Flashback Friday #16

Yesterday was my Aunt's birthday (I won't tell you how old she is... LOL)!! So I thought, in honor of her birthday, I'd share a picture of her with me and my sister! This was at an Easter Egg Hunt at the local elementary school probably in 1985!


I love my little hoodie with the ears (although I look like I just woke up from a nap)!! And my sister's face is hilarious!!! And, of course, my Aunt looks beautiful, as always!

Happy Birthday Aunt Ginny!!
Love you!

If you'd like to join in on the Flashback Friday Fun... head on over to Christopher & Tia's!

A Few More Finished Items!

I am enjoying spending these snowy days inside with my sewing machine. I am still practicing on making totes. I am having a hard time with thicker fabrics... but that's what practice is for, right!?


It has really started to put the snow down this afternoon! I will feel better when Cory makes it home!!

Have a great day!!

I'm on a Roll!!

I have been enjoying this past week, working on my little tote bag projects. Here is the latest one I made. I have been invited to a baby shower this afternoon... and the woman has a 7 year old daughter. I figured that since the mom was going to be getting a bunch of presents for Baby... that maybe the daughter would like to have a little something... so here it is!!I hope she likes it!!

Another Tote!

Here is my latest tote bag. It is a wide wale corduroy with a flower lining and handle.

I really like this one... and I have enough fabric to make another! I might just have to keep one for myself! Making totes has been a lot of fun! I hope you like what I've created!

Flashback Friday #15

I don't have a lot of pictures on my computer from before 2007 ... so for this week's Flashback Friday "Pet Theme"... I had to go with a couple of pictures from only a few years ago. I'm sure I have old pet pics at my parents house somewhere... but that doesn't help me at the moment!!

I've had many pets throughout the years. Cats, dogs, guinea pig, bunnies, horses, fish. Oddly enough, most of them died when my sister and I weren't around. Sounds a little fishy to me... (mom, care to comment?).

Anyway, when I was a junior in high school, I asked if I could get a kitten for my birthday. We had 2 other cats growing up. Leo was our cat when I was young... he accidentally died when a door slammed shut on him. I'm not even kidding! My sister and I had gone to feed the horses before a big storm came. My mom had the front door open (it was without a screen door at that time)... and Leo got curious and went outside (our cats have always been strictly indoors). So my mom went to get him, afraid that he would be terrified to get caught in the major thunderstorm that was coming. The wind was already whipping and tearing... but she couldn't find the cat. Finally, she decided to go back inside, thinking that maybe he had gone back in... and there he was on the ground in front of the door... dead. And the door was shut. It was the weirdest thing... but the only explanation is that he was hit by the door. So sad. Then we got my sister a cat, Jack... who moved with her after she got married..... so then came my desire for another kitty. I finally got the OK around my birthday to get a kitten, and it just so happened that our barn cat had kittens not long before. However, there was only one left. I don't know where the rest of them went... but the mom ended up dying and so there was that one lonely black kitten roaming around. I can still remember going up to her and picking her up. She was so tiny!! And she cried and cried. She lived in my room for awhile, until she got bold enough to venture out to the rest of the house. Oh! But WEIRDEST thing. We often saw a big black cat skulking around the neighborhood... and one day... he showed up outside the open hall window in our upstairs! He actually climbed the tree and walked across the one part of the roof to sit outside the screen. I noticed my kitty, which I named Weezer, at my bedroom doorway crying and looking at the window. It was a family reunion! That big old cat had to be her daddy! And he found her!!! So I let Weezer up to the window and they nuzzled each other through the screen. It was really sweet. The bliss of finding each other was short lived though, because not too long after that... daddy cat was found out on the road... can we say 'road kill'? ICK! But... Weezer became my baby... and she still is... almost 10 years later!

Here she is at my old house (before I got married)... sitting on my (then) neglected sewing machine. I have NO idea why she chose to sit there!

