My first Black Friday

Ok... so I started out the day without hardly any sleep... This was my first real Black Friday and I guess I was just too excited to sleep! Mom says I went to Walmart with her YEARS ago, but I have no recollection of it whatsoever! Anyway... got up at 4 and headed out to Target, and oh, my goodness was there a line outside! I thought for sure we would be one of the first 250 to get the free tote bag, but nope! We just missed it. It was freezing outside!!! Mom and I stood there in line at 4:45 huddled up together waiting in line to get my Bissell Steam Mop for $49! Yes I was very excited, it being half off and all! Apparently everyone was in line for the tv's so my mad dash to the vacuum cleaner section was pretty much a big waste of energy! I'm telling you, I have been wanting one of those steam mops for so long, and doubting that I would ever be able to justify spending the $100 that they cost, so when I saw they were on sale... yeah, well.... I had to be there at opening, cause I just figured that everyone else in the local area was heading there to get my mop! Got it... headed to KMart, because I "thought" they were supposed to have kids pj's for 3.99. Yeah, I was wrong, so that was a waste of time... It was actually Wal-Mart that had them for $3. Went to the mall because Sears was supposed to have contact lenses for 1/2 price... Got there and found out you HAVE TO BUY 4 BOXES, then you get 4 free. Yeah, the total was going to be over $170!!! So, yeah... forget that! Headed to Belk because they had some really cute boots for $19, and OF COURSE they were out and it wasn't even 7 am yet!!! At this point we were starting to get pretty tired and decided to head back towards home. We thought we would stop off at Ross in McCalla and yeah, they didn't open until 9:30! Who does that on Black Friday!!! Ok, whatever... so then we went to Walmart and OF COURSE they were out of the right size pj's! Well, I got some Iron Bowl game food... wings, cheese sticks... you know.(Roll Tide baby!!!) Then we headed on home. Oh, and my Bissell Steam mop, I guess the heat from it was just too much for my floor because the floor tile started peeling up! Great... just great! Guess I'm going to keep some super glue handy for whenever I use it!

I guess all in all we had fun, but if it weren't for Mom, I would never, ever want to do it again. There were WAY too many people (rude people) and it was just way too early! At least we made us a good memory and who knows... maybe we'll do it again next year.

Our Story

Well, this time 4 years ago I was getting ready to marry my wonderful husband. Our anniversary is tomorrow. We planned the wedding in about two weeks and dated for only about two weeks. Crazy huh? Who'd have thought... I knew him already from being a customer where I used to bartend. Yeah, we met in a bar... Crazy too, I know... We started dating about a week before Halloween 2005, had a few dates that first week. Then he took me to Gatlinburg the next weekend and that's where we fell in love. One of his

friends had been joking about us getting married

in one of those chapels up there, and it kind of became a joke when we would pass by one. Well, once we got home, he heard me on the phone laughing about it to one of my friends. He asked me later, "Well... what's so funny about marrying me." I said "Well, ...nothing" and we pretty much said "Lets do it!" Yeah, real romantic proposal! I'm still waiting for a proper one... :) Maybe one day... (sigh)... Anyway, we started planning the wedding. We decided to get married in a little chapel in Mentone, Alabama... called... yep, The Mentone Wedding Chapel.

Isn't it just the cutest little place! I bought a dress... he bought a suit, and we had the most perfect wedding you could ever imagine. Just the two of us. He actually walked me down the aisle because I thought I might faint or something. It was one of the most wonderful moments of my life when I walked inside the chapel and saw him standing there waiting on me. He looked me in the eyes the whole time during his vows, an

d I could see the sincerity and the love in his eyes. We played "God Blessed the Broken Road" by Rascall Flatts while we lit the unity candle. I'm just getting all teary eyed thinking about it. When we left, it was just beginning to snow outside. It was so beautiful, and such a wonderful day. I wish I could go back and do it again, and I wouldn't change a thing!

Here we are walking down the aisle... you can see that nervous smile on my face...

Happy Anniversary Bobby! I love you more than you'll ever know!

Hubby got layed off... again

Well, it's been a whole week since Bobby lost his job... I'm starting to get nervous again. Union jobs really offer better benefits and the pay is better, but the laying off part really stinks! Keep us in your prayers please...

