You know the 3-D quilt I've been working on?? You know...the one I was having so much fun putting together. The one I decided to quilt in sections. heh.

QUILTING IN SECTIONS IS STOOOOOPID!

I tried. I really tried. I pinned. I sewed. I ripped. I showed my hubby who wisely kept his mouth shut and pretended to be watching TV instead of his wife walking back and forth from the sewing machine to the living room all while muttering nasties under her breath. The one time he did try and offer some advice I may have punched him in the nose. hmph.

It isn't pretty folks. And it is sewed and ripped and sewn again within an inch of its life. I will only show this one on the back of a galloping horse. A galloping horse who bucks.

After two hours of trying to get that thing to work I finally folded up the whole thing and put it in a box.

Now every time I walk past it I shudder. Today my mom and niece come for a visit. Tomorrow I am going to the local quilt store to look for some inspiration. I am going to leave the quilt alone for awhile. Hey!! I just thought of something!! Maybe the LQS offers a class on quilting in sections!!! I'm off to find out!

peace out homies!!

I got home from a very wet/cold day of shopping with the family AND SAW STUFF IN THE MAIL FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was beyond excited to see who sent me something!! LOOK LOOK LOOK!!! I got some presents from the sweetie chookyblue! I left a comment on her blog once upon a time about how lucky she was to live in Australia (swoon!!) and be able to find stitcheries. I've been everywhere here in Ohio and can't find any. I asked at my local quilt store and they didn't even know what I was talking about. Well Ms. Chookyblue felt that just wasn't right and wrote to see if I wanted her to send me a little sumpin sumpin. I replied YESYESYESYESYESOHMYGODYES!! Next thing I know I got this pattern......


and a magazine chock full of wonderful stitcheries and some DMC thread!!

This is my HEEHEEHEEHEEHEE look. (I told the 16 year old to make sure she got my thin side. Sigh. She did the best she could)

This is my happy beyond belief look. I am looking at the other patterns and magazine she sent wondering how I could fly to Australia and hug her.

You made my day Chookyblue. Truly. I cannot wait to start making some of these. Your kindness takes my breath away. :)

If that wasn't just icing from the fridge slapped on a big ole spoon....look what my Ya-Ya Leigh sent!!!

She sent a little Christmas cheer folks. There is a cute Christmas frame, a friendship pillow and this really neat pattern. It has directions on how to make 50 quilt blocks representing the 50 States. We are going to each make one and then sob every time we look at it cause we miss each other so darn much.

Whoever says that you cannot make friends by blogging obviously never blogged. Thanks again you two!!!

A dream is a wish your heart makes.....

The Boo-Bear: Mom I've made my New Year's Resolutions.

Me reading blogs but trying to pretend that I am veeeeeery interested in the 5 millionth conversation with one of my children that day: Hmmmmmmmmmm?

The Boo-Bear: I've decided that I'm not gonna argue so much with you this year.

That is when I jumped around the house yelling Hallelujah to the Baby Jesus. (Talladega Nights reference right chere cause I am hip and happening.)

Falling on some d@#$ ice!

Dear Int-netz,



If you get an ice storm and need to take your dog out for a walk do not think yourself cute in your red pea coat, boots, scarf and gloves. The FATES will know you are out there getting all jiggy with it and you will go to take a step on the curb AND YOU WILL FALL!!!! Then you may cry a bit. While you are sitting there sniffling and feeling very sorry for yourself and wondering if your hubby will feel bad enough to go and buy you some Feel Better Soon Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream you will look up and notice a van full of people who are pointing and laughing at you.

You may feel like pointing a "certain" finger at them but you must remember you are a lady and there will be no finger pointing. Then you will hobble back into your house where you will wake up your hubby so he can kiss your boo-boo on your elbow.



This concludes my message.

This is Dawn The Super Sleuth/Reporter here reporting live from Ohio with an update on Crazy Lady With Invisible Demon Friend.

The 16 year old needed to open a bank account the other day because thankalltheheavensabove it seems she is about to be employed. We had a few things to do before they could hire her and a bank account to put all her monies in was at the top of the list.

After we put our name on the new account list a very nice woman led us to her office. We chit chatted a bit. Her computer was slow. We were talking about some of the crazy things we've seen lately and I told her about the Crazy Lady With Invisible Demon Friend. She said it sounded like a lady who comes into the bank. I was all "No way!!" She was all "Yes way!!" So then I was all "Get out!!" and she was all "No you get out!!" Then I described her just to make sure.



It was the same lady.



What are the chances??? Seems she comes into the bank every once in awhile to do some ummmm banking and brings her little invisible friend with her.

I must meet her!!!!

The Son has our home phone on speed dial so the next time she shows up at the store he can call me and I can speed on over. Crazy Lady With Invisible Demon Friend is like my new Naked Korean Man!!!! WHOOPIE!



I will update as new info becomes available. This is Dawn the Super Sleuth/Reporter signing off.

Presents!!

The super sweet cutie patootie pie otherwise known in the blog world as the Chocolate Cat sent me a package the other day!!! I was sitting in my sewing room working on my quilt with the hubby and the 16 year old keeping me company when I heard the mail man. I got up, opened up the door, reached in the mail box AND FOUND A PACKAGE ADDRESSED TO MOI!!! I went back into the sewing room, doing the bootie dance, to show the family what I got. And look!!! She wrapped it!!!!! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!








Look. At. All. The. Lovely. Goodness! Cute napkins to daintily wipe one's mouth when one is enjoying a donut and coffee. A wonderful gingerbread button to adorn a Christmas bag I am now going to make. A very Aussie calender that I can look at every morning and sigh. Why the sigh?? Because as I am looking at the picture of the month there will be a longing inside of me to be out in the bush....watching wallabies....eating shrimp on the barbie...having walkabouts and visiting with one of the kindest people around. (smooches Lise!!) There is also a book about all things Australia and some lotion for when my hands get chapped during this very dry, very cold winter. See the package with the bow. That my friends would be food for the gods. Choc-o-late. Yuuuuummmmm. I popped one of them there babies in my mouth so I could sustain myself while taking pictures. Did I share with the hubby and the 16 year old you ask?? I informed them that their name was not on the package and for them to get back before they lost a limb.


See!!!! Chocolates from Australia!!!! Could anything be better?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!? If you are shaking your head right now thinking no Dawn, there is nothing better then chocolates from Australia you would be DING DING DING!! right.

The whole kit and caboodle was in this bag. This very cute bag that I promptly put on the door of my sewing center so I could look at it and smile. Thinking about someone (in Australia SQUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEE) who was nice enough to be thinking of me.

You meet some of the best people while blogging!! Hugs and kisses to you Lise!!!!

You truly made my day.

The Jazz Player...

The Boo-Bear had her first band recital the other night. She plays the Alto Saxophone and loves it! The Capt is really into Jazz. They listen to music together all the time. When she asked if she could play the sax this year there wasn't anything anyone could have done to make him happier.

Here she is being all easy-breezy-cool. Like all good Jazz Players are. :)

This is an example not of my baby playing her heart out but of my mad photo shopping skills! I photo shopped all the other kids out of the picture so no momma's would have fits of rage if they decided to google their kiddos and see I posted a picture online of their babe-ees.

I am nothing if not always thinking.

See the cute bow in her hair. She was feeling very Matildah-ish and ohmygodmomIihavetohaveabowinmyhair!!!

She does look pretty cute there if I do say so myself. If I may brag a bit....and what's a blog for if not for us to brag on our kids I ask ya?? She came home today with a form for us to fill out so she can move up in band. The girl has been playing the sax since Oct. Of. This. Year.

She said when she gets famous that she will give us CD's for free.

How nice of her.

quilt pics!!

Whew. It is either a feast of posts or famine. Things have been so busy here. I did take time to get the quilt pics....here she is...






I'm working on a new quilt. It is what's called a 3-D quilt. (I got it from a McCall's Quilting mag I think. It is one I tore out and put in a binder. I need to go and find it so I can get all the info and post it here. I'll update with that later.)
Update: I just noticed that I left out a border. Funny what you see after you post!
You take squares and fold them into triangles and then make a block. Here is the quilt top finished. It's still in sections as I think I may try to do the quilting in sections method.












Here is one of the sections. You can see that the triangles are sewn like prairie points. I love this quilt. It is so neat! There are little pockets and prairie points all over it.