I also had to share a pic of my other baby... Boo. When I bought my first little house (almost 4 years ago), I decided that I wanted to get a puppy. I'd always grown up with a labrador in the house... so naturally that was the kind of dog I wanted to get. Fortunately, my parents knew someone whose dog had just had puppies and they were ready to be away from their mother! So my mom and I went out and met these little girls. (All of the boy pups were already gone). As soon as I got out of the car, I saw these adorable little black balls of fur running around the yard... and wouldn't you know... only ONE of them came to greet me. She licked and licked me... so of course, that puppy became my Boo. (I didn't even consider the other puppies! As soon as she crawled into my lap... it was puppy love!!) She will be 4 in May... and she still loves to give kisses... and she LOVES her "squeakies". (We never had a lab that played with anything other than frisbees or balls.... so having a basketful of toys for Boo is kind of fun!)

Here is our girl (since she is Cory's baby as well) a few years ago at Christmas...(I couldn't resist posting this one with the tongue... whatta shot!)

Do you have any pet pics to share? Join us for Flashback Friday over at Christopher&Tia's!

How about some...

My husband and I try to use coupons as much as possible when we go to the grocery store. Browsing around some blogs and websites... I came across THIS site. I thought that some of you may like to check it out!

Happy Shopping!

Head on over to A Little Tipsy for this awesome Giveaway!
There are a lot more where that came from... so be sure to check out her whole blog!!


*****UPDATE*****

I also just wanted to share real quick... I made 2 more mini-totes out of fabric I've had left over from other projects! I am just tickled to death! :) They are so fun and cute!!
Hmmm... maybe I'll have to have my own giveaway....
STAY TUNED to find out!

A Little Project for a Snowy Afternoon

Today has been pretty uneventful, other than the fact that I cleaned the bathroom! (Does anyone know of a good brand of shower cleaner? I just cannot find one to get my tub clean!) It is odd the sense of satisfaction that comes from accomplishing something so low on my list of things I like to do. Ok, actually... it's not on my list at all. BUT it was on my "To-Do" list for today... so I am just glad that it's over with and I can breathe a sigh of relief that the bathroom is nice and clean (... for now).

Anywho. After doing a few other things around the house (vacuuming and laundry are never ending)... I decided to check out a book that Cory got me for Christmas. I was in a sewing mood... but not something complicated. So, I busted out my SEW WHAT? BAGS! Book and found an instructional for a cute little tote bag. The directions were pretty easy... and overall, I probably only spent about 40 mins on it (and that was in between switching laundry and such!). I just wanted to share the finished product with you. But just remember... I am not a professional seamstress, sewer, stitcher or whatever you want to call it! I am still trying to sew in straight lines! LOL! But either way, I am pleased with my final product!

(You can see how small the tote is next to my phone and keys)

This is the first project I've done out of that book... and I enjoyed myself! Definitely would recommend it, especially if you aren't the kind of person who likes to mess with a pattern (like me!).

Hope you're all having a lovely day!! The snow is really coming down outside of my window! Too bad I don't have any hot chocolate in the house! :)

Flashback Friday #14

This week, going along with a Valentine's/Love Theme, I thought I would share with you the very first picture taken of me and Cory back in 2006. I was 23... he was 24.

It's so funny to see Cory without a full beard! Yea for beards... not a big fan of the goatee w/out a mustache... LOL! (However, you're always handsome to me, Cory!) :)

As I was searching the "Cory & Devon Memory Box" for that picture... I came across so many other things. Cards, papers, pictures, poems. Yes, Poems. Cory used to write me poems when we were first dating. Not little rhyming poems... but long, meaningful poems that came straight from his heart. It's funny the things we forget about until we come across them again. Needless to say, I was in tears as I sifted through that box! However, they were happy tears and I was smiling to myself the whole time!!

Going along with the fact that Valentine's Day is just around the corner... I wanted to share with you a picture of my first Valentines from Cory (that I also found in the box!). He made them himself in place of a card. Cory isn't the most artistic of fellows... but he does have a creative mind in different ways... and this was the sweetest Valentine I'd ever gotten!

They say: "You Make Me Happy; I Love You!" and "Will You Be My Valentine?!". How could I resist!? Heehee! What a sweetie!

