Arelel Designs Studio 1

Short Update

2010-08-16T22:09:00.001-04:00

My last post was in the beginning of July and I have so lost touch with everyone. Hopefully everyone hasn’t given up on me ever posting again. It has been a crazy summer with our new roof going up, our new furnace being installed and new windows going in. We also got two new kids in foster care almost 4 weeks ago. The boys are brothers and are ages 8 and 9. The kids play well together and we are really enjoying the boys. The case worker informed us last week that we need to get the boys enrolled in school since their mom’s next court date isn’t until the end of Aug. The boys are accepting the fact that they are not going home for awhile and they like it here. Brad and Nick have been generous with their toys and they have all been enjoying the pool, scooters and playing football and badminton. Three weeks until school starts and then I plan on getting busy in my studio creating all the new ideas that have been forming in my head over the summer. I am hoping I can get back to posting every day on my blog too. :o)

So Behind on Posts

2010-07-03T10:21:00.001-04:00

I do apologize for not keeping my blog up to date. Life has been so crazy, but it really doesn’t take that long to post….so….no promises, but I will try and do better. :o)

My hubby is showing our camper this morning which we are hoping will sell soon. We also got new flooring in our laundry room a couple of weeks ago. The new flooring is linoleum rather than the carpet that was out there. It seems so nice to be able to just mop up any accidents or dirty spots.

Our twin granddaughters were 7 months old yesterday. I thought I would share this newest photo of them sent to us via text messaging from their mom. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend. :o)

Rough Week

2010-06-08T18:40:00.001-04:00

The contractor did stop over on Sunday and take care of the leak. He also steamed the carpet and is either going to repair or replace the damaged ceiling tiles in Brad’s room. Yesterday morning we discovered that the water had worked it way down and wrecked some of our livingroom ceiling tiles which are only a few years old. The contractor is going to buy a box of those and fix that ceiling up also.

Yesterday was a very difficult day for our family. Our family dog, Chloe, who we got as a puppy almost 12 years ago, was diagnosed last summer with cancer. Yesterday we had to have her put to sleep. My husband and our daughter, Rachel took Chloe and stayed with her until she was gone. It just isn’t the same without her, but she isn’t suffering any longer and that is what counts. She was well loved and had a great life. Here is a picture of Chloe before she got sick. :o)

NO SALE

2010-06-05T10:59:00.001-04:00

We thought our camper was sold until last night when the buyer called to say she had changed her mind. We have to go up there today and put the sale signs back up and get the keys back from the women. The hard part is that Memorial Weekend was a busy time at the camp and now camp won’t be opening until the end of June. We know that the Lord has someone in mind and we do accept this, but we were really hoping to have the sale completed and not have to deal with it this summer.

The last of our old roof was removed from the house yesterday. The new wood was put down. We woke up to a big problem this morning…..the roof had leaked right through the attic into Brad’s bedroom. About a dozen ceiling tiles are ruined and the top bunk bed got quite wet. We are waiting to hear back from our contractor. Hoping this weekend gets better…LOL

Memorial Weekend

2010-05-31T09:14:00.001-04:00

The weather has been just beautiful here this last week. Yesterday, my hubby and our 12 year old son, planted our first garden in years. Bradly loves to garden, and this one is his responsibility and he is very excited. The garden is small as we don’t have a lot of room since we live in town. Our garden consists of green beans, cucumbers and zucchini…oh and a mystery plant that was growing in our flower box…we think it might be a pumpkin plant. We have two “Topsy Turvey” things…one with grape tomatoes and one with beef tomatoes also hanging on our back porch also.

Normally we try and make sure our yard and flower beds look nice for Memorial Day weekend, but this year we are in the middle of getting a new roof on our great big, three story house. We have a huge green dumpster in the front yard as well as lumber and a driveway full of roofing shingles and other supplies. The roof is partially finished, but the carpenters couldn’t work on it last week because it was too hot and the shingles would have been damaged when they walked on them. I am hoping they can work all this week and get it finished.