Here are a few pictures from Halloween... I'll write more about it later maybe, I just don't even really feel like blogging right now. :(

Pumpkin seeds

I'm so exhausted... going on maybe 2 1/2 hours of sleep. For some reason I can't seem to sleep well here lately. Anyway, the house is a total disaster and I have no idea why in the world I am sitting here blogging about basically nothing. I do have pumpkin seeds in the oven though. Hopefully they will turn out good. I've always just thrown out my pumpkin seeds after carving a pumpkin (which Lexie and Bobby did last night... I sat here and watched.) So this time, I decided since pumpkin seeds are supposed to be healthy... I'd try my hand at roasting some... or toasting... whatever you want to call it.

Ok, just taste tested a few, and they're pretty good. I boiled them in salty water first before putting them in the oven. They aren't quite as crunchy as I would like, so I'll keep them in there alittle longer... Hopefully I won't burn them! If they turn out really great I'll be sure to post the really simple recipe for you.

Note to self... make sure new leggings are NOT see through!

Ok, so if you remember from my previous post. I was loving my new leggings. I felt good, had on some jewelry, my hair looked good, make-up just right... getting ready for my trip to Walmart. (Yeah, sad... I know) Anyway, the trip got delayed several hours, because of a baby puke accident in the van where I had to remove the car seat, wash the cover, wait for it to dry... Ok, back to the story... I finally make it to the store, and in the bright lights of Walmart I realize my leggings are sort of see through! Oh goodness! My shirt was long, but not quite long enough to cover my bum when I bent over. So, I just kept telling myself "Don't bend over." Well, sometimes that's not so easy when you're grocery shopping. Confidence I kept telling myself... just be confident. Pretend you meant to wear see through pants to Walmart... Yeah and well, the bending over thing was sooo not as easy as I thought it would be! Especially when you have to stick things in the bottom of the buggy... like bottled water, or when you have to load things in the car... So yeah, needless to say I was pretty embarrassed! I'm not quite ready to give up on the leggings yet, but I know I will make sure I have a MUCH longer shirt on or I will be more careful next time and buy ones that aren't see through!!!

I swore I'd never wear leggings again...

So, how do you feel about leggings? Apparently they have made a comeback... I remember wearing these in the early '90's. Oh, my goodness! I saw these were back and about had a fit. I swore I would never ever wear leggings again... much less the kind with lace at the bottom! And would definitely not wear a big huge wide belt... they also seem to be back as well. I remember my mom always wore those big wide elastic belts with the pretty buckles... like a butterfly or something like that. I even used to pull them out of her belt drawer and wear them sometimes... I thought they were so cool. But now! "Nope not me" I've been saying... So guess what i'm wearing right now?... Yep, leggings... (gasp) I know, I know... I just couldn't help myself the other day. I found this super cute top, it was long and had a big wide belt... LOL! and I fell in love with it! I didnt buy it, but after thinking about it for about a week, went back to get it. Of course they didn't have it anymore... Well, they did, but the belt was missing. So what did I do? I bought 2 pair of leggings. One pair with lace at the bottom!!! I bought two long tops and WOW are they comfortable! It's like you're not even wearing pants! I think I'm addicted now! And I even think I look pretty darn cute!

Our weekend with the crud

The kids and I had the crud this weekend. I honestly thought we were getting the swine flu because the symptoms were the same, but thankfully it wasn't. No high fevers and we all seem better. Bobby of course started getting it last night. I half way expect him to come home early from work today... I don't know how he'll be able to stand it staying, because this stuff is just yucky! We missed church, which is terrible because I'm really trying to get back into the habit of going again! We also managed to get all of the Halloween/Fall decorations out of the attic. (mainly because of Lexie's begging and pleading ALL DAY long) I dreaded it so bad, but once we got it all out I pepped up, because I had new stuff I bought on clearance at Target last year. It was like opening up new presents! I just love Halloween decorations! You'd think after all these years of Halloween Target clearance shopping I'd have enough decorations by now, but I don't think I'll ever have enough! Also what's really bad is that I can't put any of them in the living room (now Tad's playroom!) I usually would put my pretty pumpkins and candles on the coffee table, but we had to take the coffee table out. He kept climbing on it and jumping off! I have now almost removed all furniture from the living room... Next will probably have to be the couches! He climbs up and stands on the back of them and sometimes he jumps off them as well... I'm so scared he's going to get hurt. So yeah, no decorations in there... :( it makes me sad... so sad...

monkeys, dogs... and pics of my new hair cut!

