Rustic Remnants

Off for the week

2009-07-05T23:49:00.003-05:00

I'm off to my grandmother's for the week and I'm not taking my computer so I won't but putting up any new posts until next weekend. We're going to be too busy making pickles and super great stuff like that. I'm so excited! Aren't you jealous? I'll be sure to update you on all our fun once I return. Have a great week!

Happy Fourth

2009-07-05T16:25:00.005-05:00

Thank heavens we all survived last night. Hope you all fared just as well. It was a long, late night but it was a lot of fun. We all slept until nearly 11 this afternoon to recover and still had nap time a little after noon. Like I said, long night. Everyone didn't leave here until after midnight and even after we went inside we could still hear the faint pop of fireworks being shot somewhere nearby.

I have to say that yesterday was a wonderful success. Everyone had a great time and the weather really cooperated with us. We did discover, however, that next year we don't need to buy so much small stuff. The kids were bored before we ran out of fireworks and even the Sweet Pea went in the house with my mom at one point to watch a movie.

After the fruit tart fiasco I am pleased to announce that the other desserts all went according to plan and turned out to be absolutely delicious and were mostly devoured before dark. I did manage to have enough apple pie left for breakfast this morning. The breakfast of champions right?

And I'm thinking of having one of these red velvet cupcakes for lunch. Maybe I'll grill some chicken first. Maybe.

My biggest accomplishment has to be this outfit that I made for the Sweet Pea to wear. I am not a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination although I think I'd like to be, and sometimes I convice myself that I am and try projects like this. Any sane person would pick an easy pattern for their first ever outfit. I, however, decide to make this outfit without any pattern and no guidance from any of the sewing ladies in my family. Great plan. I had seen several pictures of skirts like these on Craftster and knew I wanted to do something similar. The skirt was not too hard once I figured out what I was actually doing and each row turned out a little more like I wanted than the last. If I ever make another one I think I might know how to go abouat it. I basically used the same technique you do when making an around the world quilt. It worked out pretty well that way and I didn't have to cut out each little square individually. The shirt is an old long sleeved onesie that I reconstructed. I cut off the sleeves, tea stained it and then attached that little start to match the skirt. I intended to do this pretty ruffled sleeve that I saw here but it wasn't working and it was late on Friday night. All in all I'm pretty happy with the way that it turned out.

Firework Frenzy

2009-07-04T14:26:00.003-05:00

On this most patriotic of days we shall all come together as one to celebrate our nation’s freedom by blowing stuff up. Seriously?

See before I married my husband I did what I thought was the typical Fourth of July thing. We’d camp out at the lake which just happened to be where my grandmother’s family would have their annual reunion. Then after lunch we’d head into town to watch the big fireworks show and shoot off some of the fireworks we’d bought at a local stand. This is where I think the biggest difference between then and now comes in to play. Ever since I was a little girl we’d buy a few fireworks and shoot them off either in town at my grandparents (shh don’t tell) or we’d go out to the farm and do them there. We’d buy a little sack full and think we must have enough fireworks to last forever. We’d buy sparklers, roman candles, fountains and of course some Black Cats; your typical spread. While we were at the fireworks stand I’d see those huge boxes that promised to be as good as any professional show and think to myself who in the world actually spends that much money on fireworks and buys these things. Then I married my husband.

You see it wasn’t until after I got married that I was fully submerged into the redneck culture. Yes, I did just use the words culture and redneck in the same sentence. Go with me on this. Rednecks love the Fourth of July; it’s like Christmas for them. We’ve all heard the jokes about rednecks loving bass boats and fishing lures because they’re shiny. While that may be true, it’s not just shiny that gets them. It’s fire. Nothing gets a group of rednecks worked up like fire and explosions so a holiday that has become largely devoted to just that…Redneck heaven.
Okay before the hate mail starts coming in let me finish. And please point your roman candles the other direction. Thanks.

I don’t have anything against fireworks. In fact I like them as much as the next person. Well that may not be exactly true. I don’t think I hold a candle to anyone in this area. Around here, these people take their fireworks very seriously. I’m not kidding. Out here in our little rural community tonight you will see a fireworks show to rival any nearby big city. I happen to know that some of the residents here have personally spent more on their own fireworks than any of the neighboring towns did. Who needs to pay their bills anyway?