Not to sure how the quilting in sections method is going to go. I took the 4 outer panels and basted them today. I have about 1/4th of one done and am having a ball doing it. I'm crossing my fingers it turns out after all the work I did sewing the top. Anyone else out there done one of these??



I hope this post makes sense. It's late here. Real late. And I'm tired. Hey, are you not allowed to start a sentence with the word And?? Just wondering. Anywaaaay it's late. I'm up waiting for The Son to come home from work. It's icy on the roads out there so I'm doing the Worried Mom Thing. Since I had some time I thought I'd get a post or two out there. Life has been busy lately. The hubby came home, we had The Boo Bear's band thingie at school, Christmas shopping has been done, we've eaten out a couple of times. It's just that time of year. I haven't had a lot of blogging time.

Hope everyone is well, healthy and happy out there. :)

Question....

Anyone out there feel the need to clean out the ole email/in box every time you clean your house?? Hmmmmmm?? No?? Just me...lil miss ocd??



Okay then.

Note: Next post will have some pics of the really cute 3-d quilt I'm a workin on over here...also an update on the crazy lady with the invisible demon friend...you're not gonna believe it!

Another Crazy Night At Work...

The Son was working the cash register again last night at work. I look forward to his coming home on cash register nights cause he always has a crazy story about the people who go in there to shop. Last night? I was not disappointed. He tells me that a lady walks up to the register with her hood on...baby it's cold outside. He starts checking her stuff and they talk a bit. He doesn't get a good look at her face the one time he glanced up cause hoodie is on. She has woman hands, a womans figure and a woman's voice. As they are talking about stuff she must have gotten hot cause she pulled the hood down and lo and behold?? SHE WAS TOTALLY A HE!!! How does my son know this you ask? Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm could have been the full beard and mustache. As we start laughing like loons I asked him what he did. He just kept on checking, took her money, gave her a receipt. All without breaking stride. Oh yeah, he's my son all right!

On another note....anyone watching the new show called Secret Millionaire?? Oh. My. Gosh. The premise of the show is to take a different millionaire each episode and put them in a poor neighborhood. The person interacts with the people around him/her and gets to know them and their stories. The millionaire must live like the other people around them. No special treatment. At the end of the show they take $100,000 of their own money and give it away to the deserving.
Again, Oh. My. Gosh! You must watch this!! Bring tissue!! It was a sob fest over here! I was reaching for the tissue before anyone had a dime. It is even better then the show where people get the house. I promise!!! You will love it!! You will blog about it and use many many exclamation points!!!
Okay, I'm off to clean up the house and do some errands...not really. I'm gonna go and make another cup of coffee while I try and come down from Hurricane Boo-Bear. Sheesh. Can the child take a shower in the morning and not sing at the top of her lungs......and get water all over the floor cause she doesn't believe in the power of the shower curtain to keep the boogie-man away.......and WHO TOLD HER TO TAKE THE CAT IN THERE TO KEEP HER COMPANY????? Did the cat enjoy himself? No. No he did not. Nor did anyone else enjoy all the meowing and the singing. Good gravy, the singing. I may put a little sumpin sumpin in the coffee this morning. I am Irish, Scottish and German so it's totally allowed.
Peace out.

Thursday....

It is 7:16 in the ayem here in my part of the world. I've got some coffee by my side, the Today show on the tube and The Boo-Bear doesn't wake up for another 14 minutes. But all of that is not even the best part of today....the best part is....I ordered some books a week ago and have been stalking the UPS website. When I checked it this morning I see my books are in Ohio and I should have them in my hot little hands sometime today! BLISS!!!! Anyone read the Eve Dallas series by JD Robb?? I've got them all save for the two coming today. Ahhhhhhhh new books, can there be anything better??
Also, I've been a quilting the past couple of days. I'm working on a quilt that has a bunch of folded squares. Gives it a neat 3-D effect. I'll take some pics tonight so I can post them on here.
Okay, I'm off to start my day. Have a good one everybody!!

invisible demon friend goes to Big Lots...

The Son was working the cash register at his job today. A lady got in his line and they chatted for a bit as he rang her stuff up. The talked about mundane stuff...how are you...I'm fine....cold weather again...it might snow. Normal stuff. Then it went terribly wrong. When he looked down to get another bag he heard her say this "demon! demon! Shut Up #$$%$ demon!!!" My wonderful son looked up and said "Pardon me???" (I have taught my children to be polite when the crazy comes out......and to remember it all as this gives their momma something to blog about. ) Then the lady proceeds to quietly curse out her invisible demon friend. The Son doesn't know what the demon did to make her so mad but she was really going to town. After she paid and left the store he watched her walk around the front and curse the demon out some more but louder this time. I said to him as I was laughing....."what did you think about it all?" He says he couldn't wait to get home and tell me.



My children do me proud!

The Homeless..A Pimp...and An Accident...

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd how way ya'lls Sunday??? Hmmmm?? Any Homeless infiltrating the Public Library?? Any Pimps?? An Accident? No? PWASH! and you guys call yourselves bloggers! Shall I tell you about my Sunday?? Okay!

It all started on a dark and stormy night....BWAHAHAHA just kidding. It all started relatively innocent. Wanted to take ma gurls to the library so we could stock up on books. We got all dressed, perfumed, the girls fought over shotgun. It was a day like any other. Then we got to the library. When it is cold outside the total homeless population of Dayton goes in the library to keep warm. There was a crowd at the door waiting out the 20 minutes til opening. As one of the guys we will call Red Ski Mask Man was licking his chops checking out my 16 year old I decided that the safest thing to do would be to go back and wait in the van. I didn't want to have to use my Seriously Powerful Ninja Moves on him so we sat in the van, doors locked, and decided to people watch. First up were The Barely Dressed Even Though It's Wicked Cold Out Girls. They were soon joined by Man Who Could Be Their Pimp. How do we know this?? Well I was talking to the 16 year old about how he walked up to them and asked ever so sweetly "Where the h#$% you bin!!" The 16 year old says "Maybe he's their pimp." This is when The Boo Bear piped up and said "But he doesn't have a cane and he's not wearing purple." My girls? Totally take after me. I am so proud.

Finally the library opened. We got a tote bag full of books and headed out to get our read on at Starbucks. A cold Sunday always calls for partaking of a caramel macchiato while reading free books.

We hit the highway with visions of coffee dancing in our heads. I turn left at our green light and things took a decided turn......not for the better. A lady ran a red light and plowed right into us. She hit the passenger side door (where our Boo Bear was sitting) then she slid and almost took off the front bumper. We all sat for a minute to get our bearing and then I pulled over. This is when the cop pulled up as he was right behind us. He saw the whole thing. I got out of the van to inspect the damage and he ran over to me to see if anyone needed any help. I asked him if he had a Xanex. He realised I was okay and went back to where his partner was talking to the lady in the red car. Come to find out it isn't the lady's car....she has no drivers license on her and no proof of insurance in the car....AND she tried to blame me! The cops got a kick out of that one and told her, again, that they were right behind us and saw the whole thing. I was given a case number and told I could go and get my Starbucks now and they were very sorry that they were unable to give me any drugs.

This?? This is why my husband should not leave me to my own devices people!! Remember last summer when he had to go away and I ran over the little ole' Ajimah???? Even though neither accident was my fault I still think he should stay here at all times so we could be better safe then sorry.

I am off to go and look at the front bumper again.

Stay safe out there!!

The Son had yet to see Twilight. I KNOW!! I couldn't believe it either. When he asked me to go with him I did not jump at the chance, no I did not, I was not up for seeing it a 5th time. Five may just be to much. I ONLY said I would go with him because I am a good mother and didn't want to let him down. It had nothing to do with this little piece of hawtness over to the left there.








I promise. I am not in need of an ECI....for those of you not in the know it is an Edward Cullen Intervention. I am almost 40 years old. I am to matuuuuuuure for this foolishment called Edward Cullen Love Amongst Those Over Thirty.












I also was not the woman who stood up in the middle of the movie, you know...the part where he leans in to kiss Bella for the first time, it was not me who stood up and yelled "GOOD LORD EDWARD.....I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABIES!!!!!" Word on the street is that after the woman, who was not me, yelled all of her children fainted dead away from the embarrassment. Unable to handle the syndrome called OWWAILWECETHIAVAWTEHWASLABFOMC........

otherwise known as Older Women Who Are In Love With Edward Cullen Even Though He Is A Vampire And Want To Eat Him With A Spoon Like A Bowl Full Of Melted Chocolate.



