New Hair...

I have been lazy about posting lately. Well, I thought that I would get to post once a week to start with... Then my assignment for the ESL training came back with something more I had do. Not that I mind doing more with it, it's just that I thought that I had done what I needed to do to pass it. Unfortunately, I hadn't done enough. I was really mad that day, so I didn't feel like posting... I didn't feel like doing anything! :~} I have also been working a lot lately. This week I'll be working for 35 hours. I'll work for 22 hours next week! :~) That's a good thing, but I have to get used to working again!

Something that's new... Jamey cut my hair!! :~) I'd been wanting a trim... Ok, more than a trim. I wanted my hair to end around my shoulders. Jamey was kind enough to cut it for me! :~) He did a really good job at it too! I wanted to try some curl gel that Jamey's aunt had given me for Christmas, so I tried it with my new cut... I think it looks really cute! An added bonus with the cut is that I wear it down a whole lot more and I can't get it into a bun!! :~) Jamey and I are both happy about that! I think it makes me look a little younger too. Maybe that's because it's been about 4 years since I've had my hair this short.

I fixed a swimsuit top for my boss at Peebles, and she paid my for it... I don't handle the money in Jamey's and my relationship for a reason. I went and spent the money on a cute top that was marked down at work! :~) Oops! I should probably try to settle down so I can get to sleep... I have to work about 7 hours tomorrow. Not a lot, but it will get me tired if I don't sleep! :~)

Ode to Frank Mills

If there was one album that took me back through the years of my life it would be Frank Mills Sunday Morning Suite. I have very scattered memories... From doing chores to the music when I was little, to listening to it constantly when I was a young teenager on a Walkman. Most times the cassette tape would get lost and wouldn't be found for awhile... I'm sure it was just it's defense against being played to death! :~) But whenever we could find it, it generally got played at least once... Mostly by me, cause I loved it! I've been looking for that album for the last year and a half... Hoping to find it so I can listen and be taken back every now and then, also so I can share it with my kids. Yesterday Jamey went to a new thrift store and found it! :~D It's a record, so I can play it on Jamey's new record player (which I'm doing right now!). Someday soon hopefully Jamey will be able to put it on a CD so I won't wear out the record! :~}

Well, last time I wrote it was before my birthday! I had a really great birthday... Jamey got me balloons and he made me do a scavenger hunt for my presents! :~) That had to be the most fun. Other than the shopping of course! ;~) He made me a chocolate cake and gave me some candy... But the biggest present came in the form of a video camera! I love it! It's a small one and it's so cute, if such things can be called cute! I've used it a couple times, but the most it will get used is when we go and see family! After the presents were opened I got to go shopping and couldn't find a pair of trouser jeans anywhere until I went to Target. Those ones are nice... Then I went to Kohl's and found some. So now I have a couple pair... They're nice cause they look like straight leg jeans on me. After all my shopping we had a lovely dinner at Olive Garden. We had a gift card and decided to use it on my birthday.

I also got some fabric at Hancock's. It's a beautiful purple plaid and I made it into a jumper... However, when I wore it I stressed the seams! :~o So before I wear it again I'll have to take out the seams and add a strip of fabric to it so it won't rip on me! :~) I don't have a pic of it right now, but when I get done fixing it I'll be sure to take one.

Oh, if you want to see some of the cutest pics of the most adorable nephew... (I know, I'm bad) Just go to my sister's blog. There are too many now to be able to copy and paste onto my blog! :~) Not that I'm complaining about all the pics! :~)

Last Saturday we had a yard sale... Not a normal yard sale, it was in front of one of the local Wal-marts! Yep, Wal-mart and the Children's Health Network were selling spots in front of Wal-mart for whatever you wanted to put out there... We did a yard sale. There were a few spots that were just selling things they made and there was also a Pampered Chef table. They had food there too, the proceeds from that also went to the charity. It was pretty neat cause we had so many people stop and look around... I mean who doesn't go to Wal-mart? Sure it was kinda cloudy and drizzly, but we had quite a few people buy our stuff. Jamey sold all his stuff and I sold some of mine... Mine was all clothes anyway. What we didn't sell we took over to Goodwill. It was fun, we had to take Shorty with us and he got most of the attention!

