Made a few things

I have been doing alot of sewing this week. I finished a few reconstructions I started a while ago. Part of the reason I hadn't been working on them is becuase I didn't want to mess them up. They really are not hard at all. Just sew a straight line and you should end up with something decent.

Stacey's shirt started as a gigantic tank top. The picture of her in the shirt is foggy looking because little fingers smeared up my camara lens.


Jamie's shirt was just a regular sweatshirt. I used a bleach pen to put the design on it. A little tip I learned is to spread out the lines with the bleach pen because they bleed into each other and you get a blob.

Christi Thomas

Christi Thomas is fighting for her life. Visit her, donate or send a loving message. I put a link to her site in my links.

SPC: With someone

It's been over a month since I did my last Self Portrait. This months theme is to be with someone.

Bell is a sweet, sweet girl. She is all about having a good time. If it isn't fun she doesn't want to do it. Hence, my trouble with potty-training.

She has an extensive vocabulary. The other day she told me she could see her reflection in the mirror. Are there many 3 year olds that say reflection?

Interview with The Bell:

What is your favorite color? "Pink"
Dora or Diego? "Diego"
What's you favorite game? "Caillou"
But that's a show "yeah"
o.k.
Do you like Dogs or Cats? "Cats"
Do you want Mommy to stop asking you questions? "No"
No? "yes."
o.k.

Family Fun Fair

Saturday I took the girls to the Family Fun Fair. It's an annual thing the local Community college does.(LCCC)

Boog and Bell had lots of fun making tye dyed shirts, necklaces, getting a caracature done and taking in a puppet show. I had lot of fun, too because it was all f.r.e.e. For me, that was the icing on the cake.*giggle*

Speaking of cakes... I won a cake in a cakewalk. We kind of had an advantage because there were 3 of us and there were only 8 squares. We had them out numbered so it was no surprise to me when they called out my number. It truly was a cakewalk. *giggle*

Boog won a goldfish. What are the odds?! Lady luck was definitely on our side that day.

There were lots of kids carnival rides so I did purchase the all day passes for the girls. Money well spent. Bell had a grand time on all the rides but Boog was not so jovial after she scraped her elbow on a slide.

By the end of the day I was walking away with a cake in one hand, a goldfish in the other, my big bag of necesities hanging off my arm and two crying kids in tow behind me. I am sure we were quite the pathetic sight but that's the price you pay for a great day at the fair.

Blogger is being stupid and I can't load all the pictures.

Thrift Finds

I haven't done one of these in a while. I got some good stuff the past couple of weeks.

This is a gigantic bowl. I think it may be a planter.







This is a cool pictcher. I'm not sure how old it is but it's 50's or 60's. I got this, the two flower glasses and the polka dot set all at the same garage sale.










A learning puzzle to help Abby spell. I think it was originally a classroom puzzle. There was alot of stuff at the Goodwill that day for Kindergarten Teachers. I also picked up some worksheet books for Abby's teacher just in case she could use them.










The Flower glasses.







These are my prize finds for that day. I love these. I don't really want anyone to use them because at least one will definitely be broken and I don't think I could stand that.

The Big 18 and Kindergarten

The Girl turned 18 last week and we had a nice little get together with her grandparents for it. I made her a cake. I had to outfit it with the trick candles. *giggles*. We sang Happy Birthday and it was a lovely time. Oh. She actaully wore a skirt. That's what I remember most, because she looked to lady like and cute in that thing.

I can't really reflect on how she has grown from a little girl to a young woman because we have only started to get to know each other. I can say she is on her way to a great life. I hope she takes advantage of every oppurotunity that comes her way and lives life to the fullest.

Now If I could just get her to clean her room.

Abby's first day of Kindergarten went off without a hitch. I spent a few hours with her for the orientation so she was ok with me going when it was time. She looked so very cute in her little tinnies and that big backpack that dwarfed her. She made me take like 3 pictures of just the backpack.

Her teacher was very nice. (I'll call her Ms. C.) She was assertive with the children but still very kind and soft-spoken. Abby was shy at first. She wouldn't shake her hand. That's her thing though, she doesn't talk to new people. I am sure she lit right up as soon as I was gone. Her teacher was very organized. The security is strict, which is something I was worried about. You have to show an ID every day to pick up your kid. I don't mind.