But that would not be me. Ahem.
Oh, also, while on the subject...if you read in the paper about some woman who had all of her Twilight Books laminated with gold and keeps them by her bedside so she can gaze at them lovingly....yeah, that would not be me either.

heeheeheesnortheeheegiggle

Baby it's cold...

It is really cold here today. I mean really cold. Antarctica kinda cold. Plus it's snowing. Hard. I am thinking this is what a blizzard must look like. We even have a 16th of an inch sticking to the ground. I may need to stock up on provisions like Ma in Little House on The Prairie.



Watching the snow while enjoying the my first cup of coffee in the morning, I felt that something was missing. I know!!!...........



Blueberry muffins!!!



I made a dozen, fixed another cup of coffee and settled down with two muffins and some blog reading. I needed two muffins cause the first one doesn't count on a snowy day. Really! It's a law.



So I'm sitting here, eating muffins, partaking of some coffee....with my dog laying right next to me on the couch. She is all warm and fluffy. I've got the laptop on my lap, coffee in hand, muffins to the left of me and my faithful dog on the right. I'm using my right hand to rub her belly. She is laying on her back, all but purring, because there just isn't anything better the getting a belly rub when it is cold and snowing outside by your person. We are taking every few minutes to gaze into each others eyes with love and adoration. As I'm looking at her I start thinking about the neighbors dog. She has been barking to be let in for about 20 minutes now. They do this often. They put her outside and just leave her out there. We don't have backyards here, we have patios with a bit of grass. I feel bad for her. There is nothing wrong with putting your dog out, I'm not saying that at all. Of course whenever I have tried to put Abbey out there alone she looks at me with these big eyes like "ummmmm, hello?? This is not my normal treatment and as I am unused to such conditions I would like you to let me back in and give me a treat. I may need two or three treats to get over such an atrocity....and a belly rub. Definitely a belly rub." Abbey may be a tad spoiled. My family has accepted the fact that I am a dog lover and she had me at our first hello. When I come home from parts unknown and sit down to talk to her about where I've been and "Oh look what mommy bought her luvy girls!!" they just smile at me fondly and sigh because when the family dog knows what a Starbucks bag looks like and is also well versed in the different flavor nuances of The Morning Scone, well there is really no hope is there.



Alls I am saying about this whole situation is that it's cold. And snowing. And cold. Let the dog in already. She is obviously not enjoying it out there on the frozen tundra. I am not enjoying listening to her displeasure. They are messing with my "hey this is great/the kiddos are asleep/ I am eating muffins/since the hubby is gone the dog is sleeping on the couch next to me/it is snowing outside/I am gonna quilt today/I may even go to a quilt store" feng schway thingie I have going on here.



If this continues I may have to liberate that puppy in the middle of the night. I will wear my ninja/liberating animals outfit. I will then introduce her to The Pumpkin Scone and cuddles in the morning and belly rubs and long talks about the evils of squirrels and car rides to pick up kids that smell like chocolate chip cookies.

Excuse me while I plan my strategy.

:)

Musings at the Friendly Neighborhood Starbucks...

So yesterday I told you about the hubby waiting til the very last minute to pack. Well he also had some errands to run. heh. My hubby doesn't like to do errands alone. He needed to go to the cleaners and get a haircut and some other "manly" stuff. If you have ever been to Wright Patterson you know that the base is spreaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad out. One part is over here....one over there...another waaaaaaaaaaaaaay over there. Every place he needed to go to was at a different part. I told him I'd go with him but he needed to drop me off at the Starbucks on base while he ran about getting himself together. I grabbed two books (reading savant here remember) and some cash-ola. Off we went. Both happy. Him cause hello? I was with him and I was happy cause hello? Starbucks and a donut were in my future. I also had on my very cute new jeans and some really cute ankle boots. He probably struggled to keep his hands to himself. :)



He came into Starbucks with me to watch me order what I needed to sustain myself while there. He helped me to get settled in a chair, coffee on the lovely side table, coat off and affixed over the chair next to me, donut at the ready, reading glasses out and book in hand. Now that I think about it he is really good to me and I am a spoiled brat. :) Or maybe it was the lure of the ankle boots that made him so attentive. The world will never know.



I got to read and people watch for an hour and a half. LURVLY. SIMPLY LURVLY. I made a little observation or two while there though and felt the need to share.



A lady came in dressed all businessy and career mindedy. She even smelled good. I know this cause I got up to get a napkin where she was standing. She had ordered two coffees. When she picked up the two coffees do you know what she did?? She had a sip of both!!! Why did she do that? I was fascinated. I watched her walk to her car, get in, buckle up and then SHE TOOK ANOTHER SIP OF BOTH! Now I am thinking maybe her boss sends her out to get his coffee in the morning and as she is a woman of the 21st century it rankles. She probably wants to say to him "Get your own coffee jerk-wad!" but with the economy as it is she can't so she makes herself feel better by sipping his coffee once or twice before she gives it to him thereby guaranteeing he will get cooties.



Two guys came in after she left, both dressed in uniform. They weren't together but both came in, got some coffee (black. I am saying why even bother with black coffee at Starbucks when the list is endless of all the goodness but to each his own) and opened up laptops. Were they doing secrety Air Force Stuff on the laptops?? Maybe they were double agents and downloading secrety stuff and they could only do it at the coffee shop. Or maybe they were playing hooky from work and checking the latest sports scores. The jury is still out on those two, I will update if anything hinky goes down as I am sure I will be called on to testify in their trials if it comes to that. I am nothing if not there for my country in its time of need.



A lady came in and looked like a street person. Really. No lie. She paid, gave a toothless smile and then left. I wanted to tell her that soap can be our friend. Oh, and not to be scared of deodorant. heh.



I watched an interview and felt for the interviewer. I just know he had to stop himself from ripping the gum out of that girls mouth and throwing it away. Note to girl, wearing pants that show your G-String?? Probably not a good career move. Please say no to crack and move outta my line of vision.



Finally my hunka-hunka-burnin-love showed up to collect me. He came in with his hair all cut and my heart thumped a bit. All the waitin til the last minute to pack was forgotten as he helped me get myself together. Note to hubby: Obsession cologne? very good choice!



All in all a very very good morning. heehee

The Capt and his packing habits....

The Capt has to leave again for parts unknown to do important things. Guess what day he started to pack. If you said today......hours before I had to drop him off at the airport....you would be right!! Ladies, why do they do these things?????! He knows he will be rushed. Being rushed means he will be messing up my house looking for all of the stuff he needs to be all important and stuff. Why oh why can he not pack the day before?!?!?!



When he woke up this morning and rolled over it was sooooooooooooo early. I said the first thing that came to mind..."I have cramps!!" heeheeheehee Grace under pressure that's me. He says to me "I may need some help getting ready this morning." I then sat up and bit his face off. No, not really. I came downstairs, took the dog out, made myself that life saving (his not mine) first cup of coffee and now I am hiding behind the laptop blogging while he is going up and down the stairs packing. I don't plan to look up til The Boo-Bear leaves for school. Which is about an hour and a half from now. I can see him looking at me as I type but I am holding firm and pretending I am doing "things" on this here laptop. If he talks to me in the next five minutes I may have to do some bodily harm on him.



I'm scared to look at the state of our bedroom. Shudder. Pray for me int-netz!!



Good Lord ladies!! He just woke The Boo-Bear up a half hour early!!!!!!!!!! AUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I now may need more then prayers.

Merry Flippin Christmas...

The Boo-Bear ran in the house after school yesterday very excited to show me the Christmas gift she bought for me at school. It was a cute little snowman. Then she proceeds to tell me that one of its eyes fell off on the way home...oh, and his arm is broken. Then she dropped it on the floor as she ran outside. All of this show and tell was told in one huge breath. She ran in...then ran back out. Whew.



If I could bottle her energy and sell it I would make a mint.

Find your bliss...

There is this commercial on TV about finding your bliss. Every time it comes on I see myself sitting in Barnes and Noble, in one of the overstuffed chairs, sipping ever so delicately on a venti caramel machiato, while Gary Sinese reads to me the newest Nora Roberts.

Why Gary Sinese?? Ummmm Hello???? Hawtness personified!