This Sunday is Jamey's birthday. However, we will be doing stuff on Saturday so he can just chill. I tried hard to find the lemon cake mix for his cake... I don't know why stores don't have at least some sugar-free cake mixes! I was able to find it last year at a drug store, but this year I couldn't find it anywhere. I called every place I could think of that might have it, but no luck. Ordering it on-line would have cost a lot! Finally, I remembered one of the members at church makes the greatest cakes and sugar-free stuff you've ever had! So I called and asked if she had a sugar-free lemon cake recipe. She did and she gave it to me on Wednesday! YAY!!!! :~) I was so afraid that I wouldn't be able to make Jamey his Lemonade cake. Now I don't have to worry about finding a lemon cake mix ever again! Oh, and for those of you who have tried to make a cake sugar-free from a cake recipe that has sugar in it... Add 1/2 cup dry milk and 1/2 tsp baking soda for every cup of Splenda used and the cake will turn out fluffy. If you want anymore tips you can visit the Splenda site.

The end of my sewing binge... For now! :~}

Yeah, until I get more fabric... Which I plan on getting for my birthday. And then I have to get back into the mood. The shirt I made using some leftover fabric from another shirt I made last year... It was a really easy pattern to make and I was done in a couple hours. The dress on the other hand was a little more difficult. It is a little like nylon in the fact that it gets runs in it very easy. I had to replace the front midriff in the middle of sewing the dress cause of a run in it... I wasn't that pleased about it but I managed to do it so it looked good. :~)

I was thinking about my piano and what the name on it is about... It's a Hobart M. Cable piano which I learned are known to be really good in the way of tune, also they are known to be incredibly heavy! Course Jamey already knows that! :~) I looked at the serial number and apparently this piano was made sometime in 1953! :~) I like to know about the things I have... Like where they came from and how old they are.

I'm starting to look forward to Monday... I wasn't too keen on having my birthday, but now I want to see my presents that Jamey got me! :~) This weekend we are going to a lectureship on Friday and on Saturday we are going to go sing at camp. Then Sunday we are having a couple from church over for dinner. So that means that I'm going to have to clean this house tomorrow! :~)

Piano!!!! :~D

The title really says it all... I just got a piano! :~) Some church members were kind enough to give us their piano that they didn't use. I'm very grateful! :~) I wrote a couple of posts ago that Jamey was looking to get me a piano... He mentioned that he was looking for one to this church member and they said that we could have theirs! :~) I've already played quite a few pieces on it... It's in tune! It weighs a LOT... So Jamey got some men from church to help him bring it here. Here are some pics of my new piano! :~) I got it all clean and bathed it in furniture polish so it shines!

Yesterday we thought that we would go get the piano, but didn't have the dolly to get it. Anyway, we had the guy that was going to help over for supper... I figured that was the least we could do. We had tacos! :~p I made the meat, rice and corn to go with it... I also made my own tortillas. My family came across a Mexican woman in Ohio that made her own and she showed us how to do it. It's not that hard... The only hard part is rolling them so they actually resemble a circle! Mine always end up looking like large amoebas! :~} Jamey really likes them! :~)

I sewed a little today, too. This fabric was easier to sew and it is thicker so I didn't have to line it. It looks like it's a velvet, but it's not... It's got a neat feel, but it's not like velvet. I still want to sew some more so I'll keep you posted on that. However, it'll be hard to concentrate on sewing for a few days cause I'll be playing my piano! :~)

Two shirts and a dress...

Here are a few pics of the stuff I've been working on this past week...












These two shirts are from the same pattern, but with different sleeves. The green one was easier to make cause the fabric wasn't as stretchy. If you look close you'll see that the gray one has little dots the color of the ribbon on it. Both top fabrics were very see through so I lined them with a corresponding color underneath. If you think sewing two stretchy fabrics together for a seam is hard... Try four! Yeah, I live on the edge!! :~)

Now, don't look directly at it... ;~} This is the best pic I could get of it... It actually looks better in person than in this picture. It has a cowl neck and a bow in the back. I joke I look like a giant polka dot! :~) Jamey said I don't look like a giant polka dot... I look like a lot of little polka dots! :~) As soon as it gets cooler I'll test it at church. I wore the green shirt to church tonight... I finished it today, so I was wearing it anyway! :~)

I plan on doing a little more sewing this next week. Two more shirts and another dress. I found this pretty purple fabric at Wal-mart and couldn't leave it... I love the Wal-marts here cause they still have the fabric section! :~) It's a nice heavier fabric, so I won't have to put something under it.