Lets start out with a picture from our night at the Alabama State Fair. Here is Lexie holding Bobo the monkey... How cute! This was the smartest little monkey! They were selling photo's of the monkey for a dollar and he would take the money from the people... go put it in the money bucket and then take the picture back to them! I was so impressed! I could so use one of those little guys around here... Just think of all the housework he could help me with! (as long as he wasn't flinging poo... which I've heard they have been known to do!) They also had him and another monkey riding dogs! Yes, riding dogs! It was called the Banana Derby! That was the best part of the fair in my opinion. Who wouldn't love to see a monkey riding a dog?!

Ok, so... Tad and I are not being the most photogenic in these photos. I take terrible pictures most of the time, but these are the best ones I've got of me with the new hair cut. I think I'm going to go shorter next time.... I like it this way, but since I rarely get out to get my hair done, I'm figuring that if I get it shorter, it will take longer to grow out... thus solving that problem, and the problem of the dreaded flip that I keep getting when I wake up in the morning! Maybe, if it's shorter... it won't flip?

And finally... I will leave you with a video of the monkeys riding dogs! (sorry I couldn't seem to get it centered on the page) You can hear me and Lexie cheering on Bobo!

I'm going shopping!!!

I'm so excited... I'm going shopping today! It's been forever, and I mean seriously forever since I've been out actually shopping! (other than Walmart, Publix or the Thrift Store) We're going to the mall! My friend Jasmin and I have planned a day out at Starbucks this morning, some shopping and then lunch! I've been so excited since we planned this yesterday and of course I wanted Tad to get a good night's rest so he'd be in a "happy" mood today. He's never really happy when we go out somewhere... So of course he wouldn't go to sleep until after midnight last night for some reason, and then decided to wake up at 4am crying and wouldn't go back to sleep. He is now resting peacfully on the living room floor! I have a feeling he's not going to be in a "happy" mood today! Wish me luck...

Update:

All went well... he was fussy at times, especially while in the dressing rooms. But all in all he did ok considering not having much sleep! I had a great time and bought a new bra... The bra I have been wearing, I bought about 7 or 8 years ago... so yeah it was time! Actually, after I picked Lexie up from school.. I was really brave, and went back out shopping! Bought new jeans and a shirt at Ross. I love that store!!! I also got a new hairdryer to hopefully help me style my new hair do a little better... It's not going to be as easy to manage as I thought. I guess shorter is not always easier! The back keeps flipping up no matter how many times I flat iron it! I'm thinking about getting it all chopped off now!

Bloggers block...

Yeah, I think I have it... Bloggers block, as well as crafter's block. I have been thinking for days now of a good blog post, and can not come up with anything. As far as the crafter's block... I just don't feel inspired anymore. I don't know why I don't want to go in there and make anything. You'd think especially since things actually started selling in the Etsy shop here lately, that would spur me on... But no... I've got to get my butt in gear! I've been so busy cleaning house. (I started Flylady.com) and I have been so absorbed in that, that I don't even want to think about making something. Hopefully inspiration will come to me soon!!! My little Esty shop is starting to get bare! As far as the Bloggers block. I've had several good recipes that I would have shared, but do people really want to read recipes?... My mom says no. She told me yesterday that I needed to get back to blogging because I was going to lose all my followers. That they were going to forget about me... Don't leave me guys! I'll get back with it soon!

The Hawaiian dolls on the cake!

Here's my little Hawaiian dolls... well not mine, but you know what I mean. The super sweet lady I made these for was so thoughtful to send me a picture of them on the cake. Aren't they cute? It just made my day when she sent this to me!

Just thought I'd share my excitement with you!

she will eat it... dangit!!!

Breakfast casserole

4-1/2 baking potatoes
3/4 pound ground pork sausage
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons butter
3/4 onion, sliced
1-1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
9 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
1 seeded jalapeno pepper
1 chopped tomato

Tears... thats what I'm getting right now... as I sit here and type this! Tears! This meal is NOT HOT! She says the red things (tomatoes) are hot! I'm telling you guys... It IS NOT HOT! I was so careful to remove all of the seeds from the pepper. This is not a spicy meal! It is 10:40 and I am about at my wits end with this child. I even smothered it in sour cream for her!!! I am about to lose it. She is crying and dangit... she will eat this food. I worked for I don't know how long on this meal while she sat there and sneaked herself goldfish and vanilla wafers! I will sit here at this table until her plate is empty!!! Mark my words! ..... grrrrrrrr

~EDIT
* After several hours of thinking about this post and how bad it made me look... I though about coming in here and deleting it... but you guys, seriously... It was bad... I was ticked off and the computer was sitting right here at the kitchen table. What was I to do? I of course had to blog about it! I suppose it was one of my bad Mommy moments. I hope you don't think badly of me for it. I guess I just had to vent. (It really was bad... I promise it was!)

