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

Road trip talk...

On the way home from the Rents house the other day my daughter asked me, after a long lull in conversation, she asked me what I thought about gay marriage. Ummmmmmmm hmmmmmmmm. Then she says to me "I mean we are Christians and I know what the Bible says but what do You think mom??" Really?? That's what she was thinking about for the past twenty minutes??!

How to answer.
What DO I think anyway?
Oh boy.

She sat there and waited for me to answer. She was sure that it would be interesting cause she could tell I was struggling. After much hemming and hawing cause I wanted to get it right she says to me "Just tell me what you really think."

So I did.

I told her that I felt it was way outside of my job description to judge someone else. Just a few short years ago it was illegal for my hubby and I to be married. Inter-racial couples were very very much a no-no. I told her that I know as a Christian what we are told to feel but for me, myself, I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I figured the Big-Guy-Upstairs had the whole thing under control and if people could be as happy I was with her father...well then who was I to point a finger and say no? There is so much unhappiness in the world and people can be really mean. I felt is WAS part of my job description to not be. Then I sang Kum-By-Ya-My-Lord and broke out my t-shirt with the rainbows on it.

She smiled at me and said "Yeah, I kinda thought you felt that way."

Ummmmmmmm Hello?!?!?!?!?!

This is totally why I do not give out my blog address to people I go to church with. They would look at me in shock if they knew how I truly felt about some things.
The only reason I even wrote about it here is cause I was reading some blogs today from people who live in California. They are soon to vote on Proposition 8. It is a hot topic right now.
My question is this....did I tell her the right thing? How would you have handled it int-nets?? Would you have changed the subject?? Do you agree with what I said or do you think I was way off base?? I really want to know.

Give me a good-ole talk about sex any day!!!

Home Again.....No sleep....Running Hell...

We made it back home yesterday afternoon from the Rents house in fine form. We had stopped at a really neat candle factory that was all decorated for Christmas. I could have moved in there very happily but the Daughter....ugh...she couldn't handle all the candle smells. I seriously question now whether she is mine or not.

Can I just tell you that I am now in love with Jim Shore simmer pots and that I must have one. I pink puffy heart all of his stuff.

This morning I woke up at the miserable hour of 3:30 am. I looked at the clock and said a bad word in my head cause I had only 2 and a half more hours til the dreaded run. At six the Capt woke up Boo-Bear while I sat on the side of the bed putting on socks and hating everyone. Even the dog didn't stir from her bed to say good morning to me. I get outside to below Arctic temps and refused to stretch properly. This is when the Capt and Boo-Bear left me to my own devices. I set off at a moderate pace. Got to the corner and had to walk. Sheesh. I am pathetic. I did this walk/run thing for the whole mile and a half. There was an 89 year old grandma who ran past me and I swear I heard her giggle. I swear I didn't kick her. When I got back home I was really glad I went. Some of this weight needs to come off. Anyone out there want some of it?? I will gladly share. Inside of me is a thin cross country runner who can do a 5K in her sleep.

God I hope she comes out before I keel over.

At the Rents house!

My dad had to have some surgery on his throat again this week so what is a girl to do with a teenager in the house who has had a tough week?? ROAD TRIP!!!! My middle daughter and I packed up the car on Thursday and braved the cruel world to drive five hours by our lonesomes. We are women!! Hear us roar!!!
The trip to Illinois was a blast. We stopped for lunch. We stopped for coffee. We stopped for gas. We stopped to go to the bathroom. We stopped at a huge candy factory that had a river of chocolate flowing out of the ceiling! That was the best stop of all!! We bought some candy in there let me tell ya!
My dad came out of surgery just fine. He had some scar tissue in there that needed to come out so he could breath. We are holding our own breath and saying prayers that it doesn't come back so they can finally take the treach out.
Tomorrow we head on back home to the Capt. We have already scoped out the return trip and plan on stopping at a candle factory. If you see me in there and feel the need to buy me a candle...welllllllllllllllllllllllll all right!!!!! heehee

running....

