Turtles

A couple of facts about Small T:

1.  She loves bracelets.  Always has.

2.  She loves Turtles.  And Elephants.  In fact, she would love to start a Turtle Farm, but you can't do that in Missouri.  It's against the law because they are protected.

Yesterday, while I was getting a soda on the way to school, I found these cute little Turtle Bracelets for the mere sum of $1 each.  I ended up buying her 5 of them because I couldn't choose a favorite color.  I bought myself a gray one to "support her cause".  lol  The bracelets were a huge success with her!  Yay for mom!

Gifts...

 My favorite Christmas gift this year ... I love the colors and pattern.

I felt bad when Small T said she will never know what it's like to get "sister" stuff since she doesn't have a sister.  Geez.  I felt so bad.  She doesn't talk much about her twin dying, but every now and then it surfaces.  Her cousin Z will have to buy her sister stuff, and vice versa.

I ended up getting a lot of stuff...none of which I thought I was getting.  I got books.  Lots of books.  I love books, can you tell?  I also got a foot bath and a massaging pillow.  And an 8 piece set of purple dishes.  And jewelry.  And a huge black trash bag full of yarn.  And a movie.  And the list goes on.  I was so blessed.  I thank each and every person that blessed me with a gift.  :)  

Christmas

 Christmas morning 2013 (before kids).

 Small T opening her big gift from her dad.

 She loves her guitar.

 Big C tearing into the wrapping paper.

 Medium J getting involved with the gifts before he had to leave.

 Little Ty and his mom.

Z (Little Ty's sister).  She's best buds with Small T.  They are the same age and as close as sisters.

Working on...

Today, I'm working on a few Christmas presents.  I finished the pillow earlier and now I'm adding the finishing touches to "Super D".

 She's looked like this for several days now.  She has sat patiently on the end table next to my recliner...waiting and waiting for some attention.  After consulting with my WitchDoctor Nurse ... Miss Pattycake, a plan was hatched for adding Super D a face.

 Nurse Pattycake insisted that Super D needed "1 or 3 eyes...and fangs with her smile".  So that's what she got.  I had to break out my needleworking skills for this.  I used embroidery floss for the face, in case you are wondering.

I tried (a tad unsuccessfully, I might add) to outline the emblem on Super D's chest.  It looks "ok".  But not the fabulous that I was aiming for.

Now...I'm making Super D's cape.  After all, how can you be a Super D without a cape???

A gift..

This week has been miserable for me since my mouth has hurt so badly from all the dental work I had done on Monday.  I've tried not to moan and groan and whine all the time, but apparently it's not only been a tough week for me but also the swimmers at the pool.  Nothing like having a grouchy lifeguard all day.  Friday night, my boss brought me a gift.  A container of fresh cauliflower mashed with a bit of cheese and margarine...and a Straw-ber-rita.  Ahhhhh....pure delight!  As soon as I got home, I nuked the cauliflower and popped open the drink.  She absolutely made my day!!!  Thanks so much Cindy!

Today...Saturday...

I started out my day...

 at the pool...

 I had a bit of spare time after getting things set up, so I soaked my feet a bit and tanned my backside for awhile...since it seldom sees any sun...I can't be tanned on the front and white on the back....

 I looked through a magazine as well...and found this bit of inspiration...

 and this seems like a good charity to donate to...

 and this looks like a good lipstick to try out...

 and I keep hearing a lot about this foundation...maybe it would be worth trying out....

 and I was thrilled to bits to see that Pink is now a Covergirl....

 I love her....I always tell my kids that I have an inner Beyonce or Pink dying to come out...

 and this looks like it would be the perfect Christmas gift for one of my sister's...as her cell phone is always dead...she uses it for work...24/7....

 and after I got home tonight, Small T gifted me with this little plaque....which is funny when you consider that our last name (before marriage) was Wine...so anything Wine related is comical when applied to our family...

 I worked and worked on this and ran out of yarn this evening....so....I have to buy more so I can finish this up...it is an upcoming free pattern...

 and then I was inspired to make this little cover for my coffee cup...I'll post this free pattern asap too....

and finally...I've watched Little Ty...be a worm...and inch across my floor this evening...I think he's either bored or hyped up on something...not sure which...

and now I'm off to bed...as I have a long day tomorrow...I'm off to the ER in a town about 1 1/2 hours away...I've torn something in my knee I think....not good.

The Gift of a Quilt

My biological father and his wife came down for Easter dinner today.  Dee gave me a surprise gift of a king-sized quilt that she made for my bed.  Big C tried to take a photo but couldn't get everything in it, so this is the best he could do.  Dee hand-quilted this whole thing.  It's so lovely and I'm so lucky to have it!

Bunny Planter

Yesterday, Small T (and the school band) participated in District Music Contest.  On the way back home, they stopped to eat lunch and also had an hour to shop.  When we picked Small T up from school, she said "close your eyes, Mom".  When she told me to open them, I saw this cute little purple bunny planter with the sweet little flowers.  She bought it for ME!  What a sweet girl!  I sure didn't expect her to buy me anything.

A Gift

I should have posted about this last month, but I got side-tracked.

The day before Valentine's Day, a friend of mine, Lori, brought by a couple of bags of stuff for me.  She had been cleaning out the basement and came across some yarn that she had bought and had never got around to using.  She mentioned that there was enough yarn in the bags to make a blanket.  Heck, there's enough yarn to make a couple of blankets.  Plus a pattern book.  Lucky me!  