The rest of this week I'll spend cleaning. Trust me, my house needs it! :~) Then I plan on being busy on Saturday and having roast on Sunday!! :~p

Misc. Post... :~}

This is just a little check in... Nothing big has happened in the past week. The only thing that has been a constant is that during Monday through Friday of last week Jamey and I were both sick! Yeah, how exciting are we? :~) It was one of those nasty stomach bugs that hang on and on... It was good in a way cause it kept us indoors and away from anything that resembled spending money! :~)

This morning Jamey is off to Charlotte for a preachers meeting. It's a good way to meet more of the area preachers. Jamey is trying to get me something nice for my birthday. He didn't get one thing that he really wanted for me... A real piano! Isn't that just so sweet? I already have a keyboard but Jamey knows how much I'd love a real piano... :~)He saw on-line that there was a piano in good condition and here is the best part, it was free! :~O Unfortunately, someone else beat Jamey to it. I'll just have to wait on the piano for now. You know I would have liked the piano but it's really the thought that makes me smile! :~)

Yesterday was our pot luck at church... I made chili. I was counting on it being a little cooler than it actually was... It had been feeling like fall last week, but could it stay that way? NO! :~( I was talking to someone last night and they said that November might feel like fall! :~O Great, that will be the time I'll be thinking that there should be snow on the ground! :~p However, after visiting my family I'll probably be thankful for the warm weather.

This Saturday I'm planning a young adults get together... Planning is not something I'm incredibly good at, but I'll do my best! :~) We're going to eat at a really good seafood place then go bowling! I haven't been bowling since the first time Jamey came up to see me a year and a half ago! :~o There is this couple that is going to be going to Germany... The husband is in the military and they are going to be leaving around the 8th, so I wanted to do something before they left. Hopefully we'll all have a good time! :~)

I've started sewing and made a dress. I'll have a pic a little later. It's cute and it looks like some of the stuff that is out now... At least I think so! :~) Course my taste isn't the best! :~o I'm going to do some more sewing this week... So I can have more clothes, just what I need! :~} It's stretchy material so I was using a stretch stitch, but my needle was a little dull! I didn't realize it until I was half-way done and furious at the machine cause it was causing holes in the fabric every now and then. After I figured out that was the problem it was a piece of cake to finish. :~} I have one more dress and two tops that I want to finish... :~)

I'm Back... And I wrote a Lot!

I got to drive all the way up to Greensboro NC yesterday... A three hour trip that is tedious in and of itself. This trip however, was made even more difficult with inclement weather. About an hour into the trip I had to slow down to 50 in order to see things ahead of me... It really didn't worry me as this was the kind of weather that I drove going from Memphis to Nashville when we were moving... That and I had the constant spray from the moving truck that Jamey was driving in front of me. Anyway, I focused on the car in front of me... We made it in the time we figured and the trip back was uneventful.

I love to drive but I don't like to drive in nasty weather when not everyone has their headlights on! Not only is it kind of silly not to put them on but it's dangerous. I could barely see the road let alone the cars that actually had their lights on. I'm glad I was able to do it though cause it gave me some experience... Now the only weather I have to conquer is snow! I'm a little wary of that though as the last time I tried to drive in new snow I almost hit a stop sign! :~O

Alright enough about me... I'm not going to write a lot about my nephew as my sister has put more pics of the little guy up on her blog and I don't want to take away from her blog. That being said I can now dispense with the gushing! :~) Of course I'm not biased in any way ;~) but I have to say that he is one of the cutest babies that I've seen! I can't wait to see him in December! He looks like he is getting bigger every day... And he might have a little bit of blond hair.

Munchkin is out and about today. I've been keeping her in the bathroom at night so that nothing will get broken at night! :~) She meows for me a lot. She is very personable for a cat, course we never had indoor cats in Ohio. She seems to have taken to a frog I got at Claire's recently. She plays with it and drags it places she goes. I'll try to get pics of that but it might be hard, the only evidence that I know she has been playing with it is it's conspicuous presence in other parts of the house! :~) Right now she is dragging it like it's her kitten.