A couple of weeks ago the Capt and our Boo-Bear decided to start running in the morning. They run a mile and a half at 6am. uh-huh, you read it right. 6 in the a-yem. My girl is becoming all fit and feeling fine. The other morning I was having a cup of coffee and enjoying the morning immensely when they came in from a run. I was feeling so full of love and happiness ( I can hear you gaggin you know!) that I put my foot right in my mouth and told them that I would be joining them from now on. If Boo-Bear can do it every morning before school then the least I can do is support her efforts.
I
Am
An
Idiot!
Do you know how early 6am is!?!?!!!!! Do you know how often I wake up in the middle of the night and look at the clock to see if its time???? Oh, about eleventythousand. How many days have I been running with them you ask. 3. 3 looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong days.
This morning I woke up and it felt like someone had taken both of my legs off.....stomped on them and then re-attached them. I hurt. I hurt bad. Did those two give me any sympathy??? No! They just looked at each other and smiled like "Oh how cute is she!" Then they took off for their run.
Now I must explain right here that I don't actually run "with" them. It's more like behind them. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay behind them. And I really must confess that I don't actually run. Oh I start off at a good pace but then somewhere around minute 7 my legs kinda slow down. My arms still are going good but my legs pooper out. Actually, I gotta say that I probably have the ugliest run this side of the Pecos. My heart is mighty though and I keep on truckin.
Do you think my daughter is so full of love for me because I am supporting her and that she falls at my feet every morning in gratitude?? Nope. She says to me....every morning..."Mom, I saw you walking!!" and "You have to keep going! You won't get any better if you walk!"
I am off to bed now....6am comes really really fast.
sigh.

Stop Thief!!!

Today the youngest kiddo and our oldest were out there in the world doing unsupervised things and being footloose and fancy free so we took the middle kiddo to the mall. We perused all the stores. We people watched. We discussed some of the people and their choice of attire. We even shared a Cinnabon. As we were headed to the shoe store I saw a man run past us. He looked to be in his early twenties. He was holding onto his pants with one hand and had a t-shirt in the other. Five seconds later two mall cops rounded the corner running after him and yelling for him to stop. The young man?? He had stolen that t-shirt. The guy couldn't run very fast cause he had on pants that were at least two sizes two big and the mall cops were closing in fast. I grabbed my daughter just in case the guy had a gun....you just never know. I wanted her behind me in case he grabbed her in need of a hostage. I didn't want to have to whip out my karate-kwon-do moves on his behind.

You should've seen it. People started running after the guy and the two mall cops! They had camera's out and were taking pictures and videos.

You know, that made me kinda sad. As the mall cops grabbed the man I could feel tears coming and had to tell myself to stop being such a boober and get over myself. It was just...... I don't know...... awful. People were laughing and pointing and the guy was screaming cuss words at everyone. I don't even know what I was sad about. I mean, the guy did steal something and he ran. I think it was more everyone else and their reactions to the whole scene.

In the end the hubby called us to come on and the other mall cops rushed onto the scene and told us all to disperse. I was standing there with my hand over my mouth. I wondered if his mom was at home thinking about what to make for dinner and if her son would be joining them tonight. How sad that he won't. It is even sadder to me that some found it funny.

Not my finest moment in parenting....

This morning the Boo-Bear and I were going through our regular "lets try and get her out the door with both of us in a good mood" thing we do every day. Today? Didn't work out. I yelled. Loudly. Over something pretty stupid. I want her to pick up her room before she goes to school and her idea of picked up and mine differ. We also argued over the fact that I got her sweater wet on the arm and she was insistent that she would freeze to death, and die, at school so she must change, right this very second, and as it is picture day I must hurry up and iron something else....a something else that will clash with the background we picked out and the paper is now sealed inside of an envelope so it is to late to change it.