My little lady... HA!

You've got to love my precious daughter, who after I had to roll down the window and angrily look in the back seat asking, "Ok! Who did that?" ...thought she was so funny... first there was a very proud "I did!" ... a giggle, then "Beans, Beans... good for your heart, the more you eat them, the more you fart." (repeated over and over) How lovely is that! What a little lady I have...

Spider???

Just look at this creepy thing that was waiting for me underneath the handle on my trash can this morning! I'm sooo glad I checked before I grabbed it to pull it to the road! I looked and noticed something moving and then I saw this guy. What is it? I think it's some sort of spider? Isn't he scary looking? Oh my goodness... I was terrified! It took me probably 15 minutes to get the can to the road! I didn't want to knock him off. I guess I was scared he would jump at me or something. I didn't really want to kill him. He seemed so intently busy working on this weird looking blob of green fuzz he's sitting on here. So yeah, I grabbed one of Bobby's work gloves. I could only find one, so I one handed the trash can, that is overly full, and walked backwards to the road keeping my eye on this little guy stopping every few seconds to make sure he wasn't crawling up my arm. I believe I would have had a heart attack right then and there if he did that! Ewwwww!!! If you recognize this little creature I would love to know what he is...

(Pay no attention to my dirty trash can please)

Fisherman's Pie

Ok, so here's the recipe for the fisherman's pie I made the other night that ended up in the trash because "someone" left it in the microwave over night... This recipe was good but it needs some tweaking!

Fisherman's Pie

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 cup heavy cream or single cream

3 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 (6 ounce) fillets cod or other white fish fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon hot chili powder

3 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Place potatoes into a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and mash with milk and butter until smooth.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry onion and carrots in the oil until starting to soften. Season with salt, pepper and chili powder. Stir in the cream and parsley, and remove from the heat.
4. Place fish in an even layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Pour the cream and vegetable mixture over the fish, then cover with a layer of mashed potatoes. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top.
5. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until piping hot throughout.
   

Ok, first of all... I suggest you use more carrot. One is definitely not enough! The one carrot just kind of dissappeared! Also when I make this again I will probably throw in some other vegetable as well... maybe broccoli? or peas? not sure yet. I used half and half. That worked just fine. I did not use hot chili powder because I just had regular and I might suggest that you use a little more than the 1/4 tsp. that is calls for. Also it could use more fish. I used 3 peices of whiting fish and next time I will use 4 or 5. The mashed potatoes... I threw in a little sour cream and more butter... also a little more milk than what it called for. I found that they were quite dry when made as directed.

I thought this turned out pretty well other than the fact that it needed more stuff... You might think it's horribly gross, please don't blame me if you make it and think it's nasty! I got it from Allrecipes.com I absolutely love that web site! I use it all the time!

No leftovers for me today

I worked so hard last night on dinner... I made a fisherman's pie. Not that it's the hardest recipe to make or anything but it just seemed to wear me out for some reason. Chopping onion, carrot... peeling potatoes. You make homemade mashed potatoes to go on top, which is something I rarely do. I usually just make instant. Cut up raw peices of fish into inch size bites... stripped off the skin... yuck...yuck...yuck. Made mexican cornbread to go with it. There was plenty left over, more than half of the meal... It was pretty big, enough to feed six. I was so looking forward to having it for lunch today. While cleaning the kitchen, Bobby actually helped me last night! But he said it was too hot to put in the fridge so he just put it in the microwave. Well, guess what!? I woke up this morning... popped open the microwave and there it was, my beautiful fisherman's pie... I immediately ran to the internet to do a search hoping that cooked fish was safe to eat after leaving out for over 12 hours (knowing better, but really hoping!) Well, yeah... it's not safe apparently. Grrrrr.... So sad... I'm so sad...

On a more cheerful note. I sold two items from my Etsy shop over the weekend. Yay!!!

My two heroes

I should have posted an update on my parents the other day, but just haven't gotten around to it. The night of the electrical fire, Bobby went over there and worked on it all night. He got home around 4:30 am! He got their power back up and running!!! I'm so proud of him and proud of my daddy for saving the house in the first place! If he hadn't have been so calm and handled the situation the way he did, there's no telling what would have happened. If it had been me in his shoes, I probably would have just grabbed the kids and whatever I could on the way out the door, while screaming like a banshee! So yeah, I'm pretty proud of him! I know what he did wasn't easy. There was so much smoke in that little laundry room when he went in, and he actually managed to get that hot metal cover off and save the house. Good job Daddy! And Bobby of course is a hero in my parents eyes now too. That's always good when your parents like your hubby even more than they did in the first place. Thank the Lord it didn't end up being as expensive as we thought it would be as well. So yeah, it all turned out pretty good thanks to my two heroes that saved the day!

