I couldn't leave there with empty
arms. I found some butterfly plants so I got
two different colors. One will bloom deep purple
and the other will bloom pink. They too are
kitchen dwellers for the night. I also have two
6-packs of marigolds on the back of the sink that
have been there since Saturday morning. I'm
hoping the weather will be nice tomorrow and I
can get everyone out of the kitchen and into their
flower beds where they belong.

My Jaylan spent the night with me Friday night
and left late yesterday evening. Bless her heart,
she's such a character. I had all of Honey Wayne's
shorts cut out and laying on the edge of my desk
while she was here. Last night I started sewing
a pair of the shorts up and noticed that in spots
they had been shredded! I got to looking and she
had taken the scissors to them. Just little tiny
snips about half an inch apart, of course they're
ruined. I quickly checked the other shorts laying
there and she didn't bother any more. She's
obsessed with scissors and I thought I had them
all hidden.... oops! guess I missed a pair!

Mike had the day off and went driving around
to do a little sight seeing. He said the area where
he is at is beautiful. He stopped and bought a
couple disposable cameras so he could take
some photos for me.

He had told me yesterday that he was going to
do his laundry today. So bright and early this
morning I get a phone call.... "Babe, what kind
of soap do I need for my clothes?" We discussed
this for a few minutes while he's searching the
store isles for Tide. Then it was.... "Now, what
else do you put in them, the fabric softener?"
So then we had a discussion about Snuggle and
Downy fabric softener. Then about an hour later
I get another phone call and he tells me he's
put all his clothes in the washers.... without
sorting them! Then he starts to laugh...
thank goodness. I could just see him wearing
these dingy gray socks because they'd been
washed with his blue jeans! :) Laundry isn't
something he normally does, he's banned from
the washing machine here at home.

Today I bought some sugar free fruit punch
koolaide. Surprisingly it tastes fantastic. A
lot of the sugar free drinks I've tried leave a
funky aftertaste in my mouth, surprisingly
this doesn't.

Hope everyone has a great week!

We're Having A Heat Wave!!

Oooohhhh, the weather was beautiful today!! This afternoon
I looked at the thermometer and it read 83 degrees.... is
summer finally here?? All we can do is hope!

I started mowing the lawn today and that smell!! There's
nothing like the smell of freshly mowed grass. As I was
mowing Barkley was following the lawn mower around
and barking up a storm. I finally stopped, disengaged
the blades and told him to come on up. The little guy
jumped up onto the mower with me, I pulled him up
on my lap and away we went. He stayed perched up on
my chest with his front paws on my shoulder, just
watching the world pass by. He really thought he was
going someplace. Wonder if he realized we were just
going around in circles?! If he did realize it, he didn't
seem to mind a bit... he was riding, that's all he
cared about.

I have been continuing my cleaning spree and am now
starting to wind it down inside the house. Things
are so shiny and clean looking. At 4 o'clock this
morning I was cleaning my back door. I couldn't
sleep and just happened to think of it, so I got out
of bed and spruced it up while it was on my mind.

This evening after taking my shower I finally
finished making Honey Wayne's shorts. They
turned out so cute. I know he'll just love them.
Here's a pic of the shorts.


Mike sounded awfully tired this evening when I
talked to him. I know he hasn't been sleeping
well since he left. He said the air is so thin in
the mountains that he's having a hard time
breathing and has had a bad headache.
Tonight he said he finally got rid of his headache,
it's about time though, tomorrow he will have
been up there for a week.

The house sure has been quiet with him gone
and no Grandmonsters for a few days. It's a
little eerie, almost too quiet, kwim? Oh well,
it won't last long, I think I'm getting a Grand-
monster this weekend for a night or two. It
definitely won't be quiet then.