You can imagine the distress when we awoke this morning to pouring rain. I had to laugh a little bit but you can be sure I did it in secret. I'm sure no one else thought it was even slightly amusing. I walked into the livingroom this morning to see the Hubby and Sweet Pea both staring out the window at the rain looking pitiful. It was quite a sight. She loves the fireworks just as much as her daddy does. Thankfully the rain has moved on and everything is a go for this evening. Now I'm off for a nap. I have a feeling I’m going to need it.

Ever have one of these days?

2009-07-03T18:23:00.002-05:00

We may be having store bought dessert for tomorrow. Ugh. My fruit tart somehow escaped over the sides of my pan dripping all over my oven filling the house with smoke and of course ruining that dessert. After cleaning that mess I moved on to cupcakes. Simple right? Apparently not today. They seem to have taken on a life of their own as well and are not staying nice and neatly in their paper liners like they should be. Hopefully they will at least taste okay. *Fingers crossed.

I was going to make an apple pie but with this luck I really don't even want to think about how that might turn out. Oh well, cookies it is.

Running off to get frozen cookie dough out of freezer. *sigh

I have internet!

2009-07-02T15:58:00.003-05:00

Woo Hoo! *Dancing around the living room singing

My modem finally arrived today and now I have internet at the house! No more going to my SIL's just to get on the net! Woo Hoo!

*More Dancing

Just a Little Dirt

2009-07-01T12:31:00.003-05:00

Nothing wrong with a little dirt between friends. Well technically these two filthy little girls are somehow related. (third cousins maybe?) Who knows. But it certainly doesn't matter to them. The heat didn't seem to deter them either. They had the best time playing trucks in the dirt. I swear this is the dirtiest the Sweet Pea has ever been in her whole life. I know it's nothing compared to days to come but still. We had to wash her off before she could even get in the truck!

Doesn't it just make you smile? There is nothing better than watching these two little ones having the time of their lives. Kids certainly have a way of finding joy in the simplest things.

Return of the Craftiness

2009-06-26T14:18:00.001-05:00

I feel like I’ve neglected the original purpose of this blog. I started this blog not solely as a way to keep family and friends informed of our goings on, but to showcase craft projects. I noticed, however, that since the first of the year, when I started blogging again, I have only featured one craft project. So in six months I’ve completed one crafty project from my never-ending list. Ugh. That’s pretty pitiful really. Especially since I gain such satisfaction out of working on my various crafty projects.

I hadn’t realized how much I pushed my crafting aside while dealing with everyday life. I need to get back on track, especially with Christmas coming in just a few months. My list of gifts to make is ridiculously long and if I don’t start now I’ll never finish. So today I am making this pledge to you my fellow bloggers that I will complete at least one craft project each and every week. Even if that means simply a Play Doh Rose for my Sweet Pea, crafting will reign supreme again in our house.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-22T21:23:00.002-05:00

Happy (Late) Father’s Day to all you guys out there! I hope you had a wonderful day of doing exactly what you wanted.

Now I of course love Mother’s Day but I think Dads deserve their day just as much; especially around here. The Hubby definitely deserves a day devoted to him for being such a great daddy. The Sweet Pea will attest to the fact that she has a wonderful daddy. It takes a special kind of guy to leave his tough guy image behind to willingly play tea party and Barbie dolls and dance like a maniac in the living room to Elmo for the zillionth time (even in front of friends and family). I’ve always thought the Hubby was wonderful but seeing him interact with our daughter since she’s been born has made me love him even more. To see the compassion and love he has for our little girl makes my heart swell with happiness. I couldn’t have asked for a better daddy for our Sweet Pea.

So in honor of the Hubby I decided to make Sunday a special fun day for him to spend with the Sweet Pea. I offered to cook breakfast but they decided on Froot Loops instead. He got his card and a hat from the Sweet Pea that she picked out herself. We were in Academy a few days ago and she spotted a camo hat similar to ones that the Hubby wears every day and proclaimed “Daddy’s hat” so of course that’s what we got him. Then she took a card and a photo keychain over to her Papa (my FIL). My own dad is currently out of town this weekend so we’ll have to make a special day for him when he comes back.

I planned a big lunch for the Hubby and made some of his favorite things. I was planning on grilling some pork chops but my MIL offered to make lasagna so I let her! Hubby likes her lasagna and since I had been cooking since 9am, I figured it would be one less thing I had to make. Although it did seem odd to have Lasagna with fresh green beans, new potatoes and broccoli & rice casserole.