My exciting morning

I am sitting here eating some Easy Cheese on tortilla chips resting from my busy morning... Yeah, I know, so healthy... Anyway I borrowed Bobby's truck today, he took the van to work, so I could help my parents move some furniture. Ok, Bobby's truck is just plain scary. I've never driven it before because I haven't wanted to. I've heard the horror stories he has told me about it, like sometimes it won't go into reverse or it will get stuck in reverse and you can't get it to go forward. You have to crawl under there and mess with the shift linkage... or something like that, which he has never informed me how to do. The muffler fell off yesterday, so yeah... I was really dreading driving it today! The carseat went with the van so mom had to come pick up Tad. We drive up to her house, thankfully the truck worked just fine, and as I step out and onto the carport, my dad comes running out of the house yelling "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" He throws something on the ground in front of me, then runs back into the house. What in the world I think... I look down and realize it's a blackened cover to the electrical box. I look in the house, smoke is everywhere and you can smell that horrible electrical fire smell! Mom comes up the driveway, Tad in her arms asking, what's wrong? I calmly tell her that I believe the electrical box has caught on fire and her house might be on fire as well. She handled it really well... I was proud of her. Fortunately the fire didn't really spread, Daddy caught it in time but her laundry room shelf got burned and the electrical box is just totally destroyed. Who knows how long they will have to be without power. The fire department came, so Tad got to enjoy seeing the big truck, and I got to enjoy looking at some firemen... :) We had to stay outside forever! I wasn't about to take Tad in the house with all the fumes. I kept trying to leave but Daddy wouldn't let me... He still wanted to move the furniture!!! We made two trips in the scary truck... it did fine except for not wanting to start once. As soon as we got there it started raining. Luckily we were under the carport and didn't get wet. Now, I'm just chilling out here waiting to go pick up Lexie from her Dad... wondering what Mom and Dad are going to do. I offered for them to come stay here, but Mom said they would be fine. They have a generator to keep the refrigerator running, so that's good, but it's going to be rough for them the next few days. The fire department said it looked like some very extensive damage. It even blew the transformer up on the pole outside! They are pretty stressed out and upset so please keep them in your prayers!

Bobby got a job!!!

I should have posted this earlier, but Bobby got a job on Wednesday! He went in to the union hall and was able to get the job he wanted! When he left out that morning he was very excited hoping to get this job that was close to home... Well when he arrived home Wendsday night at around 6:20... he wasn't so excited anymore. He got it, but he hates it! He was in a terrible mood! I was so dissapointed for him. It is not as close to the house as he originally thought. It's close to 45 minutes away! And it's working 6 days a week, 10 hours a day! Don't get me wrong, of course he's excited about the extra money, but I know he hates having to give up his Saturdays! I hate it too! The kids and I are going to really miss him. They have such crazy rules at this place... he's not even allowed to bring his own tools home with him. He has to leave them there at work. They even make him remove his hard hat before he leaves, to make sure he hasn't stuck something under it, and they inspect his lunch box too! They obviously have a bad problem with stealing! How crazy is that! Anyway, as long as he can stick it out... which I know he can, we'll be making a lot more money each paycheck. That's wonderful! The only problem is that this job will be over probably in October or late September... So, we'll be back to the whole out of work thing again!

Thank you everyone for your prayers! It meant so much to me!!!

Good weekend

Well, we have had a pretty productive weekend... I've been trying to keep my mind off of the possible impending doom, all of the horrible things that could happen if he doesn't find work soon. And I mean soon! Ok... so he got a window for the van finally. Yes, we shouldn't have spent the money right now, but he found one for $19, so we couldn't really pass that up! It's been busted out for as long as I can remember now, and I've been riding around with plastic and duct tape for way too long! Getting a window was going to be $500, so we had been putting it off. Thank God we found one for so cheap. I can't tell you how good I will feel driving up to her school tomorrow with a real window instead of the duct tape flapping all around, sitting there in the carpool line. I've been pretty embarrassed about it lately. It was fine over the summer... I didn't mind so much, but actually having to go to the school like that, was just too much, especially when the tape wasn't sticking and it was flapping all around and I was terrified it was going to fly off on the interstate and cause someone to wreck. Yeah, it was kind of nervewracking! Plus I was embarrassed for Lexie to have to drive up to school like that. I know when I was a kid, that would have just killed me. I remember my Mom's car used to backfire all of the time, and it was so embarrassing when it would happen right there in line and everyone would hear it! I would stand there and cringe when she would pull up, hoping that it wouldn't go off! Gosh, I always hated that, and I don't want Lexie to feel the same way about my car... So, yeah, got that done... and we've been working on getting the patio finally finished that we started months ago! That took us all day, but thank goodness the weather was nice. I actually enjoyed being outside for a change! We grilled turkey burgers, I made Asian slaw, and it's just been a really good night! Of course I'm dreading the upcoming week, but thankfully I was able to keep my mind off of all the yucky stuff today. So, as Scarlett O'hara would say... "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow. "