Shorty is finally figuring out that he has to bark to go outside and that outside is the only place to go to the bathroom. It won't be long before he can be out all day! :~) He's growing a lot. He's now up to around 12 pounds... He won't get too much bigger.

Birthday season is upon us. What I mean is this... My brother Ira started it by having his birthday this past Sunday. I'm the next in line with a birthday in October, then comes Philip in November and to close out the year is Sarah in December. Lydia's is in March so by next spring we will all be another year older. I'm not looking forward to mine this year for some reason. I'll be turning 24 and for some reason that sounds old to me. I'm no longer in my early 20s I'm in my mid 20s. Oh well, time marches on! :~)

One last thing before I give your eyes a rest... I didn't mean to make this so long, but I'm glad I got back to actually writing something longer than a post-it note! :~) The gospel meeting here went very well. Jamey preached on the different things we do in worship. Sunday morning was Communion and Jesus' death on the cross. Sunday night was prayer. Monday night was singing and Tuesday night was giving. Quite a few people from the neighboring congregations came and Tuesday night we had 80 people. :~) Everyone thought that Jamey did an exceptional job!

I still have that sewing to do... I plan on working on it this month and having it done by the time my birthday rolls around. Kinda like a birthday present to myself! :~) I picked out 2 shirts and 2 dresses for the colder weather. Tomorrow I have to clean... Jamey doesn't care whether or not it's really clean but I always feel really good when the house is spotless! :~)

Ok, where did the time go?

Well, I'm just a little curious as to where all that time I had at the beginning of the year went. My sister just got married, my birthday is long gone and Jamey's is rapidly approaching. All of these events I thought would never get here and now they fly by... Not to mention the fact that everyone tells me it goes by faster as you age! :~O Great!

No, I really don't have all that much to say today... I'm just trying to avoid putting 9 buttonholes in my new shirt that I'm making. I don't mind the buttonholes it's just that there are 9 of them! So far it looks really good and if you could get away with using pins in clothes instead of buttons I know I'd do it! :~) But I got these cute pink buttons at Wal-mart and I might as well use them.

I started my Christmas shopping for my siblings today... No, I'm not telling what they're getting cause I know my little sister reads this. Since my family doesn't do Christmas on the actual day (we do it for New Years) I have a little time. Not to mention the after Christmas sales I can take advantage of! :~) However, I have to start thinking about what to get my new family... That will be just a little harder. As much as he won't like it I'll have to take Jamey shopping with me cause he knows them better than I do... Or at least he's lived with them longer! :~)

I don't know about where my family lives, but we had to turn our heat on for the last couple of days... You see the sun decided to take a vacation and go to Florida, leaving us without sun and the depressing cold. I know I lived in VT where it got cold like this every year... I'm starting to wonder how I made it living there. Maybe I'm just becoming more like my Mom and developing reptilian blood! :~)

I know this is all over the place... But this is the way my brain is, scary isn't it? I don't think I can get out of doing those buttonholes any longer. Tomorrow is a trunk or treat at a near by church. I had the idea that I'd dress up, but I'm not sure any more. If anything I might dress like a 12 year old then maybe I can get some candy!!! :~)

No, you're right, it's Thursday...

Just to let you know, I do know what day it is and I will explain myself... Tomorrow I will be cleaning an older lady's house. She can't get around very well and asked me to help her. She is the same person Jamey and I helped move on Labor day. I'm supposed to go at 1pm, but I also want to get my grocery shopping done tomorrow too, so I most likely won't have the free time to write.

Let's see... Monday night Jamey and I went out. Not for a long time, but we had coupons that needed to be used. We got one of those entertainment books with the coupons in it from someone at church. We went to this CD store and made out like bandits. :~) It was fun. We came home and watched a movie we got at that CD store... Yeah, they have movies too.