I also made a chocolate pie for the Hubby and a coconut cream pie for my FIL. (See dad, you missed out on all the goodies. I would have made you a blackberry cobbler!)

After lunch the Sweet Pea and Hubby spent the afternoon swimming and playing outside. Then we all came inside for nap time. Yea for nap time! Yesterday evening Hubby built a fire and we grilled Po’Boys for everyone and then roasted marshmallows and made S’mores. Yummy! I’d say it turned out to be a pretty good day; at least that’s what the Hubby said. Unfortunately it’s Monday yet again…back to the real world.

Blackberries

2009-06-19T16:57:00.003-05:00

Last night I decided that we didn't have enough blackberries to make the cobbler this weekend for father's day so off we went in search of blackberries. We drove all around these county roads out here searching and finally found a good section full. Unfortunately it looks like we're about a week or two early. Plus they are tiny! Nothing like the huge ones I'm used to from my grandmother's place. Darn it. I guess I'll be making a trip back down to my grandmother's to gather enough to make some jelly. That's what I'm really looking forward to doing. I'll keep you posted on that.

Growing Like Crazy!

2009-06-18T21:46:00.001-05:00

It won’t be long now until I start giving produce away and making pickles! Today I picked 7 more cucumbers and 3 squash. I also got to pick one of these bad boys.

It’s a Bush Scallop Squash. That is the most information I can give you about it though. I had never even seen one before I started buying seeds this year and couldn’t resist. It is just such a neat looking little thing.

We also spotted some tiny watermelons beginning to form. They’re only about the size of a marble right now but soon the Sweet Pea will be able to pick her own melons. It will be great once she finally realizes what they are!

Home Again

2009-06-16T18:07:00.004-05:00

Yea we are finally home. It's been a long, busy two weeks and it is so nice to be home. Not to say it wasn't a good trip, but there is no place like home!

Before we left I did manage to fit in one of my favorite places to eat in West Texas, Clear Springs Cafe in Midland. Well, I really only love one thing there but it is more than worth going just for these...

The Texas Sized Onion Rings! Yummy! Obviously it's more than enough for a couple people and we like to just go and order these and nothing else. I wish there was somewhere closer to get them. 12 hours is just too far to drive for onion rings. Unless I'm really hungry!

It takes quite a bit to take a 12 hour drive with a 19 month old. We did break the trip up into a couple days but it is still a long time to be stuck in the truck. I did discover a new way to keep her occupied though. Blackberries. Who knew? We had the tray of freshly picked blackberries sitting in the seat next to her and she just kept sneaking them out. (Don't worry, they were washed before we left my grandmother's)

I still can't believe she just went to town on them. I've never seen a kid love fruit the way my daughter does. Now we just need to expand her love of vegetables beyond green beans. Hopefully our garden will be the way to do it. I was so excited to come home and find vegetables in the garden ready to be picked. Yea! It's not much but it is definitely a good start.

I ate the cucumber last night and it was delicious! I should have more ready to pick before the end of the week. I can't wait!

Going, Going, Gone!

2009-06-12T23:07:00.003-05:00

Yea the garage sale is over! By 7 am we had people outside already picking through things. One of our first customers was someone who resells items and she bought a truck load! After that it was a pretty steady stream, and by 8:3o we had sold at least half of our stuff. We were busy all afternoon and by lunch time we were down to just a few scraggly items (mostly books and clothes) and were trying to give things away. It's amazing how many people still didn't want some things! After lunch we had several cars drive by and not stop so we just packed up the last couple boxes of things and took them to the Salvation Army. Thankfully we sold it all today so we don't have to do it again tomorrow because it was miserably hot today. The high was 102 degrees today and I think it hit early. I'm talking the temperature people, not the heat index. I don't even want to know what it was. We were melting by the end and I'm thrilled to be done. Now it's off to bed...

One Man's Trash...

2009-06-11T16:12:00.005-05:00

What do you do when getting ready for a huge garage sale? Play dress up of course!

(Please ignore the pull up in the picture, we're potty training. It's amazing how much time it saves not wearing pants! Plus she thinks it is great!)