Oh Lord... Bobby lost his job...

The scene starts as I am changing a poopy diaper... I hear a loud rumbling outside and say to myself... No, no that can't be Bobby's truck! It's only 1:30! ...Finish up the dirty job, and head to the bathroom window. CRAP! (no pun intended) I see his truck! ... go unlock the door and proceed to put clothes back on my antsy, wanting to run around toddler who does not want clothes on. Be cool, I tell myself. Don't freak out... just be calm. He walks in and all I could say was "No... you're not really here. I don't see you! You Are Not Here! ... "Yep" he says, "They layed me off" Ok guys, I have tried so hard to remain calm. I am trying so hard to not freak out. He's in a bad mood, one of his REALLY quiet moods, and that just makes it worse! I did really good driving to the bus stop. I cried, but not so much, that tears actually ran down my face. I'm trying to hold it together. I'm holding on to hope that Monday when he goes to the Union Hall they will have a job for him, but apparently he is #87 on the list to be hired, so who knows how long that could be. I hate to say it... but I'm gonna do it anyway... I hate this Union Crap! They're just a bunch of...... Ok, nevermind! I'll just say, even though he didn't want to go Union in the first place, the pay was better and benefits are payed for, so we really had no choice financially. I won't even get into all of that... it doesn't matter anyway! I am so scared because I know that jobs are so hard to get nowadays, his brother has been out of work for months! They are in the same field... they are electricians. Even though his brother is not in the Union, it still just goes to show that there is not that much work out there. Freakin' economy!

Ok, guys... please pray that he will find work soon. That Monday at the Union hall, all of the guys number 1-86 won't show up and he will get a job!

Our Fanciful Creations on Etsy Minimakers Blog

I did a blog post on Etsy Minimakers Team Blog about my newest fairy house... come check it out!

http://etsyminimakers.blogspot.com/

Tad said Mama!... finally

Well, Tad is finally saying Mama! He's been calling me "Baba" for quite some time now. He'd pat me on the chest... or where ever and say Baba. The other night we were all over at my mom and dads. I was outside on the almost-to-be-soon finished deck they are building and he was blowing me kisses through the window. Mom starts smiling and yelling... "He said it! He said Mama"! I was so excited, but I missed it! I didn't get to hear it 'cause I was outside, dangit! I of course went running in and he said it again! Yay! He's doing pretty good about saying it now, only every once in a while does he revert back to "Baba." You have no idea how good it did my heart to hear my little baby say Mama!

He's playing peek a boo... He loves that game.

Just a blog post...

Ok, so I'm still working on the pea pod necklaces... Taking pictures is gruelsome! I feel like I have been doing it all day, and I still can't seem to get it right. I went ahead and listed the little pink and blue one. I know none of you voted on that one, but it was my favorite... so... I did it anyway. Everyone seemed to like the silver one, but that is one of the ones I'm having the hardest time getting the color right in the pictures! I want the pics to be as accurate as possible to match the product. Very frusterating. I need to hire a professional, just don't have the money. Oh Cindy, why don't you live here in Alabama!!! Anyway, hopefully I'll get them up soon.

Our weekend has been pretty normal I suppose... Eddie is getting fleas again and so is Moo! My goodness, I spend $40 dollars a month on flea medicine for these animals and it just doesn't work! It usually works well on Eddie, lasts a month like it's supposed to, but the cat Moo... It usually only lasts a week or so! I don't understand it! I've never had a cat so prone to getting fleas! He never goes outside, we bathe him and have put Advantage and Frontline on him and they never last more than 2 weeks. This last time it only worked for a week and the vet says we can't retreat him until the month is up!!! What am I supposed to do? I've been spraying the house, but I don't feel comfortable putting off a bomb because of Tad. He's still going around putting everything in his mouth, so I just can't do that. It's not like we are getting over run with fleas, it's poor Moo that's getting all of them!! Poor kitty... what should I do?

