jackie's blog

More on "Ties That Bind"

2009-07-08T05:36:00.005-05:00

This cause is SO VERY IMPORTANT!
Please visit my friends' blogs below and follow instructions on how to vote - each vote is important and voting deadline is JULY 23, 2009:

http://brain-bubbles.blogspot.com/

http://aileensmusings.blogspot.com/

Ties That Bind

2009-06-17T10:57:00.004-05:00

Many artists, some that I know quite well, created a beautiful Art Doll to be auctioned off in September to raise money for Ovarian Cancer research. Please visit the link and do what you can to help this very important cause:
http://www.scrapbookroyalty.com/tiesthatbind.html

National Drawing Day

2009-06-05T15:25:00.004-05:00

I was unaware of National Drawing Day until I read about it on Jessica's blog: http://web.me.com/jwesolek/cre8it/Blog/Blog.html
I hope everyone will dig out those colored pencils, markers, paints, pens, etc. and just DRAW something - even if it's just a stick figure! I will if you will!

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T12:25:00.007-05:00

NO, FREEDOM ISN'T FREE

I watched the flag pass by one day.

It fluttered in the breeze.

A young Marine saluted it,

And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform

So young, so tall, so proud,

With hair cut square and eyes alert

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him

Had fallen through the years.

How many died on foreign soil?

How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?

How many died at sea?

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,

When everything was still

I listened to the bugler play

And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

That taps had meant "Amen,"

When a flag had draped a coffin

Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons and husbands

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard

At the bottom of the sea

Of unmarked graves in Arlington.

No, freedom isn't free.

Words to Taps
(Note: there are no "official" words to Taps
below are the most popular.)

Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the hills,
from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well,
safely rest,
God is nigh.
Go to sleep,
peaceful sleep,
May the soldier
or sailor,
God keep.
On the land
or the deep,
Safe in sleep.

Love, good night,
Must thou go,
When the day,
And the night
Need thee so?
All is well.
Speedeth all
To their rest.

Fades the light;
And afar
Goeth day,
And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well;
Day has gone,
Night is on.

Thanks and praise,
For our days,
'Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
'Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.

Tribute to My Mother

2009-04-23T19:04:00.005-05:00

Three years ago today my dear mother passed away. We all miss her so much!!! She was so beautiful, smart, loving, funny, talented, classy, and amazing!! She was a pro at cooking, designing, crafting, decorating, sewing, caregiving, building, mothering, grandmothering, wife-ing, sistering, daughtering and so much more. She taught each of us so much about life and love and handling disappointments and celebrating victories. We are so blessed that she gave so much of herself to each of us. We love and miss you so much, Mother!!

Heart Warming Video

2009-04-12T03:06:00.000-05:00

Another Tree Hugger

2009-03-22T11:07:00.006-05:00

This is my Little-Little (great niece) yesterday on a family outing. She hugs trees like I do - what a sweetie-pie!

Snow in Alabama!!

2009-03-01T11:51:00.006-06:00

It is SO rare to have snow here in the south but today we have about 2 inches on the ground - it is so beautiful!! These pictures are from my windows.

Free St. Patrick's Day Images

2009-03-01T06:32:00.003-06:00

Lisa Vollrath is once again offering free holiday images:

http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/

I Won Two OWOH Gifts!

2009-02-27T11:05:00.010-06:00

I am delighted to have won two different gifts from the One World One Heart event (http://oneworldoneheart.typepad.com/) The first one came from Nancy Donaldson (http://www.allpulpedout.blogspot.com/) It is beautiful! She also included a lovely handmade card. I truly appreciate her generosity and her amazing talent!

The second one came from Rob in Australia - http://creativspirit.blogspot.com/2009/01/one-world-one-heart.html - it is a lovely Friendship Flag Book. It is filled with quotes about friends and the mechanics of the little book are so cool!

I am blessed to be the recipient of these lovely gifts! Thank you Nancy! Thank you Rob! And thank you Lisa for creating this wonderful event - I've discovered much talent and made new friends as a result!

Wonderful Valentine's Day!