I completed a custom order for a customer this week. This set includes a doggie travel bag with a matching agility pouch and bandanna. The set is a gift for a 13 year old girl and is made from a cute lime green skull fabric and a black and white skull fabric. Here is a pic oft he finished set. :o)

Therapeutic Horseback Riding

2010-05-21T06:26:00.001-04:00

Our two adopted sons are participating in another 6 week “Therapeutic Horseback Riding” class. The first class was last night. Nick chose to ride his horse friend “Sassy” who was his horse last time they had lessons. Brads chose one of the new horses. It is a wonderful course and the boys love it.

My dad is having surgery this morning to replace part of his knee. I will be so glad when my mom calls to tell me he did ok. He gets to come home tomorrow and then go out for rehab.

Our yard is a mess as we are having a new roof put on our house. The roof is being completely removed and all new wood and shingles are going up. Our attic is a mess from all the debris caused during the removal of the roof. We have a lovely new yard ornament too…a large green dumpster in our front yard..LOL

Steve, Rachel and I are still losing weight…Steve has lost 38 pounds, I have lost 35 pounds and Rachel has lost almost 20 pounds since the middle of January. Steve and I have a long way to go, but at least we are on our way to a healthier us!! :o)

Mother’s Day Weekend

2010-05-08T10:42:00.001-04:00

Our oldest daughter, Megan is coming for the weekend. Her hubby Scott isn’t coming with her, but her new little black puppy will be traveling down with her from Hamilton, Ontario. It will be so nice to see Megan. Rachel will be here for dinner, but then she has to work. Reid has to work also, and Steven is too far away to come for dinner since he lives in Houston, TX. Chris and the grandbabies are stopping in the afternoon. My hubby is making dinner tomorrow which will consist of calzones and tossed salad….my request. My Mom and Dad will be here for dinner also. Rachel is making a sugar free dessert that we all love. I am looking forward to a nice day with my loved ones that can be here. :o)

I hope all of my readers that are moms, have an extra special day also. :o)

Surgery Day

2010-05-05T10:44:00.001-04:00

Well, we have decided to adopt the little Dachshund we have been fostering and we changed his name to “Oscar” which just seemed fitting for a wiener dog. LOL He responds well to his new name. Steve had to have Oscar in to the animal hospital by 7:30 this morning as Oscar is getting neutered today. Rachel will pick him up after he last class today. It seems strange that they send him home the same day. Female dogs do stay over night when they have their surgery.

Our daughter Megan, has purchased an electronic book. She asked me to make her a sleeve to keep it in so it is protected from scratches ect. I finished it yesterday and thought I would share a couple of pics. I have a new beach bag half finished that I hope to complete today. :o)

Good News

2010-04-28T12:24:00.001-04:00

My doctor visit this morning went very well. The Dr. was thrilled with my weight loss of almost 25 pounds and my B/P was better than it has been in years. When my blood work comes back, she said she thinks she may be able to lower my diabetic medication….yipee!! I even consented to getting an pneumonia vaccine. After my appointment, Steve and I went out to breakfast and boy was I in need of coffee since I had to fast for my blood work.

I found another awesome Etsy shop and wanted to share it with you. I think the personalized bridesmaids plates are great….sometimes it is so hard to know what to get the bridesmaids. The baby plates are great too. Take a peek and see what you think. This shop is called “Say Your Piece” and this artist specializes in custom ceramics. :o)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SayYourPiece?view_type=gallery&page=2

baby plate garden marker

bridesmaid plate

Fostering a Dog

2010-04-22T08:36:00.001-04:00

We are participating as foster parents for an adorable miniature Dachshund named J.D. through an animal rescue in East Aurora, N.Y. J.D. was a rescue from the state of Georgia where his family was facing serious financial problems and were forced to give him up. He was headed for the pound when the rescue acquired him. It is not often that the rescue gets a pure breed dog, but J.D. is a pure breed miniature Dachshund. Our Karli is 3/4 miniature Dachshund and 1/4 Jack Russel, and although they weigh the same, JD. is a bit shorter and longer than Karli. These two are having a blast together. I think it is a new experience for them to have another dog their own size to play with. They race and chase through the house and both seem so happy. I think our older dog Chloe, who is 12, is wondering why there is another pesky little dog to annoy her…LOL She is good natured though, and just goes off by herself when she tires of the rough housing. J.D. needs to be neutered very soon. Karli is fixed but he is effected by her so we should be getting his appointment today. Both dogs are a little over a year old. We do have first chance to adopt if we decide to keep him. I thought I would share a few pics. :o)

J.D.