Instead of calling her Boo-Bear I should start calling her the Lawyer cause good gravy that girl argues every case. It is important to me that the kiddos start the day off on the right foot. I don't like for them to leave for school upset any more then they like it but today...sigh. Today I just snapped. I am so tired of arguing with her and she is only 11. I think I may have battle fatigue and we haven't reached the teen years yet.

If you have more then one child you know how true the saying is that each one is different. That is sooooo true here at Chez' Owens. The Son is our sensitive one. He cares. A lot. He is also shy and takes a long time to warm up to people outside of our immediate family. He is going to make a great husband and father some day. Middle Daughter is our go getter. She is already plotting her next strategic move on how to get to the college of her dreams. She isn't sure exactly where that is yet but it is out there and she wants to keep her options open. Out of the three she is the least cuddly with outsiders but protects her family like a fierce warrior. She is the one who will own wall street someday. Now on to the youngest. If O.J. would've had her on his side in the courtroom the other day the judge would've thrown out the case because Boo-Bear would've just plain ole' worn him down. The other side would've waived a white flag. She is unstoppable. She is not a bad child by any means. She is also the one who likes to cuddle the most. She is just always sure that she is always right....or if wrong that she should at least get to plead her case. I don't want to hear her case I just want her to say "okay." With a smile. IS THAT TOOOOOO MUCH TO ASK??? IS IT?????

This morning I may have grounded her for life. She may have smiled at that and then my head may have exploded all over her cause hey..."did you just smile at me??? DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY YOUNG LADY???? DO YOU WANT ME TO COME OVER THERE??? IT'S NOT FUNNY NOW IS IT?!?!?"Yeah, it may have gone a little something like that.

I am off to burn incense and find some inner peace. There may be some chanting involved and some eating of chocolate. Pray for me.

Aussies are a few of my favorite things!!!

A couple of weeks ago I was having a blue day. I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed with all the boxes I had to unpack and I was missing my friends. I get an email from one of the sweetest people I know...Lise at http://thechocolatecat.blogspot.com/ She tells me to watch out for the mailman cause there is a little sumpin sumpin headed my way. Yesterday this is what I found when I finally got my hot little hands on the package... Is that cute or what!!!! Since I swear to tell the truth and nothin but the truth so help me God I must admit that there were some chocolates in there. Where are they?? you ask. Ummmmmm maybe they are in my tummy. Maybe. Maybe my children, who can smell chocolate a mile away, came running when I screamed like a little girl that my package was here and as soon as I opened it we all fell upon the chocolates like starving animals. It wasn't pretty. What?!?!!!!

It was chocolates!!! I'm a quilter!!! We fall upon chocolates when presented with some!

Anyway, after much consideration and going through some boxes I had put up in the garage I found a shelf that my daddy made for me a couple of years ago. I shined it up and put that baby on the wall. My picture needed a place of honor. A place that I could see it whenever I sat in my living room. Here is what I did......

It gives me the warm fuzzies every time I look at it. Thank you Lise. You are a dear dear woman and you made my day.

Blogging friends from Australia are the stuff rainbows and pink clouds are made of!!!

Gooday mates!

Where I've been.......

I'll bet you've been asking yourself... "Where is that Dawn??" I know, I know, it's been days. sigh. Life, sometimes it is a busy one. Here's what's been going on.....family drama which I cannot talk about here cause it isn't my tale to tell but let me just say that there is one thing we are good at...from the Rents' on down...we stick together. We pull together. When one of our own is in trouble and in need, well, we are there. That's all I'm gonna say about that. Also, anyone out there want a biopsy?? No?? Hmmmm me either. Guess who had one??? heh. That would also be me. Had to go to the docs last week a couple of times to check out the ole' girly bits. One more test and then another trip to the docs to see what is what and life will go on. Okay, nuff about that. Last but not least look what The Son decided he needed......