2009-02-15T00:18:00.014-06:00

I've had a bad week - but today everything got so much better!! First, I received a lovely box of chocolates from my daddy - he has given me a gift on every Valentine's Day that I can remember (except for one, when he and my mom were both very ill). Everything from stuffed animals (I still have most of them!) to jewelry to flowers to candy - I've always loved how special he makes me feel! He has always called me "Princess" so I was extra delighted to receive the Valentine card he gave me - so sweet!!
BTW, my dad is so sweet, thoughtful and generous - he also gives Valentine candy to each girl in my family and also to all the women who work for him - even remembering to buy sugar-free for the diabetic employee. He's such a sweetie!!
So the next wonderful thing: as I mentioned in an earlier post, a group of girls swapped Valentine boxes - today was the day we opened them and OH MY!! I had the most gorgeous box from Debi! She decorated the heart-shaped tin so beautifully - the colors are pastel and sparkly and lovely! And she filled it with so many fantastic goodies - things I will use in my altered art. I love each and every item! She also made a precious little album that she filled with lots and lots of vintage images. And she included a fun book called "Rear Ends"! The photos I took don't do the gifts justice, but I wanted to share anyway. I am so lucky - thanks again Debi!!

And then tonight some friends called and insisted that we go out to eat - their treat! So we had a delicious meal at the neighborhood barbecue place and then we had fun in Walmart - just a perfect ending to a wonderful day!! Thanks Tim and Linda!!

Free Valentine Images

2009-02-08T16:10:00.003-06:00

Lisa Vollrath is again offering free images in her Valentine Countdown - click on the title above to go there.

Valentine Box Swap

2009-02-08T15:29:00.005-06:00

My Diva group has a Valentine Box Swap going on. (I hope Jeri doesn't see this before Valentine's Day!) She said that she likes the colors pink, green and grungy white and she likes old spoons, old hankies, dragonflies and other things. I included 6 old spoons and 4 old hankies that I ordered from eBay. I also included lots of embellishments (charms, ribbons, paper lace, brads, shells, bamboo tiles, paper flowers, satin roses, etc.) to add to her art projects, a Valentine frame, candy, vanilla dusting powder, scrapbook papers, pink "Stickles", a small bag of printed images, and other stuff. My favorite thing was the necklace made from a plastic eyeglass lens - I found a photo of Jeri's mom on her blog and used it to insert in between the lenses. The final photos here show it better. I started with a tin like the one in the first photo (mine contained candy rather than cookies). After sanding and gessoing the top and bottom, I covered it with paper napkins then added embellishments. I hope she likes her box - I had fun putting it together!

IBC - Serious Health Info for Women

2009-02-04T19:27:00.002-06:00

Pregnancy Widget to Follow Nicole's Progress

2009-02-01T04:10:00.004-06:00

I was so happy to find this widget to add to my blog (and also glad that it was so simple add!) The little graphic to the right shows Nicole's progress and if you click on the box, there is lots of information. Since Nicole has been through this all before, she will undoubtedly remember most of it, but her family and friends can read along and understand more about what her body is going through. Pregnancy is such an amazing miracle!! Here is one of my favorite photos of Nicole's first pregnancy.

Valentine Mail Art Envelope 2008

2009-02-01T03:43:00.003-06:00

Photos of my Valentine envelope from last year - I just love how it turned out after everyone added their own thing!

56 Things You Can Toss Out Now

2009-01-14T08:21:00.004-06:00

My name is Jackie and I am a junk-a-holic! I cannot throw stuff away! I am a clutterbug! I collect way too much stuff! And my habits got worse when I discovered the world of Altered Art! I subscribe to Christine Kane's newsletter and blog (see below and right side-bar) and today's article really hit home! There are a few items that I don't agree with (I could NEVER get rid of my grandmother's doilies!) but she has some very good advice and I'd like to share it:

