Giveaway.....Yay!

So some of you know I have a little side business.  While monogramming a bag for my sweet Jewel last night, I was thinking of how much I enjoy all of you!  Then I realized it was time to share the love!  So many have been so kind to me, maybe I could "pay it forward." So, here it goes.....

My first Giveaway...

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment on this post.  That's it. I'd be thrilled if you decided to follow, but it's not required. ;)  Just make sure I can contact you.

A winner will be chosen at random on Monday, November 1. 

Oh.... you want to know what you'll win?  Yeah, I can understand that. :)

Winner will win a monogrammed bag, name or initials, and color of your choice, just like this one

This font is Comic Sans, but I've got lots, so we can do something different. ;)   BUT...that's not all... I'll also send you a travel cup to match!

Good Luck!  Remember, only comments left on this post will be entered. :0) 

See you, Monday!

*post script*  Feel free to share the love and link back on your blog!  The more, the merrier!

I love that!!!

All I can tell you is that I love this song.  I heard it first on Tuesday, October 12.  I know cause it was kind of a stinky day. :-/  I know it's been out for a while, but I never heard or never noticed it before, and that day I heard it twice!  Somebody trying to tell me something? ;)  Can't tell you the times I've listened to it since.  Hope it makes you smile...

What Homeschooling Looks Like.....on a good day

I get lots of questions about homeschooling. While it's becoming more popular and socially acceptable, many are still baffled by the whole concept. We home school for many reasons, too many to get into on what is supposed to be a "light-hearted" blog. I will share a verse, though, that completely corresponds to the title of this blog.

"Trust in the Lord and do good;

Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness."

Psalm 37:3

(emphasis mine)

As a homeschooling mom, that's what I'm working toward, hoping and trusting God for. I fail so many times, but He is faithful to take my mistakes and turn them for His good. Really if you've got time today, and your wondering what God has for you, I'd encourage you to read all of Psalm 37. In my Bible, I have written at the top of the chapter "God's job description for me."  Here's a picture of my Psalm 37.

Obviously, by the underlining and markings, this speaks to me. If you let it, it will speak to you, too.

 

Oh, yes! Homeschooling....chased a rabbit there, didn't I?  Well, I do come from a long line of hunters. ;)

 

One thing I love about homeschooling is that I get experience most, if not all, of my children's first.  Especially sweet is the light in their eyes as the decoding of letters and sounds evolves into reading.  Just this morning Little Guy was having his reading lesson, and missed a word, he gets frustrated when he is not successful on the first try sometimes.

 

  This is the face of the child who rubbed his head and said, "I think I've just had too much sugar, this morning." Lol!  Wonder where he's heard that before?!

 

And this is the moment I get to encourage him, that we all make mistakes, and you just gotta keep trying.

He said some more funny things, but I think I'll save those for a later post, as I will need permission to quote from another blog, for you to get the joke. ;)

Hope you have the best day!  I'm off to enjoy my VERY blessed life. :)  Thank You, Jesus!!!



*If you've been following the blog, this week, you are probably thinking, "Boy, this chick is all over the place!"  You would be right.  Welcome to my life.  It's a roller coaster around here, might as well hang on and enjoy the ride. ;))

3 in the Morning....and WHAT am I doing up?

Good Gravy!  It's 3:18, to be exact, and what am I doing?  Laundry.  You know I keep getting these spam emails saying things like, "Adults living with ADD."  Seriously, who told them?  I had laundry in earlier, towels in the dryer, shirts in the wash.  When I went to get the towels... : P... still damp.  So round two, while letting them dry just a little longer, get the kiddos in bed, a little sewing time, sit down to watch a movie, take a little nap, wake and think...and smile, and say, "You know it's 2:30, I should maybe go to bed."  Start to get ready...half way there... Stop! Wait!  You have shirts in the wash.............. You have got to be kidding me.  So, I wait.  Cause I may looooooove to iron my stash, but I will do whatever it takes to keep from ironing those shirts! Hehehehe

Oh, and can I just say, cause I been wanting to express this for a while, and just had no place to do it, so right here and now in this run-on sentence would be the perfect place.  Using an iPhone has just about killed my typing capabilities!  While looking for a computer this summer I asked my brother, "Don't they have a computer that will fill in the blanks for you?"  He laughed and said sadly, no, there was not a computer that would do my typing for me.  I have an app on my phone that I just speak into....it was free. :-/   On the brighter side, I have had two, well..... one highly (*read probably the smartest person I know*) intelligent person and one moderately intelligent person(you can guess which one you are, cause I know you're both reading this. Lol! *it really is getting late, I'm crossing over to the silly side, and I do not want to go there*) call 'me'..., 'jan'...  "tech savvy!"    What a hoot!!!! 

