Some Favorite Things

My most favorite "things" are my girls.
I thought I would share a few more of my favorite things! The very first snow fall of the year was GREAT! This was yesterday and I knew Alesha would want to see this!My favorite quilting item is my hoop....Sweetheart made this for me. I LOVE it!
My new favorite treat is Red mango! Only 2 WW points per 1/2 cup. It is wonderful!Dried Rose Hips in the winter....LOVE these!
(ignore the date on that pic...it was way off!)


My new coffee cup from my Mom...Whippers!!!! (or slippers to most) LOVE these for the winter. A new pair each year makes the season fresh! These are fur lined! (thanks Mom!)
My WW cookbook (a gift from my Aunt) and my WW pedometer are favorites!
So recently I had a mishap with my hair. I FRIED it and had to get it all cut off. It is "okay", but the favorite part of this is the products I had to get.
My favorite hair products are Matrix Biolage. I LOVE the smell and what it does to my hair, but they are pricey. I splurged at Ulta and bought some of the Biolage volumizing shampoo and conditioner. Oh, I had forgotten how much I love these! I picked up some Kenra hair spray and am not as thrilled....next time I will try something different.

So those are a few of my favorite things....not all, because let's face it, it does not take much to thrill me LOL

Here is some happy news! Meet Mamie!!!! She is a 3-4 year old Yorkiepoo. Is she darling or what? She is very little...only 6 pounds. If you remember, it was not long ago that my mom and dad lost their beloved Ike.....get it??? Ike and Mamie.....Uh huh! Mom and Dad go pick her up from her foster home on Saturday morning. She was rescued from a kill shelter as they felt she was just too sweet to put down. She is completely housebroken and ready to be loved. Her temperament is loving and docile. She is a lap dog and LOVES to be carried around. The PERFECT dog for my dad! I am so excited for them....my mom is beside herself with excitement!

Ok...more later! I am off to do some hand quilting for the evening.

A Whole Lotta Nothing Post

Well that is an old pic! My camera is not working right now, so I thought I would use some of my favorite graphics and a couple of older pictures in this post. Poor Sassafras. A few days ago she started digging and biting at herself. She is a preener....the girl is CLEAN! She went half crazy with whatever was causing her to lick and scratch and bite for hours on end! She is an indoor cat, NEVER goes out, yet Sass had fleas! The horrors of it all! A trip to the vets office (me, not her) to grab some Frontline and within 24 hours she is her old self.

I do have this recent photo of Charlotte.....she is turning into such a young woman.
The kids are doing well. We are starting school the day after Labor Day. We do school through the summer, but it's more laid back. Our new year officially begins in the fall. My mom and I are taking the kids to Galena on the 14th, so that will be a fun day. They will go through President Grant's home, and see some other historical sites.
I have been attending Weight Watcher meetings since the first of August. To my amazement, I am still going every week. It is a slow process, but it IS working. I am down 8.8 pounds for the month. My mom is doing well too. We are doing this together which really helps.
Subject change.....how many of you have been judged by someone....whether it is someone you know, or someone you don't know? Well, we all have! The Word says, in 2 Timothy 3:12, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." It is a hard place to be and the first reaction is to defend yourself and speak back! Oh, how we want to do that! Instead we are to show the love of Christ....not letting those who are talking badly of you walk all over you...no, that is not what I am saying, but if we KNOW we are under false persecution, most times we can just sit back and let God deal with them. Think about that for a minute.....I would NOT want to be in their shoes!!! (Can you tell I am under persecution? Well PRAISE GOD for it, cause it only pushes me onward, knowing HE is my Strength and my Salvation!)I will just lift my hands and my voice in praises to Him and let those mean words pass right on by to Him who is the true Judge. I may even say a little prayer to ask for mercy on that person, knowing, Woe to him who "stretches forth his hand (or tongue) against the Lord's anointed".....many people think that refers to God's Pastors, but I know I am anointed of God in the work I am being judged for! I take this warning for myself too....just as we have all been judged, we have all judged others, while covering that sin with the lie that it is "just my opinion". It is time to step into a place where we reflect His love, not the enemy's lies. I guess I kinda defended myself here just a bit after all...believe me, could say MUCH more! (Forgive any nasty comments that may come with this post...I have no control over someone elses "opinions") Ok...rant over.....♥
IT IS FOOTBALL SEASON!Ya know what that means???? I get to QUILT without guilt!!! While Sweetheart watches the Bears, I sew! It is the deal. Has been for years, so now I need to get something in the hoop!
Let's talk Grandkids....I love this older photo of my babies. Rachel and I took them for this shoot. It was so much fun! (I miss that girl!)TJ and Emerson will be here on Friday. I have not seen them in 3 weeks! I am beyond excited! I get them overnight and then will see them again on Sunday! I LOVE my time with those babies!

The quilt blocks for Isla's raffle quilt are pouring in. I am overwhelmed at the generosity of you all. I will keep you updated as to the progress...I think you will see a finished quilt very soon!