I have to admit that I didn't really look through the bags until this morning.  *Shame on me*  I was completely thrown by exactly how much yarn she gifted me.  I definitely need to tell her thanks again.

 One bag contained 7 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun in the color Mission.

The other bag contained 5 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun in the color Adirondack.

Wow!  Such lovely yarn.  I'm already thinking of ways to use it.  :)

Thanks so much Lori!

A Lovely Surprise

A few weeks ago, one of my many sisters, Marie, said she was putting something in the back of my car.  I was busy and at the pool...so I do have a good excuse for not remembering this until I went to put something in the back of the car and found this.  A lovely wooden picnic basket.

 Peeking out from inside is some yarn.  Makes your mouth water, doesn't it?

 I searched and searched through the whole basket and found lots of goodies...crochet hooks, belt buckles, lots of pieces of knitted and crocheted work that someone never finished....

and a few of these lovely little squares that I really like and I was AMAZED to find a piece of paper folded up and stuck inside this white and green square....and when I unfolded it....I found the PATTERN!!!!  Woo Hoo!!!!!  I was jumping for joy!!!!!  I can see some of these little squares being made in the near future!  

Even though my sisters don't read my blog....I know....imagine....I am giving a big shout out to Marie for the wonderful gift she left me....."Marie....you're the best"!  And this will probably get me in trouble with the rest of the sisters if they ever read this.  They are a jealous bunch!  LOL

What A Day!

We spent the entire day at the auction.

My mom is now the proud owner of a very nice lift chair.

I hauled it home and my boys installed it in her living room.

She's been using it ever since. :)

And I am the proud owner of this lovely box of yarn.

It cost $20 and was the cheapest box of yarn sold today.

I got a really good deal.

The box contained 6 Super Saver size skeins plus 13 regular sized skeins of Red Heart yarn.

When you compare it to the Wal-Mart price of $93 plus tax, I saved a bundle.

And I don't mind that it's all black and white yarn. I use a lot of it.

I didn't feel like spending time on my WIP's tonight, so I grabbed my bag of scrap yarn and made this two-headed monster.

Here he is again.

I think my sister will like him.

This is the first of four monsters she has asked me to create in time for Valentine's Day.

The same sister that wants the monsters bought me a bag of goodies at the thrift store a couple of weeks ago. I finally got the bag and went through it. Boy, did she get a good deal!

It contained a bunch of partial skeins of yarn as well as 35 little squares already crocheted up. It also had a box with 2 rosette makers (plus a bunch of instructions and patterns) and a pom-pom maker. I was pleased as punch to get this. And guess what...she paid 75 cents for it all. I'm a lucky girl...that's all I've got to say.

Well, it's been a long day so I'm off to bed. I'll see you all tomorrow.

Good night!

Simple Gifts

I love giving gifts. Whether they are homemade or even simple gifts. These are the types of gifts that I put a lot of thought into and really enjoy giving.

My family has several magazine subscriptions. We love reading them! But, we hate to throw them away. So...each year I make books for a few family members which contain all the highlights or pertinent tips and recipes that I think they would enjoy. I can't show you any of the books I made last year, but I can show you one of the books I've started for this year. (By the way, this is what I spent most of yesterday working on....instead of crocheting or knooking.)

Here's the cover of Small T's book. I use a basic spiral notebook and tape the cut-outs to the pages.

This page has 3 cut-outs at this time. (I try to fill each page but it doesn't always happen at the same time since I have to fit different sized cut-outs into a page.) Some might think that information I have chosen might not be something Small T would use, but trust me....it is. For instance, "How to Pee in the Woods" is very appropriate for her. We spend a lot of time outside and she just refuses to pop a squat. She thinks that she MUST have a flushing toliet. Boy, does she have a lot to learn! The other tip using spare buttons to hold your earring studs is a good tip in my opinion. That way you don't lose one. The same goes for doing your Kegels. Teen girls don't always want to hear what their mom's have to say so...if I put it in here, she might be more apt to take in the information.

On this page, I've included info on straightening your hair and keeping it that way as well as using rubber bands on your hangers to keep your strappy shirts and dresses from falling off.

The page tells about preventing cold sores and also features an idea for outdoor twister (for a crowd).

We travel a lot and she has decided she likes to pack her own bag, so here's info on how to pack your carry on.

Here's a good tip on how to tell a joke.

And these are tips about falling asleep when you can't as well as how to fold a fitted sheet.

I always hope that my family enjoys getting these little books from me, but I don't know. I know that I enjoy putting these books together and I try really hard to put information in the books that I think they might need or find useful.

What do you think? I'd like to hear some feedback.

A Gift

My Uncle D (yes...I've always called him Uncle D) gave me an early Christmas gift on Monday. It's a beautiful quilt. Here in the photo, it's folded in half. Isn't it lovely?

What A Surprise!

When I got home from work last night, I found three plastic bags all tied up waiting for me by my chair. When I asked Big Daddy where they came from, he told me that my mom had put them in his truck at the family reunion and said to give them to me when we got home. When I opened the bags up, I was surprised and delighted to see all these lovely goodies. There are three throws, one baby throw and one shawl. No one ever buys me these type of things and I'm shocked in a wonderful way! I called my mom and she said that she got all of these precious items for a whopping $2. Wow! She said that she thought I could possibly re-use the yarn. Well, I'm NOT unraveling them for anything. I love them in their current goodness! Thank you so much, Mom!