Is there truly any place on the face of the planet more comfy/cozy then Barnes and Noble on a cold snowy day?? (or a rainy day....or a hot day....or a Monday...Tuesday....Weds?!?!) They have everything a girl could want. Christmas music waffling in the background, books fabulous books, coffee, cheesecake, coffee, cheesecake, comfy chairs...they even have a restroom so when the coffee kicks in you don't have to run home!

Today The Son has the day off. We have a date to do what we do when he has a free day. We are headed to a comic book store that happens to be right next to a great used book store. Then we are off to get some coffee and sit awhile reading books for free at Barnes and Noble. I am so excited that I am getting out of the house and that I actually have someone to talk to during the day that I had trouble sleeping last night. Sad, very sad really.

So if you happen to be at the Barnes and Noble in Dayton and you aren't a stalker.....find the girl wearing her comfy sweats sitting way in the back. I will be in the brown overstuffed chair with my feet on a stool and another stool by my side to hold my coffee. Have a sit down and a chat with me! Oh, ummmmmmmmmmmmmm if Gary is there and he is reading to me I will not have time for that chat. I will be finding my inner bliss. And no, I won't share!

Happy Day!!!

Being Safe While Shopping....

They are saying to be extra careful this Holiday Season if you are a woman out shopping alone. To be alert and ever vigilant. It made me remember something that happened to me a couple of years ago while out shopping. It was nighttime. I had to go get some milk or diapers or something. While going through the isles I just "felt" like someone was looking at me and when I looked around there was a man staring at me. As I walked away to finish what I had to do I got this weird little feeling. Like a hmmmmmmmm inside of me. It seemed like every isle I was on so was he. He didn't do anything weird. He never tried to talk to me. It was just me, feeling uneasy. As I went up to the front to pay he was nowhere to be seen. I paid the cashier and started to leave. Then I got another uneasy feeling. I asked to speak to the manager. When he came over I told him that there was a man who was making me feel uneasy and could he have security walk me to my car. He asked me to show him the man. I told him I couldn't see him and didn't know where he was. He said to me that maybe I just misunderstood something and that he was sure everything was fine. I told him that I'd really like to make sure everything was fine and could he please have security walk me to my car. There was no way I was leaving the store by myself no matter what anyone thought. As security walked me to my car I saw the man again. He was sitting in his dark car looking straight at me. I got in my car and he followed me for awhile. As we lived on base at that time and needed an ID card to get on he had to turn around when I got to the gate. Now maybe it was all coincidence and I was just being young. Or maybe something bad was going to happen to me that night and it was a good thing I listened to my inner hmmmmm.

I'm saying all this to tell all you guys out there in int-netz land to be careful this Holiday Season. Listen to your inner voice. If something is telling you that maybe there is something "off" then there probably is.

Better safe then sorry.

d

Makin stuff up as I go along...

My kids have this habit. They have had it forever. If they see something going on that they don't understand then they ask me about it. For example:



an accident - What happened mom??



sirens going off somewhere outside - What is that all about mom??



men building stuff - What are they doing mom??



some show we stop and watch while channel surfing - what is this show about mom??



My children think I am all knowing. While this is true, the fact that they ask me questions like these never ceases to tickle me. I have long since given up trying to make them understand that I have no idea what is happening to every single person we drive past. I don't know why the couple in the next car is fighting. I have no idea why traffic is backed up. Who knows what's going on in the house across the street. I just do not know!



Some years ago I started to make stuff up. I can get really creative too.



Couple fighting: He came home 3 hours late last night and she is mad cause he missed dinner. They are newly married and she had called HIS mother to get the recipe for his favorite dish. He was punished by sleeping on the couch. She has not forgiven him yet.

Traffic Jam: A teenager just got their drivers licence annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd forgot to fill up the gas tank. Now his car is stalled and jamming the rest of us up.



AND THEY BELIEVE ME! Oh the power of the Mother. It is mighty!



I asked my daughter why they always ask me stuff like that and she said "You're a mom. You guys know everything."



Do your kids do the same thing?? Is this an Every Mom Situation or just my kids thinking their mother is a know everything savant??? Discuss amongst yourselves. :)

Thoughts running around my head this Monday morning...

We made it through The Great Thanksgiving With The Rents 08 with flying colors. :) Much food was eaten, two TV's were purchased, laundry was forgotten, naps were taken, hilarity ensued. In short, it was wonderful! Today? I pay. heh. The laundry had taken over the house. I will be here all day long cleaning. I just don't know what happens while we sleep on Sundays. I think the house is messing with me cause I swear it doesn't look like this when I go to bed. I am dealing with Monday as best I can.....by drinking coffee and hiding behind the puter til everyone leaves for work/school.

Can I just say here that I am really wondering what time the Today show people have to get up so that they can look all awake and talk coherently amongst themselves. It is 7:20am for me and I am daring people to talk to me! (or even look at me now that I think about it) So far they are smart and I am being left alone. The hubby actually came over and looked in my coffee cup. They know, if they value their lives, to not talk to me til the cup is AT LEAST half gone.

The OCD is fierce in my head this morning. I keep hearing it whisper to me that "the house is messsssssssssssssssy" "the laundry is over-flowing" then it giggles. Stoopid OCD.

Was Black Friday crazy or what?!?!!

I think I may have a cavity.

Sally Fields is on TV talking about bone loss. I wonder if I am old enough to have bone loss. hmmmmmmmmmmmmm Something to ponder.

My mom took a quilt home with her while she was here. I think that makes her total 5. I am thinking she should buy me a treadmill. What do you think?? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Okay, the toast making portion of my morning is about to commence. We get this great bread at the store and I toast it dark, put a slather of yogurt butter on it and then a thin covering of marmalade. Pair that with cup of coffee number two and I may just be able to start on this house of mine.

Have a wonderful Monday everyone!!!

Black Friday....

This morning my brother, my mom and I went out to tackle Black Friday. Got up at the ungodly hour of 5 in the ayem. (I didn't know it could get so dark out.) We grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out to get us some of them thar deals. We were feeling the excitement of the hunt....walked into Walmart and the excitement died right there. On the spot. OMG people. Everyone in Dayton was in Walmart. The lines ended up at the entrance door. They wrapped all the way around the store and through isles.......through the clothes racks. It was ugly int-netz. Ugly.
My brother was after a large TV so we headed out to Best Buy. SCORE on the TV!! I stood in the line for TV pickup and made a couple of friends. :) I was out amongst the people and was enjoying life.
After Best Buy we needed some breakfast and headed over to Bob Evans.......two eggs, two biscuits, some sausage, home fries and coffee later we headed over to The Sanctuary otherwise known as Barnes and Noble. It was so peaceful in there. I grabbed two books and found a cozy chair. After about an hour we were recharged enough to try Toys R' Us. Again, OMG!! We walked in, took a deep breath and walked back out. This is about the time when I decided I needed a nap.
Nap time took two hours, then the hubby and I hit Big Lots. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Clause. The hubby shot his baby browns at me and the next thing I knew I was telling myself "Self, treadmill be damned!!! That there man of yours need a flat screen!"
I am looking at it right now. What was I supposed to do??? He even flashed his very cutie-fied smile at me. I was toast as soon as I walked into the store.

Hope everyone had a very good shopping experience! For those of you who are saner....hope you had a wonderful day with friends and family sitting in a warm home. :)
I am off now to help program the TV.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It's Thanksgiving and the Rents are here!! :) I got up early this morning to make some stuffing and put it in the bird. It is now in the oven roasting its little heart out.
I wanted to hop online in between stuffing my face with pie (I soooooooooooooo need that treadmill!!) to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I gotta go get some more pie....The Son is home and may-an that boy can eat!!!

D

The Tree....

The Rents are coming today for Thanksgiving. They are bringing with them my Neice and the Youngest Brother. I spent yesterday getting groceries and thinking if I should put the tree up or not. Last night the hubby was working late. I was walking around the house thinking of all the things I still had to do when I decided to put up the tree after all. Boo Bear was in the living room with me. She was playing with these two hobby horse ornaments we have.....just basically letting me do my thing while she sat playing and watching TV. Our Middle Daughter was in the other room reading Twilight and giving my periodic updates on where she was in the book. (Sqeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel Edward!) The Son was at work. I tell you this to explain why I did what I did. I have never had my family close enough to have them at my house for a holiday feast. My house will be sparkly and perfect if it's the last thing I do. I decided instead of the kiddos putting ornaments helter skelter on the tree that this year I would do it myself.
Jeez Louise! You'd think I commited a major sin when Middle Daughter and The Son saw it! They were so upset that I didn't wait for them to help. The both just stood there and looked at the tree with their mouths hanging open. Sheesh! And it looks good too but do you think they care?? No. They wanted the memories. They wanted the laughter. The Capt smoking a cigar and directing all of us...with none of us listening.
Sigh. Lesson learned. There are some things you are never to old to do. Trimming the tree is at the top of the list next year. sigh.