Tad broke my glasses this week... yeah that really stunk. He broke them a few weeks ago, but I managed to super glue them back together. This time, no such luck... They are really, really broke. So, I am wearing them with one of the arms (or whatever you call them) off... They sit really crooked on my face and make me terribly dizzy. I have been forced to wear my contacts, and that drives me nuts after about 6 hrs, but it's better than being dizzy I suppose. Luckily my insurance covers a new pair of glasses every year, so I went yesterday and picked out a new pair. Boy, that was hard to do! I just hate picking out new glasses... It would be better if I could afford several, so I could pick and choose which pair to wear, but no... I can only pick out one pair and have to stand there looking in the mirror trying to imagine me wearing these frames with every color and every hairstyle... make up or no make up. It was not an easy task! The girl that worked there helped me out a lot and I basically went on what she said looked the best. Hopefully I made the right decision! I'm so nervous about it... I know that's silly, but I really do wear my glasses a lot and if they look bad... I'm stuck with them!

If you didn't vote on one of the pea pods... please do! I really want your opinions!!!

Also I did start a Facebook fan page for Our Fanciful Creations! Yea me!!! I somehow doubt it will bring in any buisness because I don't have that many facebook friends. If you are already a member... I have 19 already! and you feel like helping me out :) send out a few invites for me... You don't have to... but I sure would appreciate it!

Pea Pod Necklaces

Ok, I decided to try my hand at some jewelry... I really thought these pea pods were so cute... and I kind of went a little crazy making them. I have tons of them now... spent most of the day yesterday making peas! Ok, so here's what I'm thinking. I want to put them in my Etsy shop. I'm thinking $10 each. They will be custom made per order... that way people can look at the examples and they can choose what color and how many peas they want. I've already sold one to a friend who's buying it for a someone who did her baby shower theme in sweet peas! So my question to you is... which ones do you think look the best and do you think the price is reasonable? I've made so many different ones, I don't want to list them all in the shop. It costs .20 each item to list them, and even though that may not sound like a lot... it does add up. So let me know what you think. Even if you think they are crap. I want to know!

Yes, I am having problems with the white balance on my camera, I'm sure you can tell. I just don't have the best setup and lighting for taking upclose photo's like this...

Silver pea pod with pearl peas

Pink pea for girl and blue for a boy. People could custom order what color and how many peas...

These are silver vines, but they look kind of purpleish on my screen...






Believe me I will take better pictures for the Etsy listing.

My how things change...

I just got to have a girls night out Wednesday night with my friend Jasmin. We used to be good friends about 5 years ago and have recently reunited. We were little club rats. We lived for the weekends so we could go out and dance! On my way there, driving in my mini van, blaring some Backstreet Boys (yeah, don't laugh... I was reminiscing) ... I got to thinking, Wow! things sure have changed. I'm driving a mini van! My girls night outs definitely different. For one... I don't have them near as often as I used to. They have gone from Friday and Saturday nights, to a Wednesday night! I used to get started going out around no earlier than 10 pm. I left the house on Wednesday night at 6pm! And we went and played Bingo! Ha! What a difference. Of course this wasn't your typical bingo... There was a band, a lot of people and it was really fun! A far cry from our dance club nights though! I remember back in those days saying to her... we're 23... we're getting so old! We can't keep going out like this much longer, so we might as well enjoy it while we can! Pretty funny... I said that the next year and then the next... Got married, and settled back down again. I hit my wild phase at about 23, unlike most people who go through theirs in their teens. Mine hit me a little later, and it's a shame it did... I did a lot of stupid things! (but we won't go into all of that) ...So yeah, as I was saying. It just cracked me up thinking about it that night. Conversations have changed... last time I went out with her on a girls night... I sat there and talked for I don't know how long about breast feeding! We talked about kids and her school (she's in nursing school), recipes, the woes of cooking for our men... I don't think we even once asked each other "how do I look?" something we never could have gotten by without asking at least once every 30 minutes or so! Our clothing has changed... dramatically. We are definitely more conservative in our dress than we used to be. My goodness, the things we used to wear! I wouldn't be caught dead wearing some of that stuff now! And now in the bathroom, instead of fussing with my hair and make up like I used to... I stood there on the phone and talked to Bobby and Tad. (I missed them...) Having a girls night out did me a lot of good though. Even though I got sad when I left them, it was nice to have some social activity outside of the house. Don't get me wrong. I love being a housewife! It's just good for me every now and again to get dressed up, get in the car by myself... crank up the radio and not worry about it being too loud for the kids, get out with some girls, laugh and not worry about money and bills, the laundry, the dishes that never stop piling up in my sink... I did however have the constant thought throughout the night "I have to get up at 4:45, wake Bobby up and make a tuna fish sandwich!" Oh, how I hate tuna...