Technical Difficulties

2009-06-11T00:23:00.005-05:00

I decided on the title for this post because that is what is on my mind. My camera seems to be having technical difficulties. This is the sort of picture it is taking all of a sudden. I haven't dropped it or accidentally washed it or anything so I'm not sure what the deal is. My best guess is the Sweet Pea has gotten ahold of it and changed settings that I don't even know exist. I'm still looking though...
No that's not a tiny doll sitting on a rocking chair, that happens to be the Sweet Pea sitting on the World's Largest Cedar Rocking Chair. I bet you didn't even know it existed did you? See, you already learned something new today! We were on our way to West Texas to help get my parent's house ready to put on the market and stopped in Natty Flat, Texas for lunch and this is what we found. The chair is 25 feet 10 1/2 inches tall and weighs 5,672 pounds. Now let me interrupt and say that I know I said we found this in Natty Flat but to be perfectly honest I'm not sure if its a legitimate town or not. There was a road of the same name and it seems to be spoken of as though it is an actual town but it's certainly not on any map I've seen and mapquest thinks I'm nuts too. Maybe it was a town at one point and this is all that's left? Really I have no idea. I just wanted to add that little disclaimer so I'm not passing on any lies to you wonderful people.

Whether it's a legitimate town or not, you have to check it out. We stopped at the Natty Flat Smokehouse and had some great bbq for lunch. There is also a gift shop and a Texas Hill Country Mercantile next door (which wasn't open for the day yet unfortunately). But I have it on good authority that its something to see. So the next time you are in the area stop in and have some lunch and then stand next to the World's Largest Rocking Chair and imagine what an ant must feel like!

Summertime Already?

2009-06-05T16:25:00.003-05:00

According to these two little girls summer has arrived. They couldn’t wait to get out the sprinklers and their swim suits. This past Saturday was a great day for it, it was over 90 degrees and we were running out of things to do for the day. It was the first time the Sweet Pea has ever experienced the sprinkler and we were worried how she would do since she hates to get her shoes wet. I’m not kidding; she has a meltdown anytime she gets water on her shoes so we were pretty skeptical about this experience. She did great though. I think having her favorite cousin over really made all the difference. She was a little apprehensive at first but it didn’t take her long to warm up to the idea and before long we had to make them take a break from it.

It didn’t take long for talk of the swimming pool to emerge, but I was just not ready to drag it out and set it up so we compromised. We have a large tub that I use to catch rain water and we filled it with new water and let them splash around for a few minutes.
They thought that was about the best thing in the whole world. It looked cold to me though! I see lots of pool time in our future this summer.

The Fruits of our Labor Aren't Fruits at all...

2009-05-29T18:01:00.005-05:00

Without labor nothing prospers. ~Sophocles

And as you can see none of us are given a free pass when it comes time to work in the garden. We've spent a great deal of our free time in this garden but it has been a joy to do so. I have immensely enjoyed spending time in the garden with my Sweet Pea, even if we were only pulling weeds.

I know many people in our area have taken to planting a garden this year because of the current state of our economy. I will admit that was a motivating factor in deciding what we planted this year. This isn't our first garden, although its the first at this house, but it is certainly the most thought out. I made sure to plant the things that we eat the most in order to help cut down on our produce purchasing this year. The main motivation though was to teach our daughter where food really comes from. I know she's still small but it's never too early to learn. It amazes me that so many kids think their food simply comes from the grocery store and have no idea that you actually grow it. I can't wait for the Sweet Pea to be able to help pick her favorite fruits and vegetables right out of the yard. The garden is really taking off so it won't be long before we get to start.

I was so excited to see our first sign of production when we were watering last night.

It's the very first vegetable to appear, a bell pepper. It's certainly not my favorite thing in the garden but none the less I am beyond thrilled to see it. It is so gratifying to see the fruits (or in this case veggies, lol) of your hard work.

Memorial Day Activities

2009-05-28T15:10:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. We spent the day Monday at a Lavender Festival at Lavender Ridge Farms outside of Gainsville, Texas. It was neat because I've never gone to one of those farms where you pick your own produce, flowers, etc before this. They had a large field filled with lavender plants and you got to walk around and pick your little bundle full. It was pretty picked over since it was the last day but we still managed to find plenty. They also had some antiques, plants, and of course arts and crafts. It was a nice afternoon except that it got a little too hot towards the end and the Sweet Pea got tired. But it was a lot of fun and nice to spend the day with our family. I'm definitely going to be looking for more fun things like this in our area.
While we were there a reporter from the local newspaper came by to take a picture of the Sweet Pea cutting lavender with her grandma (my mom). She said if they use it in their story she will mail us a copy. I thought that was pretty neat, hopefully we'll hear from them soon.