Words...

Words With Friends.... Scrabble on your phone.  Have you played?  I have. I gotta tell ya, it's been an experience.  Did you know before Words I did not even know  this whole "Blogland" existed?  Yep, just a mom raising kids, sewing away all by her lonesome.  Until, Words.  It works like this, you have to choose a user name, just like every other application on the iPhone or Internet, logical choice for me was something to do with sewing.  My choice... *sewgirl(a variation of *sewgirl, icon added, if you request "sewgirl" you won't get me ;)  ).  Then you have to start games.  You can start them randomly, which can be very interesting, either good <3 or badX.  You can search your contacts, or search by user name.  Me, being the dork I am, decided to type in every sewing and quilting term/name I could think of.   You would not believe what came up.  There are a lot of us out there!  I got to play with Jody Burrow one day, you know the inventor of the Square in a Square Ruler.  I was so excited!  Kinda like the time my mom was a telephone operator in 1969, and got to place a person to person call to ELVIS PRESLEY! Hehehe, well, my news might not have been that big, but I was excited! 

In June, I hit pay dirt.  I found my Friend, Melissa, of Sewing Adventures.  I remember her saying, "Do I know you?" To which, I had to reply sheepishly, "No, I'm just a sewing geek, who typed in random sewing terms.  It's okay if you want to resign."  Melissa so graciously replied, "No worries, it's all good."  From there it's history.  Quilting friends.  She is the one who introduced me to Blogland.  Many thanks, Melissa!!! xoxoxo

And, as a post script, I'll just say today was a good day, as I got to put a voice with a face and name...thanks for the chat. :) Looking forward to many more and a hopeful visit!  You made my day.

*Secondary post script, the timing of this post is ironic, in that I am currently taking a break from all games but three ;)  FB friends, thanks for the offers to play, I'll definitely let you know when I'm back. :)

Design Wall Monday

Ok, so I haven't been posting much about my quilting, that doesn't mean I haven't been working on it.  ;)
My little business had eaten so much of my sewing time in the last two years, this summer I started MAKING time to quilt again.  That has included collecting all my UFO's, and, yes, I do plan on getting them on their own page......eventually. Lol :-D

Since I've been working on my Brown Bag Quilt, and it used to be called the Ugly Quilt, I decided to show you another one.  Yes, bless my heart(read *you are an idiot* bahahaha), I have TWO.   Remember the good ole days, when you could watch Alex Anderson twice a day if you wanted?  Well, one show had a segment called What to do with Ugly Fabric.  Being the scrappy kinda girl I am, I thought, "That's for me."
So I set to work....four years ago.  How do I know, because a very dear friend was expecting her third baby, and I thought it would make a very cute quilt for a little boy.  This sweet child will be four in February. :-/ 

So here is what I have done....

Thirty 4.5 inch blocks, finished this quilt would be 20x24, without borders.  Wondering where to go from here.  Any ideas?  All suggestions welcome. :)

Happy Monday! <3 ;)

Where Has it Gone?!? (installment two...you know you love me;) )

What else have I failed to tell you about in October? Well, I got to meet my Hero....and everybody reading this is thinking something different...., but... you would be wrong...
Hehehehe.  Isn't he a cutie!  Iron Man to the rescue, and he LOVES me!  What six year old doesn't love his momma? ;)

We also went to the state fair...

Kiddos got to see a miniature cotton gin, and grind corn in the hall of industry.

Funny. The things I took for granted as a child, absolutely thrill my kiddos!

This was the sweetest little burro. I would have brought her home, if I had not thought Archer would wring my neck!

These little piggies were just about 36 hours old.  There was another litter just a few hours old, but I decided to spare you that picture(TMI).

There were rides, cotton candy and games on the midway!

It was a great day, and although it marked the third anniversary of Sweet Memory's home going, I know she would be thrilled that her grandchildren were happy and laughing.  Made the day a lot better for my Daddy and me, too.

I also got out of town for a little R&R, at a nice little B&B! Naps, long baths, good food, and a little shopping, what more could a girl ask for? Saw the coolest mural...

And Shelli, this one's for you....

As I came down the steps, I looked to my left, and almost stopped to take a pic, while I giggled with memories of years gone by.   When I got down the steps, of course, I wished I had taken the picture, but was too lazy to go back up and get it.  So, I just took it from the street.  Can you read the sign?  When I was in college, there was a time when I just almost got... a..... tattoo.  *gasp*  Oh, and at the moment I was walking down those steps and giggling to myself, I was thanking God for whatever it was that stopped me!  Trust me, four pregnancies later, that would not have been attractive!  Lol. 