The Hawaiian dolls

Here they are! These are the two little dolls I made as a custom order for a lady on Etsy. She is having a party for her mom and dad, and these dolls are going to be taken to a cake designer to have the cake designed around them. (I know I've posted that before, but it's too exciting for me to not say it again!) She said her mom has already recieved them and loved them!

It sure was nerve wracking making these little dolls... knowing they were being made for someone. I kept having problems, the skirt kept breaking, his lai kept breaking... I had a multitude of problems! I was so glad when they were finished! It makes me even more happier to know that she really loved them! Hopefully now, I'll get some more orders in my shop!!! I need to figure out a way to promote it better... How do I get buisness to my shop without spending money on advertising? If anyone has any ideas... I'm open to any suggestions!

The Yard Sale

Well... Our yard sale didn't go as well as we had hoped. Friday morning, the little guy that works for the city brought 3 of my signs back, telling me there is a city ordinance against putting signs on poles. Boy, I was ticked! They apparently have to be staked in the ground... I didn't know. I've always done it before and never had a problem. So, I'm guessing we didn't get much traffic because there was only one sign left (the one I had staked in the ground) We didn't even break a hundred dollars that first day! Mom and I have always done really well on our yard sales and always make way more than a hundred on our first day, so we were pretty bummed... Saturday, went better, I suppose... but the traffic started dieing off and then out of nowhere came a storm. Not just sprinkles, these were huge gigantic rain drops! Just right out of the blue! We had no idea it was supposed to rain! All of our stuff was getting drenched. We were running around, totally soaked trying to save the books and things that would get ruined. Luckily two of my neighbors brought over tarps and helped us cover the stuff. My house is still muddy (I should be mopping right now, actually the broom is laying across my lap, as I sit here and blog...) and we had to throw away quite a bit of stuff. So yeah, that was our last yard sale. We are now retiring from yard sales... never, ever again! It's just not worth it! (we say this EVERY year, and we have been having yard sales probably every year since the late '90's) We ended up taking two truck loads to the thrift store... and part of me says Man, I could have held on to that stuff and had another one next year! What is wrong with me?!!!

I must go clean the floors now... I've got a lot to get done. Lexie's open house at school is tonight, so i've got to get the house clean, wash my hair, figure out what to wear, make sure she washes her hair, pick out her clothes, etc... you get the idea... I've got to get off the computer!

Yard Sale

I am up way too early getting ready for our yard sale! Oh, my, am I dreading it!!! This is going to be a long day.... Wish me luck! It's not so much that I hate having yard sales, it's just the getting stuff out in the morning and putting it back up part that I can't stand! Hopefully I'll make lots and lots of money! :)

Le Creuset

My mother and I are in the process of cleaning out a storage building full of stuff that belonged to my grandmother. Oh, my goodness the heat! I see now why people pay extra to have one of the climate controlled ones! It is so stifiling hot in there. We literally thought several times we were going to pass out! One of the bad things is that I had to take the kids with me! We set up the playpen in the hallway for Tad, and Lexie was sitting there absolutely miserable. After a little while of this we realized there was a plug right outside of our little cubicle... So I went home to get a fan... it didn't help very much by the way. Lexie was the brilliant one who thought of bringing along a squirt bottle, and thank goodness she did! She was in charge of the squirting and yes... there was a lot of squirting... that did help some... Tad was turning pink, he was so hot, so I made sure she squirted him plenty and he loved it! We have to go back today... I am dreading it sooooo much...

The exciting news is.... I found a set of Le Creuset pots!!!!!!! Oh the excitement! You have no idea!!!These things are so dang expensive! And from what I've read online, I think they have a lifetime warranty. I was looking them up online this morning and the pot in the far right of the picture (if it's the one I think it is on the web site) goes for $184.00. That is if it's the 3.5 quart. I'm not sure... I'm having a hard time getting details on the sizes of any of these. They just have a number on the bottom and when you Google it... it's still not very helpful. So if anyone knows anything about these... I would love to know. I don't even think she used them... they still had the paperwork inside. Maybe today I will find some more!!!