P.S. if you have ever loved an animal with your whole heart please go over to PennyQuilts and give her some love this holiday season. Her dog, Jezebel, is going through a hard time right now. Loving my dog, as I do, my heart is with her today. Go on over and let her know you are thinking of her as well. We may never meet those we keep up with in BlogLand but it doesn't seem to matter. We still care. We still worry. We still think about each other and are there for each other. Today she needs to know this.

Tuesday....

Turkey day is just a few days away. You guys out there getting ready for the feast??
I've got the Rents coming and my youngest brother. There will be turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams with lovely brown sugar and marshmellows, jello, rolls, mac & cheese...the list goes on and on.

There will not be a homemade apple pie. We will be using the services of the wonderful Mrs. Smith.

My family can now rest easy.

Apple Pie....

Today was a good day. The hubby is home....so I am totally lovin life and chewing on him at every opportunity :) Viva la love! This morning he decided to make us some Bean Stew. We needed a ham hock and no normal ham hock will do when thou art married to a black man. He got online and found a really neat meat market. We went with cash in our hands and purchased two very lovely specimens. He also decided that I should make him an apple pie. We needed to go to the street market so I could get the very yummy Amish butter. Here is where things always get dicey in my stories. There was much discussion as to how to make the pie. I had a really good idea in my head buuuuuut The Capt had looked online and started quoting Paula Deen. When we were at the market I got this really neat spice for pie. Everything was thrown together and put into the oven. An hour later we had this.....

this int-netz is called slop. What does slop taste like??? It was bad. Really really bad. I don't know where I went wrong but good golly! The horror!!! Learn from my mistake....do not add, under any circumstances, do not add dark brown sugar and some crazy pie spice that you get at a market.

I am off to find us some tums....and pepto bismal.

Movie Review...no spoilers

Okay, saw the movie. The 16 year old girl inside of me LOVED IT!
I give it an A.
You may now all return to your normal lives. :)

Today is the day!!!!

Did you wake up this morning thinking "Hmmmmm, I wonder where Dawn will be today??" Well wonder no more! I will be in a darkened theatre, popcorn in one hand, soda in the other. I will be watching this little bit of lusciousness.....in just under 3 hours. (yes, my ticket was purchased two weeks ago...giggle!!)Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd yes, my name is Dawn and I am a fan of teen-angst ridden books. I am the one you see giggling at the register at Barnes and Noble swearing that the books I am buying are for my 16 year old....while I make her stand behind me with her Novels...and her Biography's. Sheesh...who's kid is she anyway??! We are a family of readers. The Son is into drawing and painting.....The Boo-Bear loves her some age appropriate stuff...The Capt is all about loooooong drawn out Works. Books you need a dictionary set right next to you as you partaketh. Our 16 year old likes her books deep. Thinking books. Me?? Give me a good ole Nora Roberts...Stephanie Evanovich....a Baby Blues...or a dark steamy vampire/mortal romance any day.

And just so I can keep you dear int-netz in "the know" I will report back here post-haste on how wonderfully fascinataly romantical the movie is. giggle...

Why I need a treadmill for Christmas....

The other day my hubby asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I had been awaiting for just this opportunity and knew without a doubt what to say.."I want a treadmill! There is one on sale at the BX!! Go!! Get it now!!" He looked at me and said "No way! That is so unromantic! The guys at work will say hey man what did you get your wife for Christmas and when I say a treadmill they'll all look at me like I'm crazy!" He said for me to think of something else. I told him to lie. Tell the guys he got me a tennis bracelet or something. I want a treadmill. I need one int-netz!! Let me tell you why........



The backs of my knees have become BFFs with my bottom. They get together every day for a little chit chat. I don't want this friendship to continue. Oh, and last night as I was drifting off to sleep"" The front of my knees were totally telling my boobs to "Come On Down!" Yeah. They were. I heard them trying to entice the girls downward.



Dawns' Knees: "Zello my pretties." "Why dun't ze come down here for ze par-tay!!" "Haw-Haw!" (who knew my knees sounded just like Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast??!)



The Girls: "Oh no!! We couldn't! We must stay where we are!"



My Crafty French Knees: "Haw Haw!" "You are loosing ze battle to graVIty Mon Sveets!" "Ze Madmoiselle is a viny bab-ee at 6 in ze ay-yem. She has long zince given up ze dreaded runnings around" "Haw Haw!"



The Girls: "Weeeeeell maybe we could come on down there for just a bit"



My Gigolo French Knees: "Ah-Ha!" "Zou hast fallen under our maNEE spells." "Ve are avaiting your arrivals with ze baited breaths!"



That is about the time I sat up and told everyone to go to sleep and that I was getting that treadmill dog-nabbit! and that they would all be sorry they ever conspired against me!



I now need to go and formulate my plan of attack on the Capt. He must be made to see that a treadmill is EXTREMELY ROMANTIC! Time is of the essence as I can hear "The Girls" giggling at my Knees. The floozies!

MEN!

Now I've written about my hubby before. I've waxed poetic on how much I lurvs him and how cute he is and how good he is to me and the kiddos. And let us not forget his muscles. I loves me some muscles.



This is not that kind of post.



The hubby decided he needed to make a road trip and visit his Nana for her birthday. He left this morning at around 5am. Woke me up, gently...he gets points for that...I looked over at the clock with my one working eyeball and saw it was 4:30am!!! loses afore-mentioned points. Why did he wake me up you ask? He wanted to spend a couple of minutes together before he left. Since he was all showered and cologned I got myself up but kept the eyes shut. I struggled downstairs and got on the couch promptly falling back asleep. A couple of minutes later he comes over and covers me....now that I think about it, that's really sweet and I'm kinda crushing on him and he did smell all cologned, can't forget that. I do likes me a man who takes the time to smell pretty.



Where was I going with this?? Oh yeah, so he gets on the road and calls me at 7:30. He forgot a little sumpin sumpin. DIRECTIONS. How do you get on the road to see your Nana and not have Nana Directions?? Or her address?? Seems he knew she lived in Atlanta GA so just headed that way. He figured he'd call me when he got close and I'd find her phone number. Then I would call her. I would then spend 20 minutes trying to figure out mapquest so he could continue on his way. Now you are sitting there saying, "OH NO HE DI-N'T!!!" complete with a finger snap. heh.



The big question is this....did I or didn't I get him to where he needed to be. Did I track down his Nana at his cousins house?? Did I conquer mapquest?? Did I get him his directions all without telling him that that's the craziest thing I've ever heard and he shouldn't bother me while I am daydreaming about seeing Twilight this Friday?? (Big Sigh........only three more days Edward my Vampire Love!!)



Did I not explain that he wears my favorite cologne and has some really great muscles??? Yeah, I got him there.



My name is Dawn and I am whipped. sigh

Making some crack.