Stop to Smell the Roses

2009-05-24T16:27:00.006-05:00

I found a quick minute to stop in and say hi. We came down to central Oklahoma this weekend to see my cousin graduate from highschool. It was a nice ceremony and even though it was outside the weather wasn't unbearable. After the graduation we had a cookout at my grandfather's house and then just visited with family for the rest of the day. Rather than just rushing right back home and back into the regular grind we decided to take the time to relax and smell the roses.

Today we headed to the Texas Motor Speedway to go to their trade days. It was much smaller than I had expected but we all found things to buy none the less. During our cookout after graduation my Uncle's girlfriend had the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. It looks like the top of a bottle but it snaps onto a soda can. Apparantly they've been around for several years but this is the first time I've seen them. Its the coolest thing because I love my Mountain Dew out of a can but when we're outside I'm always afraid that a bug is going to crawl inside when I'm not looking! This is the perfect solution. I was thrilled when that was the first thing we saw at the Trade Days. Needless to say I bought one for myself and the hubby. Mine is a just white but hubby's glows in the dark and has a deer on it! He'll love it. Here's another brand of them called Snap Capps. These aren't the ones that we bought but they are just like this. Aren't they awesome?
Now that we've regrouped and unloaded the truck we're headed off to Ikea. Yea!! It's my favorite place to browse around when we're in the Fort Worth area.

So I'm a week behind...

2009-05-23T12:39:00.003-05:00

Okay so I realize it's Saturday and I'm about to make a post about what we did last weekend but I have a good excuse. Last Sunday I developed a horrible head cold. Since then I've been taking the sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever so you can rest medicine and even though I took the day kind it still wiped me out. That's the thing about this particular medicine is that even if you don't physically get any rest after taking it, your mind still goes on vacation. At least that's what always happens to me. But I'm happy to report that a week and several doses of Vitamin C later I'm doing much better. Yea.

Last weekend we all went to the Junque Arte Festival in Nowata. It was actually much more than I had expected. They had some great arts and crafts including a quilt area that had some beautiful quilts and quilt blocks. I am always amazed at the abilitly of these women and men who can make quilts. Myself, I don't have the patience to make it all work out like that. Trust me, I've tried and its not fun. I really liked this one, unfortunately my picture doesn't do it justice.
In addition to the arts and crafts there were a lot of old tractors and tons of beautiful old cars. I could have wandered around for hours staring at the cars and just wishing.

Okay I love this one. It's a 1940 Hudson in case you were wondering. Anyone that happens to have one just sitting around, feel free to send it my way. Seriously. The Hubby already knows that once we win the lottery (I should probably be buying tickets to make that happen) I'm going to become a collector.

Chains of Love

2009-05-15T20:23:00.004-05:00

Those of you that are close to me know that in January of this year we lost my grandmother unexpectedly to stomach cancer. Within weeks of coming down with what she thought was a nasty stomach bug and days of finding out the ugly truth, she was gone. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend the last weeks of her life with her. All the time I spent in the hospital while she was there, I passed the time by crocheting.

You see, my grandmother was the one that taught me how to crochet so crocheting by her side was nothing new for us. She taught me when I was around 12 years old, maybe younger. In those days I would spend the summers with my grandparents and my grandmother loved to go camping. We would go camping for a week or more at one time and as I’m sure you can imagine, a young kid will get pretty bored during that length of time with no phone, video games, or tv. Afterall, you can only play cards so many times. Undoubtedly I drove my grandmother crazy so in an effort to teach me something to do that would keep me busy, and quiet, she taught me to crochet. She would have me make chains until I was sure I could wrap the entire car in my chain it was so long. Then she taught me the basic stitches. I would practice those until she thought I was good enough to make something besides a very lopsided square. Finally the day came when I was good enough to make a potholder. She taught me a very basic potholder pattern and off I went. I swear I must have made a hundred potholders. In fact some of those early potholders are still hanging around, much to my dismay. They weren’t pretty by any means but boy was I proud of them. I eventually progressed to making a few very basic scarves but potholders were my mainstay. They were quick and easy and I could give them to everyone I knew!