She had her first school lunch (hamburger, peaches, peas and chocolate milk.) She ate the hamburger and drank the milk. That's it. The lunch is open to parents. I can take her McDonalds if I want and we can eat together. I think that's pretty cool.

I wonder if the school burgers taste the same as they did when I was in school.

I've said it before I'll say it again!

Potty training sucks. It is the bain of my existence. Why can't I just hire someone to do this part for me? Sometimes I wish I would have had a boy so that the potty training would be on Guitarman instead of me.

I can go through about 4 or 5 pairs of those potty training underwear in one day. She peed in the middle of Kauffmans yesterday so I had to spend 7 bucks on a pack of unders because I didn't bring any with me. I have cleaned up so much pee my hands are turning yellow.

Forget about #2, it isn't even on the agenda yet.

Tomatoes

This Summer I have been growing my own tomatoes. They actual plant has gotten huge. They are all about a little shorter than me and I am 5'6". These are my first plants but I would say those are some good size tomato plants. Anyhow... I found my first ripe one this week-end. I was a little excited about it even though it's a bit defective... to say the least. It has a few underdeveloped brothers growing out of its side. Boog was not deterred by them. I just hacked them off and she ate the good part. Kids.

Now I have noticed many more starting to ripen but a few have little marks in them that look like two fang teeth (wide set) that make punctures and the middle teeth on the bottom make the bite. Does that make sense? Here's a picture to help. The two smaller circles are the punctures and the bigger is the bite. Guitarman thinks it could be a cat. Does anyone know what I can do to keep small animals away from them? I would prefer to put something around them to deter but not a wiring because they are in my front yard. I will if I have to though.

Scholastic Magnets

This is my spin on these cute little things. I
used my old scholastic magazines. I knew when I bought them that I would find some kind of use for them.

I did some with random family photos too but the mod podge still hasn't dried and its been more than 32 hours since I finished them. I tried a few with some scrapbooking glue and that seems to have dried but it probably isn't good for very long. If you want to use photos for these I suggest you make a copy on regular paper and use that. It will dry easier.

















The Final Product!

Burn Baby Burn!

Remember how I said we were goin to the pool yesterday. Oh Krikey!~ My backside and the back of my thighs are so burnt. I can't sit down without mucho pain. I think I have blisters. EEk.

Boog and Bell had fun though and Guitarman had the sense to turn over so he is fine.

I'm just gonna go get some aloe. I'll be fine. *crying*

Some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Loving some of the best soft-serve ice cream in Lorain County.








Good one of Abby.















We planted a tree in front of our house. I am going to take pictures of the girls next to it every year to track its growth.














One of the little bags I have been making.













Playing in the pool and being mermaids.

Aaarrrrrrgggg!

I have had a very busy week. The girls have been hounding us to get and do stuff before the Summer ends so we have been taking advantage of the nice weather and doing just that.

I had a garage sale. Nothing to rave about because I didn't sell much of anything. My signs kept falling over so finally at around noon on the second day I said forget it and packed it all in. I have alot of clothes that are in very good to excellent condition that I can't afford to send to a friend so I am going to put them on Ebay.

We have been to the pool quite a few times and we are going again tomorrow. Boog and Bell both love it in the kiddy pool. Boog tried the big pool but she couldn't touch the bottom so she didn't want to go back in. I, of coarse, can not believe I actually got my Can into a bathing suit but that's a whole other thing. We had a ton of fun and guitarman and I got burned because we are geniuses who put sunscreen on our children but not ourselves.

We bought bikes! Guitarman found a really cool bike at a garage sale and I talked the guy down to 25 bucks so it was a major deal. I had to get one for me and a child seat for Bell at Allmart. It feels so good to be active again. Our neighborhood is really cute,too so it's fun to explore it with the whole family.

That's about it for this week.

Still nothing to blog about.

It is Hot! Hot! Hot! Here in Ohio. The forecast is that it should be past us after today and cool off on Thursday. We have been spending alot of time inside the past few days because of this and I have been making a bag out of denim and blue toile. Almost done with it.

Since I have nothing but the weather to blog about I thought maybe I would do this little ditty. I found it on Maria's Clouds . The ones I have done are highlighted in red.