There is nothing like making your kids some crack on a cold winters day! Don't worry mommas. This will not have the cops at your door. This is the good crack! When I was in Korea Jen made this stuff for Leigh and I. One of us, as we were stuffing our mouths (seriously! Could not get enough in there) said "Man! This stuff is like crack!" Nirvana my friends. Simply nirvana. A whole lotta crack was made in Korea!!
I wrote the Jen and Leigh to get their okay to share. We Ya-Ya's value keeping certain things in the vault.....a good cosmo.....secrets.....the crack recipe....you get the idea. As soon as I got the okay I made up a big ole' batch to share with you dear int-netz. :)

Let us get started. Round up this bunch of stuff. Each of us does our crack a little differently. I use M&M's, popcorn, white chips, small marshmallows, two bags of buttered popcorn and a dollop of Crisco. You can add walnuts, peanuts, small pretzels, capn' crunch with crunch berries, anything you like. This is just what I like in mine. Go crazy if ya wanna!! As soon as you have everything assembled take a moment to grab a dixie cup and fill it halfway with some M&Ms. These are for keeping your strength up as you slave away in the kitchen. Promptly put 4 in your mouth and roll your eyes to the heavens then have a couple more to fortify yourself for the task at hand.Next pop the bags of popcorn and put them in the biggest bowl or roasting pan you have.Make sure to take out all the un-popped corn. Believe me, you don't want to be watching CSI (Las Vegas of course! Hi Lise!!!) enjoying your crack when you bite down on a kernel and break a tooth. Not. Fun.Okay, once you have both bags of popcorn popped and de-kernaled pour the bag of M&M's over it. Right here is when I got distracted by memories of dinner parties at Leigh's house and thought about who called it crack first then thought about how Whitney Houston said "Crack is whack." Found this very funny. Looked at the dog sleeping in the sewing room and started to sing I Will Always Love You to her. Watched her not budge. See, not budging. She does not appreciate me when I am being a lyrical gangster.Once you finish singing Whitney Houston songs add the bag of marshmallows to the mix. You can add as much or as little as you want. I added a little more then half a bag only because the kiddos in my house need a little hot cocoa in the morning topped with these babies to get them a-movin in the morning.Almost finished! Take a dollop of shortening...how much is a dollop you ask?? Ummmmm about this much...Add the dollop to the microwave-safe dish of white chips. You are going to put this in the microwave in increments of 35 seconds. Stir in between. It should take about 4 times til it looks like thick soup.Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Once you get it all soft and liquidy you pour it over your mixture and stir it up well. Make sure every little bit gets coated. Then stick it in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Take it out and put it in a big ziplock freezer bag or a container of some sort. Put a little in a bowl for yourself and make a cup of coffee. Sit down on the couch and fire up the ole' Internet. Read some blogs and tell yourself that life is good.I was all set to do just that when the phone rang. It was the school informing me that the throwing up portion of The B00-Bears day was about to commence. Could I please come and get her as they would like to forgo that particular pleasure today.

heh.

AUGH!!!!

The hubby came home last week and promptly took two days off. We headed out every day for parts unknown. Laundry was forgotten. Dishes were made and ignored. Then the weekend. More parts unknown. Some getting into strange cars by mistake. Books read. Church gone to. Housework undone. Laundry slowly becoming a mountain of scariness. See, I had a plan. Monday I was going to hit it and hit it hard. There were some minor glitches. The hubby is going to drive to his Grandmothers home this week and will need to pack. As he is leaving today (Monday) he, just like a man, waited until today to get to it. I processed the fact that he would be in my way and would be needing me to help him find stuff.......I had a minor fight with him in my head all by my lonesome...then I accepted it and moved on. Our middle daughter wasn't feeling at all well this weekend but I just knew that the planets would align and she would be fit as a fiddle come Monday morning and get outta my hair. The Son would go to work (special blessing on Big Lots for hiring my boy!) and Boo-Bear would head to school. I would work around the hubby and by the time night rolled around my laundry (shudder!) and my house would be all clean once again.

heh.

Cue the 5:30 am wake up from Boo-Bear saying her tummy hurt...and her leg....and her right eyeball...and a toe. I tried to muster up some sympathy but int-netz! she has been on this complaining kick for the past month and she is driving me to drink! I sent her back to bed and told her she would be going to school AND IF SHE WOKE ME UP AGAIN BEFORE 7AM THERE WOULD BE HOLY HELL TO PAY. Ahem. She went to bed. Cue Middle Daughter. She came in my room and told me she felt awful. I felt her head and yep, she had a fever. I sent her to bed. Cue the argument with the hubby about how she should take a Motrin and try to get through the day. Now this child never complains. She does what needs doing even if she doesn't feel good. If she asks to stay home you can bet she is well on the way to bird flu. As the argument started to get good I threw back the covers, said FINE! then stomped into her room to rub her back and tell her that she should take a shower then see how she felt. I then decided that I would clean everything but my HUSBANDS STUFF AND I WOULD NOT DO HIS LAUNDRY! That would show him! HMPH!

She got herself up, got dressed, made some tea, had some Motrin, sat on the couch...and started to cry. OH HECK NO! I tucked her back into bed.
Around that time Boo-Bear started to get herself ready for her day. I was thiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to getting her out of the door. She was singing. She had eaten breakfast. Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close!! As she was getting her shoes on she stopped and looked at me all panicky. You mothers out there know this look. Yep. She ran to the bathroom and got sick. She is now on the couch with a bucket.

Let us recap: Hubby......watching ESPN and thinking about what to pack and how he will need my help.
Middle Daughter....upstairs in bed. Sure to sleep for a couple of hours and then need liquids and soup and more Motrin.
Boo-Bear...on the couch drawing pictures. A bucket by her side.
Laundry.....upstairs giggling at me.
Dishes......having a partyin the sink.
Floors....remembering a time when they were clean and sparkly.

Are the any Catholics out there?? On your way to mass this morning could ya light a candle for a sista??? Hmmmmm?? Anyone???

Good Gravy!!!

What a day! The hubby took me to the Saturday Market so I could get out amongst the people and get some of my words out. I made friends with the bread lady....the pad ti maker (it was yummy)....the dog treat lady and the people sitting at the picnic table in the food area. Oh, and the pie lady! Can't forget the pie lady! I had a wonderful morning....talking and laughing and talking some more. Then the hubby took me to an English Tea Shop. I had a lovely cuppa with the owner then we walked down the street to go to an art gallery.

Dear Art Person...not really into naked people cavorting. The wooden clock thingies were interesting but all of the boobies threw me. Sorry bout that. :) I'm sure I am just an art peasant and would appreciate you more if I had some ummmmmmmm well I'm not sure what I'd need to appreciate all of that. heh.

Anyway, back to my day....then! Whew, then we went to the grocery store where Boo-Bear was raising money to combat malaria. Who knows why, I just take them where they need to be. As I was leaving the grocery store, smiling cause Boo-Bear was using this as her pitch..."Hello! Would you like to support malaria?" Ummmm I don't think anyone wants to SUPPORT it but she's cute so she was raking it in. Anyway, as I was leaving I get in our van and rub the hubby on the arm all the while talking a mile a minute (had some words left in me) and telling him about how cute our daughter is when I looked up at his face. Then screamed like a banshee cause good gravy! it wasn't him!!!! I GOT IN THE WRONG VAN!!!!! WHO does that??? WHO??? The poor man had three kiddos with him. He was waiting for his wife to come out. I scared the pants off of the whole van. I started apologizing and telling him I'd made a mistake....ummm like he didn't know.....then he says that he saw me walking towards them and thought I had gotten confused and that my van was up in the front. Then, if you can believe it, I got the giggles.

The hubby then took me home so I could take a nap. I was exhausted!

How was your weekend?

The Boo-Bear....

Our Boo-Bear has been having some nightmares lately so the Capt decided to go upstairs and tuck her in tonight. As they were saying her nighttime prayers he hears her say this...

"God, I hope you get a good night sleep tonight, if you even get a chance to sleep, cause I know you've been really busy lately."

We could eat her up with a spoon int-netz. I mean seriously...can you even stand the cuteness??!!

My Daughter is a computer genius!!

How do you all like the new look???? Middle Daughter hooked me up!

I am laying in bed, right now as we speak, moaning about my procedure and how bad it hurt and how nothing will ever be the same and could someone get me some ice cream cause that will make it all better. She took pity on me and said she could make a template for my blog.
We searched for the one I wanted and within 5 minutes she did some HTMLing and wallah! I am so Christmassy and festive.

Okay, back to moaning about the procedure. Man oh man! MAY-AN!!!!! It wasn't like childbirth or anything but when the doctor says your cervix is moving and she needs to clamp it down you know you are in for a hella-hurtin. I think I may have stopped breathing for a second cause she looked up and asked if I was okay. Was I okay?!?!?!! My very life was flashing before my eyes and she wants to know if I'm okay!!
After it was all over the hubby took me out to lunch. After lunch I came home and took a leeeetle pain pill and slept like the dead for three hours.

Can I just ask right now, right here, why do the womens have to have all the fun?? Why can't men have their cervixes clamped on once in awhile!

Excuse me while I go and find some ice cream and ponder the ways of the world. :)

Dear...