I am out of pictures here, so I guess that means it is time to close. I will leave you with this picture thought (one of my favorites!)....

Catching Up

It has been a while. I thought I would share the highlights of our last couple of weeks. Mother's Day was fun. We had a cookout with my mom and sister. I love family get togethers. The very next Sunday, Zach was baptized.I had shared how I visited a new church, but we ended up going back to the one we had been "visiting" for months. The kids love it and I find the doctrine to be sound and the Pastor and his messages to be an inspiration. I just could not connect with the ladies. On Easter, I watched my mother, who was visiting the church, visit with many of the women and she seemed to connect just fine. After discussing it with a sweet friend, we figured out that maybe, just maybe, it was me....go figure. Maybe my face carried my nervousness. I made certain to relax my face and smile more and you know what....I had more women than I could count come up to me and greet me! That was a life lesson!!!!

Over the past 6 months or so, I have been dealing with increasing fatigue. I was getting concerned and thought maybe it was a thyroid problem, or worse. I found out yesterday, I have a severe Vitamin D deficiency. I am to take a prescription supplement for 20 weeks. I am praying I will see some improvement in my energy level!

I have made myself get things done, and even did some spring cleaning! I did my walk-in closet, which needed it desperately!!! Boy does that feel good!! I got all my winter clothes on one side.......and my summer tops, dresses and skirts on the back wall. The 3 baskets are for dirty laundry. How do you keep the laundry situation organized at your home? Here, each kid has a hamper and then I have these 3 baskets in our closet for towels, lights, and darks.
I got the shoes all weeded out and put back on the rack.Sweetheart asked me NOT to weed out his wardrobe. I know he was afraid I would get rid of things he wanted to keep. He is correct. I left his side alone, except for the shoes and making his side look "neater".
I found my favorite cleaners at Target. My sinks are all shiny and I bought the wonderful smelling hand soap for next to the sink.It hasn't been all work and no play. I have gotten some sewing done. I will be able to show you the progress soon.I had some special time with the grandkids on Sunday too...least we forget the important stuff!
Hopefully, my boost in Vitamin D will allow some major workout sessions to help me drop the extra weight I am carrying. My food diet has gone well and I have lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks. Now I am off to pick up the car I bought. Since Sweetheart has been working, and our oldest son is using our Jeep, I have had no wheels! That changes today!!!!

Have a blessed day!!!!!

Things I Don't Say

I have seen this on a couple of blogs...namely Crispy and Debi, and the blog that started it all, Stitched In Color. So what are some of the things I don't say...

QUILT RELATED:

I am a fabric snob...ok I have said that before, but never to the degree of it's reality. I will not use cheap fabrics. I don't like Walmart fabrics, Joann's, or even Hobby Lobby. I have used them in baby quilts and table runners, but for my main quilts it is ONLY quilt shop fabric.

I dislike novelty prints.

I hate batiks...really hate them.

I am not fond of modern quilts. I can admire them, but have no desire to make one.

Machine quilting....again no desire.

BLOG AND SOCIAL NETWORK RELATED:
I "hide" my facebook friends (and family) who swear, are mean, or on such a soapbox for their own "faith" that they come off unloving.

I do most of my blog reading in my reader...hence the few comments I leave.

I play NO facebook games....farmville, zoo-something, or any other game is not on my schedule.

I am a blog lurker on several blogs and have never "introduced" myself, and I like it that way.

I lose 1-2 followers every time I do a post about Jesus. When I put the "He Died For You" button on my sidebar I lost 3.

I am not concerned with how many followers I have.

I won't enter giveaways with hoops to jump through.

I do not read any RAD blogs....I gave that up long ago. There is one I read once a week to catch up, as she is a friend, but I don't even read her blog daily. This is to protect my thinking.

PERSONAL:

I struggle with anxiety issues since adopting Charlotte, though I am working hard to overcome it.

I still secretly want to smoke cigarettes...but I don't...but I really want to.

I am addicted to sugar.

I am extremely conservative (which has not always been the case)...to the point that I am more conservative than Biblically required. Some have called me legalistic....I don't see this, because a legalistic person requires others to be the same, and I don't.

I personally believe the King James Bible to be the true Word of God, and do not use other versions....AGAIN, not something I require of others.

I am terrible at math, though I have a friend who calls me for mathematically quilt related questions...though when I have a question I call a different friend! How I can figure out a friend's math problem, but not my own is a mystery.

I am madly in love with my cat....she is like one of my kids. Seriously. That is warped.

So there are some of the things I don't say, or talk about. I bet you could do a post just like this one....let me know if you do!!!