As time went on I quit crocheting all together. Then just a few years ago I picked it back up. It was just before I found out I was pregnant with my daughter actually. I learned to read patterns, and really began to understand what I was doing. Even though I was married and “grown” I would still take my creations to my grandmother and go to her with my questions. It always amazed me how much more she knew about it than I did. Until one day I was able to show her something that she didn’t know. I came to her with the lighted hooks that I had only just recently discovered and she couldn’t believe that something like that was even out there. So of course I had to get her one for her birthday. It was so much fun to be able to show her something new about the craft the she taught me so much about. I felt just like that little girl who had finally made her first potholder.

I would often come to visit and see that lighted hook sticking out of a ball of yarn next to her chair and it always made me happy. I loved that crochet was something that we could always share no matter what else was going on in our own little worlds. It was our connection.
After that last day at the hospital I put my hooks away. Something inside wouldn’t let me pick up a hook, it just didn’t feel right. It was not easy the first time I picked my hook back up but I did it because I know she wouldn’t have wanted me to give up like that. She would have told me I was being silly. So I started to crochet again, not on the projects I had already started before but on one simple design. A dishcloth. Not just one dishcloth; I’ve made so many that I’ve lost count. I made dishcloths until I ran out of cotton then I would go out, buy more and start again. I think in some way it was my tribute to our days of making potholders. Something simple, useful and yet beautiful in its own way. Who knew a dishcloth could serve as a coping mechanism but it has certainly served that purpose for me. My days of making dishcloths are done for the time being at least, so here is my dishcloth tribute…

With all my love...

Yea for the moms!

2009-05-12T15:01:00.005-05:00

Happy Late Mother's Day. I hope all the mothers out there had a wonderful day. I've finally recovered enough from mine to make this post. That and I found a card reader so I can finally get the pictures off of this camera. So now both cameras are operational. Woo Hoo!

We had a really fun day actually. Hubby's entire family came to the house for lunch and it was yummy! My FIL cooked fish for us and everyone brought a side dish and we pigged out. I've never seen so much fish, but it didn't take long for us to all demolish it. All the little cousins were there so the Sweet Pea had an amazingly fun time. She reached her limit though because in the middle of all the chaos she came to me, held out her arms and said "night night". It was too funny. She took a little nap and then was back in the middle of all the fun again. I've never heard her laugh so much.

I didn't get the craft project finished that I was planning to do for all the mom's but I'm not telling what it was because I'm planning on using it in the future. But I will share the picture I framed for my mom, MIL, and Hubby's grandma. I framed a variation of this picture in a double frame with the Sweet Pea's handprint on the other side. It turned out to be super adorable and I am so sad that I didn't make one for myself.

Since I was hosting the festivities I volunteered to make the desserts. That way none of the other mom's had to worry about cooking or anything. Besides I really love to bake and I wanted to try out some new recipes. I made some yummy thumbprint cookies, cupcakes for the kiddos to eat and then I tried a new recipe for lemon cheesecake bites. I was told they were really good but they were all gone before I even got to try one. I still have extra ingredients so I'll have to make a batch this week so I can try one! I also made a chocolate sheath cake but it was half gone before we even served lunch. That's partly to blame on me and dh though. Since I made the desserts the day before we couldn't resist the temptation of a chocolate cake sitting on the table. lol

And just a little notice that the next post will in fact be craft related. I have some crochet to put up so stay tuned this week...

Happy Cinco De Mayo

2009-05-05T21:11:00.003-05:00

Okay so we don't really "celebrate" Cinco De Mayo around here but any excuse to whip up some Mexican food is good for me. Tonight it was 2 versions of stacked enchiladas. Stacked because I am quite frankly too lazy to roll up each individual enchilada and they taste just as good this way. We also had Spanish rice and homemade guacamole. Yummy!

Here you go sis...

2009-05-03T20:41:00.001-05:00

I found it, I found it! I finally found my camera cord. Well I found the cord to one of my cameras the other is still missing. Unfortunately the one that's missing is the camera that has most of the pictures on it. But it honor of finally having a working camera to computer relationship I'm making this post. So here ya go sis, ask and ye shall receive.

She loves to play around in the floor with her daddy. They are really quite the pair!

This is my absolutely favorite picture. She looks just like she's ready to leave for her first day of school or something. I can't believe she's so big. She really will be off for school before we know it.