Want to join in the fun? Head on over to Christopher&Tia's for more Flashback Fridays!

Oh... Deer... again!

If you follow my blog at all... you may remember back in October when I posted about having a couple of visitors running around our yard. If you didn't read that post and would like to check it out... go HERE.

Last week Cory and I had our nephew, Jaxson, spend the night at our house. It was his first sleepover at our place. We live about an hour away, so it is hard to coordinate having my niece and nephews sleepover unless my sister or my mom stop over... or I meet them at a town about halfway between. Well, we were about to leave to visit my in-laws for the evening... and Cory noticed that our little friends were back. The deer and the dog. The neighbor had gone outside and was feeding them some dog treats. Since Jaxson was with us... we thought it might be fun to take him over to see the deer. It was romping around the neighbor's front yard. Cory ran to get some cracked corn (that we keep around for the chickens).As you can tell from the picture... this was BEFORE the big snow storms came through. (For a little while, I had this glimmer of hope that all of the snow would be melted and spring would come sooner than expected. *BLAH!*) As I look out the window right now, I feel like I'm looking at a snow globe... it's crazy out there!

Anyway, Jaxson was a little timid when we asked him to pet the deer... which I don't blame the kid... I didn't want to touch the thing either. ICK! We couldn't even get Jax to go NEAR him... until finally I picked him up and we went over together.
The deer didn't even care about us since I was holding out a hand full of NOTHING! LOL. Oh well... it was a memory for Jax's first sleepover to get to see "The Deer"!

Here's Jax right before bed time!

And the next day, we went to visit my grandma in the Alzheimer's Unit. They have this gigantic bear (which is a little creepy, I think) in the TV area. Jaxson took a liking to it... he's such a little ham!
It was fun having a kid around for a little while... but eventually he had to go home and life went back to normal for me and Cory!!

Well, I'm off to finish up a good book... "Sometimes A Light Surprises" by Jamie Langston Turner! I hope you're all staying warm and cozy--especially those of you being graced by the snow, snow and MORE snow!

Flashback Friday #13

All of my school pictures are at my parent's house... so I had to dig through some old photos that I had in my spare room. (I still can't find my stinking scrapbook and photo albums... I really hope they are at my parent's house since they definitely aren't HERE!) I couldn't pass these pictures up once I found them...

When I was 7, I had the opportunity to go with my mom, aunt, uncle and cousin on a bus trip to Toronto, Canada. It wasn't a super-long trip... since Pennsylvania is kind of near Canada... however, as a kid... it seemed like THE LONGEST RIDE EVER! I remember on the way home, I was snoozing... and I just happened to look out the window right as we passed a sign for my town - 30 miles to go! I just could not even imagine how we would EVER get there! Of course, I had no idea what 30 miles even really meant... it just seemed like A LOT of miles! But, I fell back asleep and was home before I knew it!

On our trip, I remember going to Niagara Falls and having to wear a raincoat while riding one of the boats out near the Falls. I also remember my mom bribing me with these BIG globe earrings to get my picture taken at a "Old Fashioned Picture Place". I loved those earrings... and totally wore them until they fell apart (which I then used the globe part as a Barbie Globe... because you know... Barbie needs a thing like a globe when she is teaching geography!).

Anyway, without further a-do... here I am (apparently surprised), sitting next to my step-cousin (is she picking her nose?). I don't remember where this was... maybe the Zoo? The woman and man in the front are my aunt and (ex)uncle...

Nice Glasses.

But wait... let me show you a close up of my outfit...

Notice the stone-washed PUFFY jeans that my mom dyed pink. (I LOVED those jeans!) My bright green sandals with a bow. My sweater had some kind of animal on it... I can't remember what--but it was kind of cute. AND... the purse. My FAVORITE purse. I carried that jean purse EVERYWHERE! I miss that purse... I would so totally carry it now.

One of these days, I'll have to find and post a picture of me with those globe earrings...

Join in the Flashback fun... or just browse through everyone else's posts over at Christopher & Tia's!

A Little Venting...

I'm just going to put this out there...