Happenings

It has been quiet around here, though there have been happenings. Kyle will be getting his glasses in the next day or two. This will be the last time you see him without them. He does look handsome with them on! A while back Sweetheart made me a curio shelf to hold my tea cups and tea pots. I hung it in the eating area, until recently, when I decided less is more. I got rid of all kinds of "stuff". Well Kyle asked if he could use the curio in his room for his "stuff". He put it on his desk. It actually looks nice in there. He is a very organized kid. Takes after his father! Sassy hitched a ride while Kyle was moving it. He set it down for a minute and she jumped right in!Charlotte finished her last embroidery project. I need to spray the blue pen out of it and give it a press and then it is ready to become a bag, or a pillow....not sure which yet.She is well into her next project. A train pillow that TJ has already claimed.I had both kids on Sunday, but forgot to take pictures!! I will have them for a couple hours tonight, so I will make sure to remember.

I have been quilting like mad. I thought I had about 4 or 5 of these little blocks left to do.Come to find out I had over a dozen! Well, now I am down to one left. Soon I will be on the edges and then it will go much faster!
We moved my old hope chest upstairs.It looks just like it did the day I got it. Yeesh....my quilt is not on the bed evenly....Now I need to go fix that!I will be back with pictures of the grandkids in the next day or two.
Thanks for the visit!

Brrrrrr

It was cold this morning~~~ok, so it wasn't that cold, but it sure felt like fall! No a/c all day and open windows and doors!

I am out of batteries for my camera. Too bad, cause I could have gotten so many good pictures over the last couple of days. I thought I would pull a couple of my old favorites of the grandkids to share. They spent the night with me last night. I had not seen them in a good 2 weeks. Yesterday they all moved back home. It was a great day! I love this pic of TJ....he was 2. This is what he looked like when I introduced you all to him 3 years ago over at Pieces From Me.
He starts kindergarten next week. *sigh* I can not imagine. He seems so little to me, yet. No, he is not going to be homeschooled. Bud and Rachel do not hold my same convictions, and I accept that, as I should. I pray a covering over him everyday! I kissed his little face a zillion times and cuddled him for a good 15 minutes this morning. It was heaven! (He is not a big cuddler)
Emerson was so much fun to play with. She is a chatterbox, who now calls me Ga-ma instead of SpongeBob.....finally!! This is my all time favorite pic of her.....
She picked me a handful of dandelions and said, "Here ya go" as plain as day. She loves to wear my shoes. I got some cuddle time in with her too. ;)
While I was looking for these pictures, I saw this pic of Sweetheart....my heart skips a beat whenever I look at it!Makes me wanna kiss em! 31 years of marriage and I am still head over heels....Those who knew us in high school are still reeling at the pairing. Who woulda thunk it? God did!!!

It has been a busy Monday. Charlotte made banana bread and I made a wonderful dinner. Steak, fried potatoes and onions and a nice green salad with tomatoes and green peppers from our garden. I am going to make my own salad dressing again and found a great recipe for my own homemade mayo. I will start my own homemade buttermilk again too. Homemade Ranch dressing is the best!!!

I am working diligently on the Hidden Star quilt. I laid it out to see where I was and my family was shocked at just how large a quilt it is. I am not even halfway finished. UGH! I will persevere!

Thanks for checking in! I am going to go kiss that Sweetheart! Have a blessed week!

Time Alone

My little kids have Vacation Bible School this week, so my mornings are free. Yesterday, Kyle went to work and Sweetheart took his mom for outpatient surgery (everything went well!! PTL), so I was home alone. I had planned this out for days....I scheduled my time over and over again, changing and rearranging things in my few hours of solitude, not wanting to waste a moment. When it came right down to it, I had no clue what to do. I did get some time with my Heavenly Father, uninterrupted. That was awesome!

I also got a drawer cleaned out.Do you have things in your utensil drawers that you have no clue what to do with? I don't even know what this is, or what it does, but I know it has a use. I can't get rid of it until I know I won't need it. Anyone know what it does?I did a couple loads of laundry...got some table runners switched around for something different.
I started picking up in the family room, and came across Zach's Nintendo DS.....I started playing Bejeweled Twist and before I knew it 45 minutes were GONE!!!! And I played the whole time standing at the counter in the kitchen! Will I ever learn to relax??
My mom stopped in just before the kids were due home, and we went to grab lunch and brought it back here and then sat out in the sunshine on the deck.
The kids came home, after the fastest 3 hours in history, with McDonald Happy Meals (thank you Miss Candy) and backpacks they had made.They went again today and Sweetheart and I had the house to ourselves. Tomorrow will be the same. Thursday and Friday, Kyle will be here too, which is still like being home alone, cause he does his own thing....like sleeping in. Mornings are peaceful this week, that's for sure!!
Zach's birthday on Sunday was fun!He is growing up too fast. My baby.
Speaking of babies, my sweet baby, Emerson showed Grandma how to pick your nose like a lady at the dinner table..... Now for, little Miss Sassy-Pants, who followed me all over yesterday morning....everywhere I went, she was there. Once the kids got home she took her nap. She has taken lots of flack for putting on weight recently. She figures if she stretches out just so, her sleekness will be more apparent.Hmmmmm. Wonder if that will work for me!!??