Okay can you tell she hated her Easter dress. From the moment we tried to put it on her she was furious and her mood didn't improve as the day went on. As soon as we got home from church and the dress came off she was the happiest little girl.

Hug the Earth today!

2009-04-22T21:34:00.002-05:00

Happy Earth Day everyone! In honor of Earth Day the Sweet Pea and I spent the day trying to be friendly to our Earth. We turned off all our lights and electronics today and spent the day outside as much as possible. We went on walks, hung our clothes out on the line and even planted our garden. In reality its the second go round for the garden since the first try got flooded. Yeah, great timing planting the day before a major thunderstorm. But we leveled things out and are trying our luck again. We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, greenbeans, broccoli, squash, watermelon and cantaloupe. Yummy! I can't wait until we can taste all these wonderful yummy fruits and veggies this summer.

This is our first year to have a garden here of course but supposedly the previous owners had a great garden going so I'm remaining optimistic. I still haven't found my camera cord so another picture free post but hopefully I'll be able to post one tomorrow. The garden isn't much to look at right now but hopefully it will take off and start growing like crazy.

I hope everyone else had a wonderfully earth friendly day. I know we're starting to make more earth friendly changes around here every single day.

ECHO...Echo...echo...

2009-04-15T20:55:00.000-05:00

As I write this I am more than certain I am writing only for myself. It is not likely that anyone has been sitting here for the past several months just waiting with the hope I would appear once again.

Many things have kept me away. Packing, moving (again), chasing the Sweet Pea and trying to organize our lives in a new house are among the things that have prevented me from writing. What has stood in the way the most, however, is the current state of the world. There are many things going on right now that cause me to worry. Near the top of my worry list is the current economy, as I’m sure is the case for many of you out there. This is the worry that has kept me from wanting to write. Honestly its kept me from writing, reading or quite frankly even thinking about much of anything.

Like many others the economy is starting to hit home. We are faced with bills that are piling up, the uncertain future of our business and a general uneasiness for the future of our family and friends. Being self employed my husband’s income is anything but stable and as of late it has been very sporadic.

Until this point I have been lucky enough to stay home and raise our beautiful little girl. Now we’ve been discussing the need for me to return to work. I know this is a situation many women find themselves in , and that there are many working mothers out there. My hat is off t these women and my heart goes out to them. I went back to work for a short time when our daughter was very small and it absolutely tore my heart to pieces. I was hardly able to spend any time with her and with my husband on the road a lot she spent most of her time with someone other than her parents. Just thinking about doing that again saddens me. You see, ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be a mommy. Don’t get me wrong, I also wanted to be a police officer, lawyer and at one point a super hero. Above all I knew someday I would be a mommy.

When first faced with the prospect of having to return to work I was flooded with emotions. Although part of me misses the adult business world, that part is very small. The largest part of me is sad to have to leave my little girl and disappointed about having to leave the house full time and not having time to do the things I love. I won’t have time left to sew, crochet, read, remodel the house or work on landscaping the yard. You know, all the things I do so much of now. These thoughts and the realization of how hard it is to find a job right now that would pay enough to cover day care expenses and still bring in an income have had me really down lately. I spent most of the day Monday feeling down and hopeless when it hit me. I’m home full time now and hardly do any of those things. My sewing machine isn’t even in my house right now. The only thing I’ve crocheted are some dishcloths. My books aren’t even unpacked…You get the idea.

I finally realized that I’ve been so worried about things that were out of my control I let my worries get the best of me. I spent so much time worrying about the future that I forgot to enjoy what we have right now.

I’m not trying to sell myself short. I take care of the house and spend the greatest majority of my day chasing, tickling and teaching our daughter. I’ve even managed to plant some of my little garden. But I haven’t been fully enjoying all the wonderful things I have in my life already. I hadn’t realized how down I’ve been recently. But I have made the decision to start enjoying life as it is and not worrying about the unknown. I may have to go to work to help support my family right now but either way I will make the most of every moment and get back to the things that are important to me.

I’m sitting here right now on the deck of my parents house (where I am supposed to be helping them pack for their move) watching the sun set over the lake as my beautiful daughter runs through the yard kicking at dandelions. It is at this moment I realize how truly blessed we really are. This moment is what makes life wonderful and truly worth living. That being said, I am off to enjoy the moment…