Speaking of Shelli, my sweet college roomie.  We lived together in a house just across the street from campus and had a blast, but over the years we had lost touch.  Well, we talked on Friday, and it was great!  Picking up right where we left off, shared history is a good thing.  Later that day she texted me that she had assigned me my own ringtone...(if you've only known me for the last 16 years, you might want to sit down) Right Now(for those of you who might be wondering, that's Van Halen ;) ).  Oh, to be young again.

And, yes, I do have an opinion in the David/Sammy debate....;)

Brown Baggin' it....(I know your saying, "Will she ever finish?")

Hello, again!  Just wanted to catch you up on the Brown Bag Quilt.... and the winner is...  Jacob's Ladder

Now just to decide if I should do borders or leave it.  This pic isn't that great as it was taken late last night, just after the last stitches were put in, and the pressing was done.  I just put it on the floor, climbed up in a chair and snapped it with my phone.  It had been a long day leading up so my hand may not have been so steady. 

At one point I did feel the need to get out of the house, so (or sew, hehehehe), I went to the movies, all by myself.  Solitude, ahhhhhh.... BUT I saw The Social Network, and can I just say....Do Not waste your time or money. :p  Granted, it was a drizzly day and I was in a dark mood, but please, people.... what WAS the point of making that movie?  Those of you who know me, know I never walk in without the popcorn, well I walked out with it too, and promptly put it in the trash!  Pardon the rant, just needed to get it out. There, ahhhhh........ I feel better now. :)

Anywho, if you've got any ideas about borders let me know, I think Melissa and I have the binding figured out, and I still haven't even measured it yet.  It should be 48x48, but we all know about those should be's.
Lol

Where Has it Gone!?! (installment one, it's getting long! Lol)

Where has it gone? October, that is...  This month has been a roller coaster, highs and lows, firsts and lasts.  I'll try to catch you up on the highs and firsts, and since this blog is meant to be encouraging, we'll leave out the lows and lasts.  ;p

Goodness where to start?  I'm not promising these are in any kind of order, but they did all happen in October. :))

Day one, I got to go to the airport and check the arrival board

AND......use the award winning restroom!  Lol.  If you're ever in the Fort Smith airport, be sure not to miss it.  Hehehehe.  After all, I'm sure it's on your bucket list,  "Use an award winning restroom." 

Picked up my sweet Honey, and we headed to Market Place for lunch.  Since she had never had it we ordered the Flaming Queso! 

No, this is not my Honey, it's me, she's taking the picture.  Really it's supposed to be a picture of the queso, I just happen to be in the way. ;)

Later that day we got to cuddle a Little Bug! :)

This child has stolen my heart!  I love being her aunt, and cannot wait until she is old enough to come and stay for the week.  I have plans to spoil her rotten! ;)

Alas, the day was not over, we had a birthday to celebrate!

Happy Birthday, Little Guy!  For the first time in sixteen years, I am driving the "lamest car in the world"(inside joke, leave a comment and I'll share ;)  ), with no carseat.  The first day this happened I posted it as my status on Facebook, with the tag, "I don't know whether to cry or jump for joy."  The consensus was JUMP!!

My sweet Brother and Sister In Love, did just happen to come along with Little Bug

El Lorito's, the perfect ending, to a perfect day!

More to come!

Brown Baggin' It....cont'd (again ;) )

So, I've made progress this week!  Amid racking my brain for my business, taking orders, and working on orders, I've saved my late nights for my Brown Bag quilt.  This weekend I'm gonna be taking some naps for sure! 

I sliced up some fabric and made some strip sets, laid them out here so you could see how they work together. :)

No basket weaves here, people.  Just seeing how it works together, and making sure the black makes enough of a statement.  Next order of duty, cut these babies up!

Aaaannnnddddd sew them back together again! :)

How am I able to do this at night, when the house is quiet, and no one is calling, "Momma?"
Say hello to my friend....

Yeah, baby!   I'm starting to piece the blocks now, just have to decide how to set them, may have to ask for some help from someone with an analytical mind. ;)  Later, gator!

Fall is Here!

Yay! Fall is here.  The air is crisp, and I must were a robe or jacket when I take my coffee to the front porch in the mornings.  We have the windows and front door wide open(don't worry, we have a screened in front porch, country people, remember ;)  ).  AND I bought lovely mums for my front steps.  They are just about to bloom.  When I came in this afternoon, I noticed this where the mums should have been, hummmmm...

And my mums were on the porch!  Arrrgggg.......

No wondering what happened!  Thanks, Tall Guy.  Who, by the way is still getting taller, turned 15 last month, and has grown a 1/2 inch!  Now even Archer must look up to him!