56 Things You Can Toss Out Now
by Christine Kane
We hold onto our stuff for two reasons: Love or fear. We either love things. Or we fear letting them go. We cherish them and know they have value to us. OR... We fear that we'll need them someday. We fear that we wasted our money on them. We fear what others will think if we let them go. We even fear making the decision to release our mistakes, so we don't make any decision at all. Instead we passively hold onto stuff out of guilt. Well, guess what? When you begin to make choices from a place of LOVE and EXPANSION, then your world will change. Love is the clearest reason to do anything. If you don't love it, toss it. Give it away. Your abundance and energy will increase when you begin to live by love, and not by fear. Here are 56 things you can toss out (or give away) right now...
1. All the hotel key cards you forgot to turn it when you checked out.
2. The doilies your Aunt Missy crocheted 45 years ago that got handed down to you.
3. CD's you haven't listened to in three years or more.
4. The boxes of cassettes you've been meaning to transfer to CD's.
5. The bread maker you haven't used since 2003.
6. Your wedding dress
NOTE: You can say you've been saving it for your daughter, but here are three signs that your daughter doesn't want to wear it: a] she's already married and wore her own dress, b] she's been roommates with a woman named Pat for nine years, or c] you don't have a daughter.
7. Credit card bills from 1995.
8. The Allen wrenches from every piece of IKEA furniture you ever assembled.
9. The jacket you spent way too much money on and never wore. NOTE: Keeping it around just to punish yourself for your bad choices is like going to parochial school all over again.
10. Every scratching post or toy your cat doesn't like. NOTE: Your cat didn't go to parochial school so there's no sense punishing him.
11. House plants you no longer love.
12. The stacks of O Magazine you swear you'll re-read.
13. Every little zippy bag that came with a Clinique purchase.
14. Every unopened perfume that came with a Clinique purchase.
15. Leftover scrunchies in case you grow your hair long again.
16. The "Cherries Jubilee" flavored lip balm that makes you nauseous.
17. Every single regretful lipstick color you bought on a whim. ("Cherries Jubilee" is probably there, too.)
18. Your last four cell phones and all their chargers and blue teeth.
19. Single socks.
20. The Spode Christmas plates and mugs you don't like. (Along with the Christmas bath towels and welcome mat.)
21. The framed posters you had in your college dorm room.
22. Old stereo wires.
NOTE: If your husband refuses to let go of any of these mysterious wires, try this: Put them (not him!) in a bin and label it "Random Cables and Wires." After two years, bring it out of storage and kindly note that no one has thought about it in two years. Ask if it would be okay to let go of half of them. Repeat process until all mysterious cables and wires are gone.
23. The nails, screws, anchors, and cup hooks rusting in the bottom of your tool chest.
24. Remote controls that don't remotely control anything you own.
25. Lamps, toasters, blenders, coffeemakers that no longer work.
26. The notion that you will ever be one of those moms that makes beautiful scrapbooks.
NOTE: Put your photos in boxes. No one will judge you.
27. Old blankets and linens you keep in case you suddenly have 27 sleepover guests.
28. College text books
29. Any boring decorative item that does little more than fill space.
30. Vases you don't love or use.
31. Candle holders you don't love or use.
32. Picture frames you don't love or use.
33. Class notes from college.
34. The idea that you have to save every piece of your children's artwork and school work because it might mean you don't love them if you don't.
35. The "good silver" you don't use that was passed down to you.
36. Old VHS movies
37. Unlabeled VHS tapes. (And don't waste your time watching them just in case.)
38. The stationary bike that got even more stationary after you got it.
39. The fabric pieces you've been collecting in case you ever become a quilter.
40. Flashlights that dimly light up only after you bang them over and over on your thigh.
41. Old keys that open some door somewhere in the past.
42. Suitcases you don't use.
43. Old computers.
44. Old stereos.
45. Promotional duffel bags with ugly logos and bad acronyms stitched all over them.
46. Anything that makes you say, "But I got such a good price on it!"
47. Anything that makes you say, "But I paid so much for it!"
48. Half-full cans of paint.
49. Extra baby items/Old baby items.
50. Record albums. NOTE: Don't spend your extra hours in a day trying to figure out if someone will buy them. Really. They won't.
51. Gifts you never liked.
52. All the cross-stitch, knitting, or sewing projects you never finished.
53. Any glassware or dinnerware that is a "memorabilia" item from proms or sororities or sports events.
54. Old information packets you no longer need or that you can easily find on line.
55. All the hotel soaps that you took with you. (And stop taking them. You've got plenty of soap!)
56. The belief that you only have to go through the de-cluttering process once and won't ever have to do it again.

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her 'LiveCreative' weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at http://www.christinekane.com/.
WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?See Christine's blog - Be Creative. Be Conscious. Be Courageous - at ChristineKane.com/blog

My Christmas Envelope Completed

2009-01-10T19:40:00.010-06:00

I have mentioned before that I am in a group that alters envelopes (Pass The Altered Envelope - P_T_A_E) I recently received my completed Christmas envelope and I just LOVE it! There were a total of 8 people playing in this RR and I think each individual did a fantastic job on each envelope!