Dear Lady In Half Off Books,

Memeber me?? I was the woman who was on the floor looking at the quilt books very happily while her hubby was over in the Very Big Books With Very Long Words Section. When I stood up and saw you waiting patiently to get a look yourself I smiled at you and said "Am I in your way?" You said back that no, I was fine and continued to wait. I, again, smiled my 50 watt smile and said, all bubbly and perky, "Are you a quilter?" You looked at me for a second and said yes. I felt for a second that we were kindred spirits. That is why I jumped up and down and said "Me Too!!" I know that when you just said Hmmmmmmmmm and walked away you really meant to say "why sweetie that is wonderful! What projects are you working on?? Lets swap phone numbers and be bestys!!" You were probably just shy.

I just wanted you to know that as you walked away with your walker I was not following you. Really. No need to think I was a stalker. I was just on my way to peruse the $2 book section before the hubby got bored. I am on limited time in a book store with that man of mine. He does not understand my need to buy as many books as I can and then read them all the next day. If I smiled at you every couple of seconds and that is what made you scoot out the door I wish to apologize.

Now when I was running after your car yelling at you to give me your phone number so we could quilt together and have coffee and that age is just a number and who cares if you are 90 and I am a spry 39 that our friendship was destined....yeah..sorry about that too. I guess that WAS being a little stalkerish.

heeheehee

Why The Capt Probably Won't Call Me Again When He Goes Away For A Week And A Half And Leaves Me Here In Sucky Ohio!

Today the Capt comes back from parts unknown where he had been doing important things with real grownups who talk to him....like FRIENDS. When he got to his destination a week and a half ago they rolled out the red carpet for them. Gave them salutes. Took all the bags to their private rooms. Called to make sure that they were happy with their accommodations. Gave them rental cars. He had dinner out a couple of times with real people......LIKE FRIENDS.

I've talked to him every day cause he is a good hubby and he and he likes to flirt on the phone and misses me. heh.

Today he called to tell me what time his plane comes in and I'd had enough. I was PMSing.....Post MSing...and I have to have a gosh darned procedure on Thursday while MSing. My Middle Daughter is lonely and unhappy here. I am not to happy about this whole Ohio thing myself.

He shouldn't of called all happy and satisfied with the job he had done while amongst real people.

I tell you int-nets it wasn't my fault. I couldn't hold back the volcano of anger over this whole Ohio-sucks thing I had stirring in me. In my defense I asked him calmly if he had talked to the other men about what the wives (WHO HAVEN'T CALLED ME TO WELCOME ME AND I CURSE THEM WITH ROACHES!) do while their hubbys are away doing great things. He told me "ummmm I guess nothing." I, again calmly, asked him if their was a wives group to be had. Negative. I then asked him if he understood how dire this situation was cause if I don't have some female companionship (heehee I just wrote female companionship heehee) soon I am gonna pack up my chilren' and leave his makin me move to Ohio self! He tried to talk me off the ledge and wanted to "discuss" why I am having an I Hate Ohio Day.

After 4 months here I don't want to discuss how this assignment is gonna get better I just want him to buy me a long arm and make it all better! I told him so in no uncertain terms. Sometimes as an Air Force Wife you gotta be stern with your man when he moves you to what might as well be Timbuktoo. Hmph! I also told him in no uncertain terms that I was gonna go and see my Leigh this summer and that we were gonna go and break our Jen outta her own little slice of a Hell-Hole assignment.

And if I don't start liking it soon he is gonna pay for the whole thing!

I'll bet he is soooooooooooooooooooooooo looking forward to coming home to me. If he's smart he will toss some chocolate in the car when I go to pick him up with a side a chips. Then he will not mention anything about PMS.

Good Luck And God Bless

Where I give you way to much info on my inner workings...

So just in case I didn't give you enough info about me I felt I should keep the int-nets abreast of a little situation here at Chez' Owens. My "inner workings" weren't working so great. For eight or so months I've had some ummmmmmm woman issues. I vowed to find out what was what when we moved back to the states as the only good doctor we had in Korea sat next to us in church and there was no way in h-e-double hockey sticks I was going to him. heh.

I made the yearly appt two months ago. Much hmmmmming and hummmmming by the doc. Tests were ordered. Every. Single. Bit. of my inner workings were gone over with a fine tooth comb by at least one person in every clinic. It got so bad I thought I may never be able to shop on base again cause who wants to be in line buying groceries next to the guy who photographed all that God gave me?? Who I say?? Who??

Three days ago I got a registered letter. I had to sign for it and everything. Said something showed up on my tests and for me to call them ASAP. Ummmmmmmmm okay. I called and left my name and number. The lady at the front desk said she knew of me and that the doctor wanted to talk to me personally. Oh yeah. I'm thinking the Big-C for sure. For a day I sat and looked at my fabric thinking who would get what. I sat and thought of how my family would mourn me. They would have an altar in the house where they would bow daily and light incense before my picture. Hundreds would show up at my very Jesus Mary And Joseph Irish Wake. Toasts would be made. I even thought that maybe I should write up a little sumpin sumpin for people to read out loud. Maybe quilt up some really neat hankies cause the tears, they would be a mighty.

After three days of nothing from the doc I called again. I didn't blog about any of this cause hello? My mother can not handle another gosh darn thing. As it is I may or may not have slipped her one of my "vitamins" while I was there three weeks ago. Love ya mom! Mwahhh!



My doctor just called. No Big-C. A little of something else. May have to rip it all out and you know, right now, I'm kinda fine with that. They want to try a little something else first. I'm okay with that too. Whew! Glad all thats over! Tonight I plan on sleeping. After some more of my lovely Bella Sera Pinot Grigio. A girl must celebrate after all. :)



Happy weekending everyone!



p.s. Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to send me a note or slip a comment in telling me of their sorrow that I missed my quilting bee. I drove by there today on the way to Barnes and Noble and had to stop a minute to look mournfully at all the ladies going in. I saw one stop for a second and test the wind. Something had shifted for her I just know it. Something wasn't going to be quite right today at their bee. Something would be missing. Then she shook it off and went inside. Sigh, next Friday I will be there Soon To Be New Best Friend, Friday for sure!

Awwwww Man!!!

I found a quilt store that is about a five minute drive away. It is sooooooooooooooooo cute!! It is like a little cottage and they have everything a quilter could want or need in there. As I was perusing all the goodies telling myself that I deserved a treat for living in Ohio and being all lonely I heard the owner talking to a customer on the phone. She said they had some spots left for the Friday Quilting Bee. A QUILTING BEE!!! WITH REAL LIVE QUILTERS!!! HOT DIGGITY!!! I plowed over my daughters to get to the front desk and put my name on the list. Then I did the dance of joy. I came home and sang a song about it.......all day long. I was beyond excited! Real ladies to talk to. In person!!!! There would be laughing!!! And sewing!!! And talking!!! Be still my heart. Today I spent three hours cutting out a quilt to work on. I cleaned out my sewing box and filled it with all the necessities you need for a day of sewing. I got out my best mat and my best ruler. I found everything I needed for my traveling sewing machine. It was by the door. I was locked and loaded. I made the kids look at it all and then we all did the dance of joy cause ummmm hello?? FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then it happened.

Tonight was parent teacher conferences for the Boo Bear. It went great! As I was leaving her teacher says "Enjoy sleeping in tomorrow." WHA!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I looked at Boo-Bear and she said "Mom we have the day off.......I told you!" Again WHA!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I asked if her sister had the day off as well cause the Bee is from 10-3. She is to young to stay home alone. Nope. Her sister will be at school. What about The Son??? I had to pull it together then cause the Boo Bear started to get all teary and she was feeling so bad. I assured her it wasn't her fault and that I was not upset with her at all and for her not to feel bad. As soon as The Son walked in the door I pounced. "Can you be home tomorrow to watch your sister while I go to the Bee and talk with real ladies and laugh and sob!! can you huh?? can you??" No go. He has a test scheduled at the college he will be attending. AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Now I admit, I got a little teary and had to have a moment alone so the Boo Bear wouldn't get all panicky and start getting all teary herself cause then I'd feel bad for making her feel bad.
I came downstairs and told her we'd have a girls day. Coffee for me hot chocolate for her at the Starbucks in Barnes and Noble. Then we will score some seats and read books for free. She was happy and peace was restored in my house again. We spent an hour watching Kimora on TV and laughed together while cuddling.

But ummmmmm can I be really honest here??? I was this close to making some friends tomorrow. I could feel it. I had my sassiest outfit picked out. I had cute flats. I had understated jewelry. I had sewing things. They were really really shiny. I had gone over some funny things to say so they would fall in love with my wit. I had my cute green bag packed with some books to share so we could bond over new quilting ideas. I was ready! READY I SAY!