Why yes that is a puppy. Her name is Cinnabun. He called me last night while out with a friend of his and says "Guess what I got!" I'm thinking A JOB!!! I would be wrong-ola. He got a puppy. Let me give you a moment to wrap your head around that one. He did go to a Temp Agency today to get some employment now that he has a "family" to support and while I will love my "Grand-dog" I will not be having her live here. She will be at the friends house. See....there are three guys that The Son is friends with. Great guys all. Church going guys...can I get an amen!! One of them is leaving for the Air Force in a couple of months and then The Son will be moving in with them. Now why couldn't he wait and get the puppy when HE DOES move in. Hmmmmmmm. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. The Hubby had the same question. It was not asked as quietly. The dog will live with the guys and as the son is practically living there anyway, well, there ya have it.
But come on...can you even stand the cuteness?????!
I could eat that little face!

Oh yeah, those toes smell like fritos! :) How do I know this??? She was visiting her Grandma today and I kept smelling them.

She also needed a little bath. Yeah, that's me bathing her and no I AM NOT TAKING HER OVER!!! But oh my gosh.....the cuteness!!!!! If you are thinking that there were two towels in the dryer being fluffed and warmed for her to use after her bath you would be...well yeah, you'd be right. Hello, my name is Dawn and I am a pushover. sigh. Oh, and those age appropriate toys you see next are from PetSmart. What?!?!?! Any Grandmother worth her salt would take her Grand-dog to PetSmart for the first time and get her whatever she wanted! I mean, come on!!! Frito toes slay me!

This one...does not like her cousin much. She has been walking around giving me loooooong looks and sighing loudly. She may have been given a pig ear from PetSmart to make her heart feel a little better. :)

Life, it sure is busy!

16....

Today our Middle Daughter turns 16.

16 people!! 16.

She is all kinds of excited. She has visions of driving...hair flowing behind her on the open road to nowhere...anywhere...everywhere. Now that she has hit the Golden Age she knows that moving out is right around the corner and she is chomping at the bit. There is no holding back this one. She is a bird that is going to fly right out of the nest and live life.

I laid in bed this morning waiting to hear her get up. I had gotten her pearls a year ago in anticipation for today and I wanted to give them to her first thing in the morning. I wanted to be the first to tell her happy birthday.

I was laying there thinking about the day she was born. The whole time I was pregnant we thought she was a boy and even had a boy name picked out. But in my heart...in a secret place inside me..I wanted a girl. I wanted a girl so badly. I could see her in my mind. Hair all curly with big brown eyes like her daddy. Then I would sigh.

When I went into labor it hit like a ton of bricks. You know those people who get put in a wheelchair and race to the delivery room cause the baby is coming and it's coming now? That would be me. She wanted out. The whole world was waiting to be explored...and conquered...she wanted every little bit of it. As I was pushing my hubby was saying come on Andre', come on out. That was to be the baby's name. The doctor caught the baby and I laid back. Exhausted. My hubby kissed me and told me he loved me. We were happy. The doctor looked at me, as I laid there and says "You have a girl." The world slowed for a minute. I sat up and looked. Sure enough, it was her. My baby girl. The one I wished for all those months. That night, as I held her close to my heart, we talked. I told her secret women things. I told her we would be close. Best friends. That sometimes life would be hard and we would disagree but I would never leave her side. That I would love her, no matter what. That I would protect her. That life is a wondrous thing and she should grab it with both hands and live it to the fullest. I told her she was wanted. Oh was she wanted. The nurse threatened to take her to the nursery if I didn't put her in the bassinet and get some rest. I thought if someone ever dared to take her out of my arms I would rip their heads off. Then I laid there and giggled at the fierce momma bear that was me. Take her from me?? For even a second?? I don't think so! When the nurse left my new daughter and I talked some more. We laughed softly at that nurse...thinking she could separate us. heh.

Baby girl, you are one of the great loves of my life. Happy, happy 16th birthday. Go out there and live your life to the fullest and never forget you are wanted. You are wanted. So very much.