Tuesday was awful in terms of attitude. I saw some pictures of my family from the wedding reception and started to feel lonely. I also felt like I was of little use cause I didn't want to do chores and I had a lot of them to do. Thank the Lord for my wonderful husband though, cause he came home and took me out to eat and calmed me down... :~) On a side note here, I can't wait to see my family in about a month for my sister's wedding!! :~)

Yesterday I got a lot done. I got everything done that I was complaining about on Tuesday. I also had to hem a piece of cloth for a friend at church. When we were at church I was approached by one of the ladies and was asked if I knew how to hem pants... She said that she needed three pairs hemmed and wanted to know if I could do it. Finally it's getting around that I sew and can be called on to sew! :~) Not to mention that I will get paid for it!

Today Jamey and I are going to go to AR to see a football game. We got tickets from one of the preachers at church. I can't wait... This will be my first football game! :~) Oh, I almost forgot...

Size 5 double pointed needles: $4
Size 7 double pointed needles: $4
7 more ozs of yarn: $2.50
Wearing a sweater that you knitted: Priceless! :~)

You can't really see it in the photo, but there's cabling on the sweater. It took me about 2 weeks to finish it after I got the needles. I can't wait for some colder weather so I can wear it out! :~)

One Hectic Friday...

It's been kinda hectic so I am a little late in posting... Sorry! :~)

Monday was normal and uneventful.

Tuesday I sewed a shirt. Yep that was the highlight of the day! :~) Boring huh? You can't really see it on this one, but it has a overlay on the front. It is just like the yellow one. It's really comfy, and I think it is my favorite shirt to date.

Wednesday we got our dog. We were told by the animal shelter it was a girl. Imagine our surprise when Jamey went to pick up the dog, he was informed that we had a boy dog! :~O Not that we were going to take it back or anything, it just surprised us. So we had to come up with a new name for it... Since the dogs name had been Maria we decided to name him Marco. He was slightly sedate, which we discovered later was caused by the medication he got for his surgery. I also made another shirt like the one on Tuesday, but made it a little fancier. This material doesn't stretch as well as the other material, but it works.

Thursday I decided to sew a little more. After I got home from shopping and class I was getting a little tired of taking Marco out to the bathroom and keeping him out of things, so I sewed to let out my frustration. I got this fabric at a yard sale for a dollar a yard. It still has to have ribbon on it and it needs to be hemmed, but this is basically how it will look. The top I'm wearing is my Nana's, which is actually my great-grandma.

Today Marco went to the Puppy Boutique and got a hair cut and a bath. Yay! He smells good and looks like a totally different dog. While he was gone, I took the opportunity to clean my house to get the dog smell out. So I was doing that all day! :~p Also Jamey's parents are coming tomorrow and I had to have a clean house for them. Jamey and his dad are going to go to a football game and his mom and I are going to the mall! :~) After Jamey got home John took Jamey and me out to eat! :~p

Oh, I have one more pic of a dress I made a while back but didn't have a picture of it then. It fits pretty well, and it comes to just below my knee. It's got a slight 40s feel to it.

Anyway, I have a husband and hyper, clean dog that kinda need my attention right now so I'd better go see to them! :~)

Zippers are evil! ; - )

Well, I don't have a dog yet... She will be ready on Wednesday! I'm looking forward to having her here. At first we thought we would get her today, but she isn't scheduled to go to the vet till Wednesday.

Ok, here's how my weekend went...

Saturday I had a range of emotions running through me, mostly anger at the dress I was working on. The dress is finished, I just haven't got a picture of it yet. Anyway, for some reason the zipper wasn't going to go in without a fight! I tried it on, pinned how much I should probably take in for the zipper, and sewed it on. One problem with it was it was too short. That was my fault! They didn't have color that I needed in the size zipper that I needed, so I thought I could get away with a shorter zipper. Whatever, I was insane! So not only did it not fit I couldn't get it up past my hips.

So Saturday I ended up having to go to Hobby Lobby twice! Not that that was a really bad thing, Hobby Lobby is now my favorite store in the galaxy. It is the only store that actually has double pointed needles in the sizes I need to finish my sweater! Not to mention a quite impressive sewing section. Think Wal-mart before they discontinued their sewing section. The prices at Hobby Lobby are even comparable to Wal-mart. It has other things in it too, it's just that I'll only be using the sewing section.