Front

Back

We are in the process of doing a Valentine RR now and the next theme will be Marie Antionette.

Here is what I did to my Valentine envie - 6 more folks will work on it.

Front

Back

In a previous post, I shared the beginning of my Halloween envie - unfortunately, it never returned home so I was unable to post the final results.

A Giveaway from Lani Kent

2009-01-10T14:03:00.004-06:00

I love giveaways! Go to Lani's blog by clicking the title of this post and sign up!

Christmas was great!

2009-01-05T13:27:00.021-06:00

Our family had a wonderful Christmas together (missing Robby, Holly, Lillian, and Lainey again!!) But how does it pass so quickly when so much time and effort go into the preparations?! Here are some photos:

Charles Brannon Smith IV (Chase) and Jay Lauryn and Charles Brannon Smith, Jr.

Kyle

Bobby
Debbie

Lauryn and Chase

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care - all 21 of them!

Chase, Jay, and Kyle

Brandi Diane

Brent and Jacqueline Nicole

Kyle, Chase, Taylor, Jay, and Lauryn

Teresa

Robert Taylor

Charles Brannon Smith, Sr.

Charles Brannon Smith IV, Charles Brannon Smith III, and Kyle and Taylor

Richard

Nicole and Brent are Pregnant!

2008-12-17T03:24:00.005-06:00

Our family is so blessed! Nicole is pregnant with her second child! Taylor will be 3 when the new little one is born in early August. I am SO excited!!

When Nicole was growing up, she spent many weekends with me (both nieces and both nephews did so frequently - I loved those visits!) Here is a photo of her trying on my veil.

And 4 years ago she and Brent were married.

Two and a half years ago, Robert Taylor joined our family!

And here he is today - precious!!

Christmas Past

2008-12-11T06:12:00.015-06:00

Mother and Daddy - happy times!

An early Christmas card.

Can you find Charles Brannon Smith, IV (Chase) snuggled beneath the Christmas tree? This photo was Mother's idea.

I was an Angel in a school Christmas play - Mother made my outfit and I loved it!

Chase, Kyle, Jay, Lauryn and Brandi - another photo op staged by my Mother.

We LOVED these cowboy outfits! Charlie was 2, I was 4.

Money was tight so we made all our Christmas ornaments this year - 1970?

"Jolly Old St. Nicholas - lean your ear this way . . ." (Charlie and me)

The Beach House adorned for the holidays.

Charlie and me again - old enough to know better!

Mother and Daddy LOVED to dance!

Bobby's First Christmas - Charlie got a train!

div>
Mother, me, Teresa and Brandi - I made her dress to match ours.

Thank you for indulging me while traveling down Christmas Memory Lane!!

Christmas at our House

2008-12-11T05:39:00.005-06:00

I took the first photo of "our" house several years ago when we had one of our very, very rare December snows - or maybe it was in January and the Christmas decorations were still up - I know it didn't snow on Christmas because in all of my 61 years, I have never had a White Christmas!
The other photos are from last year. "Our" house is actually Daddy's house and the decor was all created by my mom years ago. My aunt Sue now does all of the holiday decorating and does a beautiful job of keeping Mother's spirit alive. The stockings on the mantel - one for each of us - were all handmade by myself and my sister-in-law, Teresa.

Here is a photo of us as we hung the stockings when there were only about 9 of us - that was over 30 years ago!

Winter of Life

2008-12-10T09:16:00.004-06:00

I received this in an email from a friend today and thought I'd share it on my blog:

And it's winter before we know it....
You know, time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all...
And I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams... But, here it is..the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise... How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my babies go? And where did my youth go? I remember well.. Seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like... But, here it is....my friends are retired and really getting gray...they move slower and I see an older person now. Lots are in better shape than me... But, I see the great change... Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant... But, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be. Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore...it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will...I just fall asleep where I sit! And so, now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over...its over....Yes , I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done ....things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime.....So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!!Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for good today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember....and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!"Life is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one.
LIVE IT WELL!!----
ENJOY TODAY!!!!-----DO SOMETHING FUN!!!----BE HAPPY!!!----BE THANKFUL!!!!!

Finding Joy

2008-12-08T00:22:00.005-06:00

A nice little slide show with great photos and quotes - enjoy it!