This is a night for some Pinot Grigio. I am off to open some up. sigh.

sewing rooms...

Anyone else out there like looking at the sewing rooms of others?? I do! I found two really neat sites and thought I'd share.

You go here and here.



Some of these rooms will leave you drooling!!!



Enjoy!

The Capt called me in the wee hours this morning. He is off doing important Capt stuff in another part of the world. He called me and I could hear the tears. He was breathless. He had already talked to his grandmother and she said to him "We did it baby" in that quiet way she has.

We did it. We can, yes we can.

I have goosebumps. Who needs coffee?? My daughter woke up and ran downstairs. We are elated. I am just without words.

No matter who you wanted as the next president, lets all work together these next four years. We have a full plate America. War, poverty, job loss. The list is endless. Let us all roll up our sleeves and get to work. Can we do it? In the words of our next President of these United States, yes we can.

America, Yes We Can.

Vote!

I got up before the sun came up today to shower and get dressed. Woke up The Son. Took him to his voting place. (I voted early by absentee ballot) I watched him walk into the church where he was to place his vote. Watched him swager out after finishing.

What a year. No matter who you like, get out there and make your voice heard. What a wonderful year!

Goings on in Ohio. Heh.

Lets see....what have I been doing?? Hmmmm let me think.
Nope not that.
Nooooooooo none of that.
Hmmmmm there was that....no wrong again.
Dayton Dayton Dayton. Why-for-out-thy Dayton?? You'd better start picking up, and soon, or you and I are going to have us a little sit down chat. Hmph.

Puppy update: The puppy is in her new home as of yesterday. It was to much for the guys and as soon as she got worms (ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww) she was out the door. So much for dog-ownership. She went to a lovely older couple who just lost their beloved dog. She landed on her feet she did.

Job hunt: He found out about an hour ago that he got a job. Cue the hallelujah chorus! The Son starts Weds working in a very lovely grocery store chain. He will be making some bacon ya'll!! Finally! Things here in Dayton are dire and finding a job is no piece o cake. Dayton Dayton Dayton. Sigh.

Quilting update: I've been making these like crazy. I am a woman obsessed with them. Lurv them!!! I also got a new McCalls Quilting in the mail. It is the Christmas one so I am sure that there will be at least one project in there that I can work on. :)

Running update: heh.

Okay everyone, have a great Monday!!!

So very proud....and wanting to be her peep.

Member my very best-besty Walker Jen?? She has come up with something that, in time, will equal the importance of the rotary cutter. I am so not kidding folks! If you have ever in your quilty lives wanted to make half square triangles and then shuddered cause it was toooooo hard, well do I have something to make life easier. It is the Seamingly Accurate. Oh. My. Gosh.
I love mine! I got it in the mail the other day and lurvs it!!! It is kinda like a ruler on paper with a sticky back. You afix it to the bottom of your sewing machine like so.....

and follow the measurements you need. Wallah! You have a half square triangle! It can be used for so much more but I am in love for it simply cause it has made some quilts do able for me.


Our Walker Jen made her debeut at the Houston Quilt Show and I am feeling very confident that it was a hit. Walker Leigh and I were talking on the phone yesterday and decided that we want to be her peeps. You know, the people who follow behind her and carry her stuff. We could totally sit in each and every audience of any and all quilt shows that I am sure will invite her to demonstrate this baby. Maybe I could be her hair-dresser............or door opener............:)




You all seriously have to check this thing out! Plus she is having a give-a-way and what quilter in her right mind doesn't like a give-a-way???!




Peace out!

blogger support......

One of the sweetest bloggers I know, http://thechocolatecat.blogspot.com/ is going to declutter/organize/purge her house. Yep. I saw each and every one of you ladies shiver in horror. We've all been there. You wake up one day, look around your house and say "Where in the land of all that is holy and just did all of this stuff come from???!" Then you look at your hubby and say "oh yeah!" hmph.
I am thinking, since she is one of our own, that we should all go on over to her blog and either leave some words of encouragement or leave a comment on how you organize around your own home. If you feel the need to send her some chocolates wellllllllllllllll then you are lovely and could you please send me some too. :) I am sure that once she reads our notes-of-love that she will be ready to tackle it all. Plus her wonderful dog isn't feeling to well and if you are a quilter then you probably have a pet hanging around and know what it feels like when one you hold so dear is sick.
You guys rock the hiz-ouse!!!

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmy

You should come on over he-yah and smell my house! I've been cleaning all day....doing laundry....I've got an apple spice cake in the oven...and on the stove there are some turkey necks a simmerin' in a pot.

Can you tell fall is in the air??

This weekend....

This weekend has gone by in a whirl. There was a trip....a corn maze conquered...a speech by our budding politician....a church function......burgers critiqued....and finally a nice dinner bar-be-cued by yours truly.

First up was the corn maze trip with the Boo-Bear and her class. I took a ton of pictures but as they have other peoples kids in them I wasn't sure if I should post them or not. I felt okay putting this one on here though. This corn maze was really cool. It was huge! I mean really big. It was sectioned into 12 plots. Each plot was a color. You had to go by this map and find the mailbox hidden in each section. Each mailbox had a small square that you would tape onto your map. At the end you'd get a picture and then your group would have to cross a bridge signifying you were done. I won't tell you what group ABSOLUTELY CRUSHED (coughminecough) their competition. I will tell you that the group (coughminecough) that did come in first had to sit there for ten minutes enjoying their glory while they waited for the others to finish. There were 6 teams in all. Nothing like crushing a bunch of 6th graders! Later that night the Boo-Bear had to give a speech. She is running for Treasurer at our Youth Center. She rocked the hiz-ouse if I do say so myself. She got up there and read that speech like no-ones business! If they vote for anyone else but her.....well then the country is going to hell in a hand basket cause the girl had some good ideas. Her main goal is to be nice and make sure it isn't all about her. (SEE!!) Now knowing her like we do the hubby and I had to laugh cause if it ain't about her then who is it about???!She also promised to be honest with the money and not steal any of it. Oh yeah, we're proud! hahaha

On Saturday the Capt had signed up for a speed reading course in Columbus and since lunch was promised I decided to go and keep him company for the hour long ride up there. I didn't get any pics of our lunch but really should have. It was so good! We had pizza at this cute bistro. They cooked over a stone hearth. It was just lovely.

Can he read faster then me now, you ask??
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA That would be a no. :) He is insistent that in time he will surpass my greatness. I have chosen to let him live in denial.

Saturday night, about two hours after we got home from Columbus, we went to a church function. Our church is helping to sponsor ummmmmmm well actually I forget what it's called. It was held at a local high school. We took the whole family. Even the Son was in attendance. :) There was some of this going on.....

A little of this......
Some of that.....

A bunch of this here....

A couple of girls did this.....
There were kids of all ages that go around the world and perform. From all countries. They had hip-hop dancers, BMX bike riders and boys with skateboards. Next weekend we have the guys with the huge muscles crushing things and some people from Hawaii dancing. The kiddos loved it!! Speaking of muscles, when it was over we decided to start our "Tasting of The Burgers" Here is my very own muscle-man posing at the burger place we decided to start with....

He is ordering burgers from White Castle. We came up with the idea, since we are extremely exciting!, to try different places that are known for good burgers and rate them on a scale from 1-5. They are rated on presentation....taste....service and also on their fries. Every Sunday we will try a new place. White Castle started off strong. It has a booth you drive up to and there is a cup you put your money in....kinda like at an outside bank teller. Once the money is in the cup you press send and off it goes. Within minutes your food comes floating out on a box. It was so neat the kiddos wanted pictures taken.

It went downhill after that.

It only got a 1. Yep. Those burgers were awful! No one liked them....except for The Son but he is 19 and will eat pretty much anything. Yuck!

After all the excitement of the weekend we decided to just rest on Sunday. After church I fired up the grill and made some of this........

Can you smell them???? They got a resounding 5 out of 5 from the family!

Now my house is quiet. The Capt has a class coming up and needs to read two really thick books so he is here next to me getting er' done. The Son is out with friends. Boo-Bear is up in her room watching a movie. Middle Daughter is in her room doing 16 year old stuff. And me? I'm sitting in the living room perusing blogs and listening to jazz while partaking of a nice glass of Pino Grigio.

Hope your weekend was as good as mine!!!

dawn