Well, finally after getting the right length zipper, I put it in. I will now take a moment to remember the three machine needles that gave their all for this project... Ok, that's enough! Yeah, I broke three needles... I don't even know how I did it! Breaking needles puts me in a monster mood anyway, but it still wouldn't fit! I had pinned it where it would fit nice, but when I went and sewed it up I couldn't get it on! I ended up taking a two hour break to cool off. When I went back to it I made smaller seams and it finally fit. When I did get it to fit, it fit well. Now Jamey knows exactly why I didn't sew all that often.

Sunday we went over to Jamey's parents house cause his sister Tabitha was there. She lives in California with her husband. They will be here till tomorrow. I got to show off my dress, that was fun! :~) We stayed overnight and left today about 11:30am. One thing I need to do is learn how to pack. Last time we visited my family I forgot deodorant, this time I wasn't thinking and forgot to pack jammies! The conversation went a little like this: Jamey changed for Sunday night and said "So what do we wear to bed?", "Oh shoot!" We made it work, but next time I'll remember. Sunday afternoon, Jamey and Casey (Tabitha's husband) crashed in the living room and started napping. I tried to figure out my mother-in-laws new sewing machine for her. I got some of it done.

The really nice thing about Jamey's mom is that she sews and what material she's done with or hasn't used, she gives to me! Most of the stuff I'll end up making won't cost anything except what the pattern cost... Which was a dollar! I got some stretchy material this time and I have a pattern that I just got that has to have that kind of fabric. (I didn't realize it at the time.) So I'll have a couple more sewing projects to work on and keep me busy! :~)

I'd better go and get the stuff that I didn't do on Saturday so I can get to those patterns! :~)

Yard Sales and Ham Puffs!

Here's my new white shirt that I started on Friday. It wasn't that hard to make, just had a little trouble with the collar. I wasn't feeling all that well on Friday, or else I would have gotten it all done in one day. I was lucky to find white material that isn't completely see-through!

Anyway, Friday after dinner we went to see a movie at the $2 theater. It was Fantastic 4, Rise of the Silver Surfer. I had been wanting to see that movie since it came out. It didn't disappoint... Jamey said he liked it better than the original! I liked all the action and of course the humor in it too. I'm not sure, but they just might make a third one one of these days.

Unlike the Saturdays in the past, this Saturday Jamey and I got up at 7am to go check out yard sales. Ok, I'm not a morning person but this was fun! I can count on one hand the yard/garage sales I've been to in my life, not a whole lot of yard sales in my growing up years. I found some fabric, which I plan on making into a dress, it was only a dollar a yard so I couldn't resist! :~) If we didn't already have enough bedroom pieces, or if we had money to spend on more bedroom furniture... Not to mention we don't have the room for more, I would have been all over this one bedroom set. It had a dresser, vanity, bedside table and one other piece I can't remember what it was. It was in a creamy white with pink flower accents. Soooo pretty! If we would have had the room and the money to buy it I would have gotten it for Sarah. We went to quite a few yard sales, and got good stuff. I found a Sheerly Elegant pitcher and cups set for $10! My mom sells Tupperware so I knew this was a bargain! I was kinda hoping to find a keyboard that was affordable. Unfortunately, the only one we found was over-priced. Oh well, just have to play air-piano for a while longer! :~) We also stopped at a friends yard sale. They are moving out of the country, so they had to sell everything. We spent the most money there. Got some Cd's and I got a coat rack, an egg slicer and some nail polish. They had bean bag chairs, so Jamey got those.

After we got done with the yard sales we started to take a nap when Jamey's mom called and wanted to take me shopping. I'm female, so when I get offered the chance to go shopping I take it! :~) We went to this place that was having a 25% off sale... Not only a sale on normal priced stuff but the sale also included the 70% off stuff! I got three things originally priced about $16, but I only paid about $3 each for them! I love it when I can get good sales!

When we were done with that, Jamey and I went to a ballgame. He won some tickets at work. They had some fireworks after the game! It was Elvis week, so everything at the game was Elvis themed. Elvis mania is one thing you really can't avoid when you live in Memphis. I'm not a hard core fan of Elvis, but I like some of his songs. It was a very intense game toward the end cause the Redbirds pulled a win out of their tail feathers. They were down 1 to 5 when they scored 4 runs in the 7th inning! They ended up winning 7 to 5. That was the last game we'll be going to this year, but at least they won for us! The fireworks were nice, they didn't do a lot of big fireworks but it was a good show.