Over the past number of months, it seems that there have been a lot of people having babies and getting pregnant. That's awesome! The creation of a new life is one of the biggest miracles! There is only a 20% chance each cycle that a woman can become pregnant, assuming that there are no medical issues with either partner. Since the window for getting pregnant each cycle is very slim... it truly is a miracle when it happens!

That being said... I am SO tired of hearing pregnant women complain about the inconveniences of it. Now, I've never been pregnant and some may say that I have no room to talk... but I do know what it is like to have dreamt my whole life of becoming a parent... and not having the opportunity. I try to be careful of my attitude toward people who are having babies, because a part of me is sad that it isn't me... however, the other part of me knows that it may have been a struggle for them. Maybe they tried for months with a lot of heartache and finally they got their miracle! Or, who knows... maybe they didn't have to try at all. But I don't know their situation... so I try to be sensitive to the fact that my attitude needs to be in the right place. I shouldn't begrudge anyone because of my own desires and impatience to become a mother. It's not something I'm proud of... but it's something that I often struggle with.

However...

Nothing annoys me more than a pregnant woman who goes on about being "fat"... or looking like a "beached whale"... (among other things). Pregnancy is a beautiful thing! Sure, some of the symptoms might suck... a lot... and heck, I probably would be complaining about getting sick if I was miserable with morning sickness! But I guess I just wish that some people would take into consideration the feelings of others... those of us who have not had the joy of experiencing a positive pregnancy test, or who have had the heartache of a miscarriage. It's more common than you might think... a lot of people just don't verbalize their issues (understandably). There are many women who would love to be carrying a life inside of them... sickness, "fatness" and all!!

I hope someday, if I ever have the opportunity to carry a child inside of me, I will remember the stress, heartache and hope that I felt while Trying To Conceive... so that I can keep my own attitude in check for the sake of those women and men around me who are perhaps silently carrying their own infertility burden.

What to do...

... with my old Christmas Cards.

I went through my stack of Christmas Cards from this year... and decided which ones I could use to make Christmas Gift Tags for next year! I snipped and trimmed... and glued and glittered. I didn't add ribbons... but I figured I could do that next year when I actually wrap and decorate gifts.


This would be a great project for anyone, even those of you with kids! And any cards that you don't want to cut up can be sent to St. Jude's for their Greeting Card Project! Cards are being accepted through February 28th. Any type of greeting card is accepted. For each card a kid cuts... they earn 15 cents to put into their personal accounts! :)

St. Jude's Ranch for Children
Recycled Card Program
100 St. Jude's Street
Boulder City, NV 89005

Valentine's Swap!

Last month, I signed up for my first ever Bloggy Swap. It was a Valentine's Swap hosted by Domestic Dork. I was paired up with the lovely Jenn in early January... and began trying to piece together what types of things I might like to send her in a package. We exchanged a couple of emails, where we both really just said that we liked random things! What could be easier than random!? Random, I can do! So... I began to gather some things up... some potato printed note cards, dish cloths that my sis made, valentine socks, chocolate (from a small factory in my hometwon--sorry Jenn, didn't realize you weren't too wild about chocolate... but I hope the hubby liked it!), a flower barrette (similar to THIS)... some earrings that I also made... Hmmm, I think that might be it (I can't remember). The main "rule" was to get your box delivered by February 14th! I was a bit early, but I wrapped it all up in valentine tissue paper and sent out my box a couple of weekends ago. Then... a few days later!! Guess what came in the mail!?

TAA DAA!!

Jenn sent me a number of goodies! Check it out...

Socks, Bath Fizzies, a Pouf, Lotion, Soap, Homemade Choc/PB Chip Cookies, Cute Earrings... AND... the fabric underneath it all that says "Love" all over it... yeah. That's an Apron. She made that! WOO HOO! Here, Let me show you a better picture of it:

(That's my silly husband. He didn't actually put it on, of course, but he is holding it up so you can see the gist)
I love mail... and I especially LOVE packages! Thanks Jenn for all of the great stuff!

Next time you come across a Bloggy Swap, I encourage you to join in the fun!