01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula/huntsman
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Southern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s nappy
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment ( In yoga class. They always say different things happen to people when they are doing yoga. I laugh hysterically.)
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger( This one I kinds of did. I asked a complete stranger to suck my toes and then wiggled them in his face. He was more than happy to. He later asked me on a date.)
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse(solar)
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 States
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends (still do)
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater (great when you are breast-feeding mother)
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played Monopoly for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made biscuits from scratch (tasted terrible)
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted a wild river
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children. (Still trying)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Helped someone while they were tripping(on drugs and falling down)
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild (hehehehehe)
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork/craftwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a stall at a street market/festival
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone’s lifeCheers

" Ow, Ow, Owie!"

A little scrape on the ankle can cause quite a ruckus around here. Abby scraped her ankle on the cement and needed a band- aid. While I was searching for them in the medicine cabinet I was completely bombarded with OWie's from both of them. By some miracle of nature Ella had gotten a scrape on her knee and needed some tending to also. Oh the Drama! It was quite a spectacle to behold.

Self Portrait: Me as a photographer

I have been doing photography since I was 15 years old. Before I came upon Self Portrait Challenge it was a rare moment for me to be in front of the camara. My favorite subject has always been my daughters, of coarse, and for the last 5 years they have been just about my only subjects. So this is me as a photographer. Not in a single shot.

Nothing at all.

I have nothing to blog about but I haven't blogged in at least a week or more so I thought I would just ramble on and see what happens.

On the crafty front, I have been making these little change purse/maybe a little make-up bag thingy's. They are really cute. I have made them with all the scrap materials I buy at garage sales. I have even been switching it up and doing some different styles for each one. I need new camamra batteries so there will be no pictures for now.

Boog and Bell have a new babysitter. She is a cute 14 year old girl. They love her to pieces. Boog even gives her hugs and kisses, she doesn't even give her Gramma hugs and kisses. I am so glad I finally found someone who is honest and trustworthy. It's been a long road.

So the last Self Portrait was such a big hit I am having trouble thinking of something that will top it.

I am finally having a garage sale. I have been preparing for this thing for about a month. I need tables though. I will have to borrow one from my MIL. I don't enjoy having garage sales as much as I enjoy going to them which is probably why it has taken me so long to get it together for this one.

My best friend, Lucy, had her 26th b-day on Saturday. She boycotted it. I didn't think you could do that but she did. Oh the hilarities! That's her in the picture.

Ella is still potty-training. It's my own fault. I get discouraged and just put a diaper on her when she has one to many accidents or a dirty one... nothing like dunking and swooshing some poopy panties to really make you feel like "maybe she's not ready yet". But she will be three in October, she has got to be ready... right?

That's really all I can think to babble about.

The Smell of Home

I hate potpourri. I think it covers up the scent of your home. I want to smell wood and cloth and cleaners and laundry detergent and bath soap and shampoo or whatever. I want to know people live here when I walk into a house. Not smell cinnamon and spice or Country Garden ( gag) or whatever.

A few weeks ago a girl knocked on my door (she was a kindred spirit on this matter) and wanted to sell me some magazine subscription. I let her in and she immediately said " Oh your house smells so good." I said "ok, thanks." Like that is going to get me to buy something... yeah right. She then went on to tell me every house she had been in had smelled like some kind of smelly crap or another but mine smelled like a home. I bought a subscruption to Rolling Stone.

It came in the mail today, that's what triggered the thought.

Subject change.

I got a new sewing machine today! I am so excited about it, too. It is nothing like the old Singer I have been using. It actually just glides the cloth right out of your hand and sews a straight line for you. I had no idea it could be like this. I am in love.

Thank you Singer Engineers. Thank you Isaac Singer for being a stubborn old bastard and fighting the good fight. Thank you sales lady at Walmart, thank you gay check-out guy who wanted to talk about quilting looms all because he saw my purchase.( I was confused about that one too.) But most of all thank you to The Guitarman for being so awesome and cool about my neverending need to craft. I'll miss you the most Guitarman.

*giggles*

Now I must create!

SPC: Me as a mug shot

I have never been arrested but if I ever do get arrested I hope my mug shot will look something like this. More Nick than Zsa Zsa. I thought the cigarette was a nice touch and the crayon on the wall behind me is classic.
















Boog said she would only take my picture if I let her do one too.

Panda Bears

You can find the tutorial for these fun little guys at Molly Chicken. She has many fun things to do. So what do you think?