Sunday after church we took a nap for a while. We had to take some finger food to a get together after night church, so we went to the store to get the ingredients to make Ham Puffs. It's basically a ham and cheese quiche. My mom makes these mainly for New Year's Eve, it's an old Pampered Chef recipe and it's always a hit. I made about 48 of them, hoping I might have a few left to take home. I ended up taking about 6 home. Everyone loved them and told me so. Since we didn't get a lot of sleep over the weekend, we crashed when we got home.

Today I'm just chillin'. Jamey's cousin Seth will be coming tomorrow and staying for a few days, so I should try to get some cleaning done... Note the word "try" in the last sentence! :~)

Monday, Monday...

Let's see... Hmm... This weekend was a little more profitable than last weekend! :~)

Saturday I finished my shirt that I started on Friday! :~) It turned out quite nice! I basically just followed the pattern, I didn't have to do anything to it to make it fit better. That was nice. The only bad thing about this is that I'm no longer as small as when I sewed for myself before. I'm working on a skirt now... It will take a little work, but hopefully it won't be too terribly difficult to make it fit. Jamey slept for most of Saturday which is good, he hadn't been getting enough sleep for the past week. By the end of the weekend he finally felt well rested. He got to sleep and I got to sew, it was a good Saturday. Jamey felt like a slug in the evening, so we went out for a little while.

Sunday I had my first experience with a crock pot! We had a pot luck at church, so I decided to make something in one of my crock pots I got for a wedding gift. I didn't have a lot of time Saturday to cook something so I looked at my options... The crock pot was the only thing that wouldn't take a lot of time to prepare and it would be able to be cooked at church. I made a pork n bean recipe that was in the crock pot book, and it turned out really good! :~p I was impressed! After church we just kinda hung out at home. Watched the first half of Pearl Harbor and took a nap. After the nap we went and got dinner and went to the $2 theater.

Yeah, not a lot happened to blog about this weekend. I do want to thank my mother for being such a good example of what a wife should be. Most of the stuff I do and think about certain things came from my mom. Jamey has told me what a good wife I've been to him and I have to thank my mom for that.

Today I'm just lounging around. I'm just trying to stay awake and not give in to the temptation of a nap. I took naps late in the afternoon the past couple of days and haven't been able to get to sleep until about 2am for the last couple days! UGG!!! Have I expressed my dislike of Mondays? I have to say they are not the fun part of the week. Maybe I'm being bitter toward Mondays because of the lack of sleep... Nope, it's just Monday! :~)

The Sewing days of Summer...

Yes, I realize the proper saying is The Dog days of Summer... But for me there is no other time that I just want to stay indoors and create something that, for the summer at least, I will be able to wear and boast a little about. Also there is the feeling of something that fits you and only you to a T, something you just can't get from store bought clothes.

Since my In-laws were coming on Thursday I cleaned my house on Tuesday. Well, not all my house just about half. I didn't feel all that great Tuesday night, so I didn't get all the cleaning done.

Wednesday I had a doctors appointment for the feeling of illness Tuesday. As much as I like to make fun of how long you have to wait to be seen at a doctors office, this day they actually didn't make us wait all that long. Anyway, after that was church and after church we went to Wal-mart. I needed a little more stuffing for the kitties I was sewing for my living room. Jamey's house is slowly getting cat integrated. Yep, it's an invasion!

Thursday I got the car and went to Bible class and grocery shopped. When I got home from that I finished my cleaning. I know I've expressed my growing annoyance for the pill bugs that go to my kitchen floor to die, but goodness, where do they all come from? Anyway, after Jamey and I got home from his work his parents and his sister Sarah were waiting for us. His mom and I went to Hancock Fabrics, Sarah wasn't feeling well, to take advantage of the sale they were having. Boy, it's fun to walk through a fabric store and get something to make in the near future! :~) I got 5 patterns and some white fabric to make a shirt with. When we were done with shopping we came back to the house and had supper waiting. Ahh, the joys of having a husband that is a great cook! :~) We ate supper and then sat around talking and watching TV. When they were about to leave Jason and John came to spend time. It's a good thing that Jamey made a lot of food! :~)

Today I couldn't sleep in too much cause the fabric from the next room was crying to be made into something. This is the pattern I'm going to make first. It reminds me a lot about the tops from back in the 1840s and 1850s with the dropped sleeves. I have to admit loving that period of time, so much so that I made myself a ballgown from that era a few years back. I have to say I'm rather impressed by this pattern. It's the only pattern I've ever seen with cup size options! That would have come in handy when I was trying to fit my sister for a pattern... She is a petite person that isn't big all over, just on top. Well, I think I'll start on that shirt so I might be able to wear it this coming Sunday! :~)

My decorating skills... Hmmm...

Ok, I know I'm not the best decorator in the whole world, but I'd like to think that at least I can decorate without the after affect of people having nightmares about my work. :~) Well, my sister will have to be the judge about that, after all she will be sleeping in that room... I'm very proud of my sewing/guest room. Jamey seems to like it too. I think after I got done and asked him to come see it, he was a little shocked that it looked alright. Well, you can judge for yourself... The first photo is when you first walk in the door. The second shot is of the TV and sewing table that my Father-in-Law fixed up for me, and the third one is of my 1950s machine (it's closed cause I couldn't fit it in opened, trust me I tried) my writing desk and my dresser. The last shot is of the pics on the dresser next to the book shelf.

There you go my skills at work... scary isn't it? Speaking about skills the skill of putting gas in the car is one that has eluded me until now! Yes, I can fill my car with gas! However, the lady that helped me with this process is probably still laughing about it.

Yesterday I took Jamey to work so I could have the car for class and to go shopping afterward. The gas gauge was low, so I kept an eye on it. I had to go to Kroger after class so I decided to get gas then. I pre-paid for my gas so I wouldn't have to watch it and over fill. I got some money off on the gas cause I had my Kroger card. Anyway, after all that happened I put the nozzle in my tank and squeezed. And squeezed again, nothing came out, so naturally I kept squeezing for about two minutes until I decided there was something wrong with either the machine or me. Turns out the problem was between my ears! :~) I go up to the lady that sits and watches to make sure you pay and told her my dilemma. She looked at me and said "Did you punch which gas you wanted?". Of course I hadn't, so I went back and punched in the cheap gas and then squeezed the handle and it actually worked!! :~) Everyone by now knows that I didn't have a clue how to do this and they were very gracious and waited till I was gone to break into fits of laughter. Ahh, life's little speed bumps! Now that I have mastered that art, I will let Jamey do it from now on! ;~)

The 4th of July was a lazy day for the Dickeys. Ok, so it wasn't such a lazy day. We stayed home and did some cleaning and preparing for Sarah to come. We moved that furniture up stairs which about wiped me out. That stuff is heavier than it looks! I also did most of my decorating Wed. But that was fun... at least for me. Now I have a room where I can sew and relax.

Tuesday Jamey and I went to a Forth of July celebration in Collierville. Dani McCulloch was doing a concert there, so we had to go. It was a fantastic evening. The concert was terrific and the fireworks after were the best I've ever seen live. I've seen the ones on TV before, but I was right there for these so it was better. After the concert Dani's dad took us over to see Dani and talk to her for a while. That was neat, she is the sweetest person. The whole town showed up for this, so it was a bear trying to get out when it was over.

Jason finally left on Tues. He was able to borrow one of the preacher's cars, so he could go back to Germantown. It was different this time having him here, cause last time it was still sorta his house. This time it was mine. We let him stay for a little more than a week, so I think that was enough time.

Monday, we went to see Transformers! That movie is really good. I was impressed. It had a lot of action in it and the way they transformed the machines into robots was really cool! :~) I want to see it again and we might go watch it with Sarah and Danny when they come, even though they've already seen it too.

I'd better go and get the rest of my cleaning done before I drop. I'm really tired right now, I can't handle going to bed at midnight and getting up at 7am without a nap. I can't begin to think of how Jamey does this every day. I can't handle it for two days let alone for a week! :~)

I'm not sure if I will post anything while Sarah is here... It depends on how busy we'll be. :~)