J.D., Karli and Chloe

Vacation Begins

2010-04-17T13:16:00.001-04:00

Our school system did something strange this year. Usually the kids get a break from school during the week following Easter, but this year their break is this coming week. The worst part about the dates of this break is that the day the kids return to school the state testing begins. This means the teachers won’t be able to spend time reviewing with the kids. I have a feeling the school system won’t schedule vacation like this again. I am hoping the kids behave and we can have a nice time together this next week. :o)

I am so glad my daughters set up an account for me on Facebook. I have enjoyed re-connecting with friends and family I haven’t seen or heard from in years. It is just nice to see what everyone doing…how many kids or grandchildren they have. It is nice to look at the pics that these people have posted…..I do love that the kids I graduated with have all aged just like I have. In my mind they all looked like they did the day we graduated from high school…LOL

Here are a couple of projects I finished and listed in my Etsy shop yesterday. :o)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/44909514/6-piece-girls-dolly-diaper-bag-set

http://www.etsy.com/listing/44932853/orange-galaxy-purse

From Sunshine to Rain

2010-04-16T12:45:00.001-04:00

We started out with some beautiful sunshine this morning which has now changed to a cloudy, rainy day. I did much prefer the sunshine, but as they say “April showers bring May flowers”.

I finally completed a project I have been working on for a friend of mine which is a nice feeling. I also whipped up a medium sized adjustable dog collar and leash set last night. My hubby found this beautiful orange cosmic fabric at Joann Fabrics on Tues. He immediately thought it would make into a really cute collar and leash set…I think he was right. Here is a pic and you can decide for yourself. I like it so well, I am thinking of making a purse out of this fabric also. :o)

It is Actually snowing

2010-04-09T15:46:00.001-04:00

Ugh…I just went outside to take some pics of dog collars. I stepped out the door and was hit by a freezing cold wind. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that it was snowing outside. That is majorly depressing considering it was 80 degrees here in Western N.Y. only a week ago. :o( Brrrr.

I had been anxiously awaiting the episode of BONES that aired last night. It was really good, but the ending was disappointing…Booth lays his heart out there and Bones was too scared to trust herself in a relationship. What a let down. I would like to put in a request for an alternate ending..LOL

Here are a leash and dog collar set I had an order for this week and am shipping to Australia. I also made a tie dyed dog collar someone in California ordered. :o)

Easter weekend

2010-04-03T10:02:00.001-04:00

What glorious weather we have been enjoying. It seems fitting that the weekend we are celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior should be unusually beautiful. I have been reflecting on the many blessings God has allowed our family…too numerous to ever list. I would just like to share a couple of the ways that the Lord has protected our family in the last couple of weeks.

First, our oldest son Steven lives in Houston, TX. He rarely does much city driving but drives the expressways. We all know that you need to drive quite fast to keep up on these highways. A couple of weeks ago, Steven drove out to Humble for an oil change at my brother’s garage. Steven mentioned that he had been hearing a funny noise in the front of his van. After taking the wheels off, the mechanic discovered that his wheel bearing for the front left wheel was completely gone. At any time, that wheel could have flown right off and considering the high rate of speed that he travels, he would have undoubtedly flipped his van. The likelihood that he would have been seriously injured or killed is great. Unfortunately, considering the number of people driving these highways, Steven wouldn’t have been the only person hurt or killed. God was certainly protected Steven and we are so grateful.

Amazingly, our youngest daughter, Rachel just had a similar experience. Rachel went to Canada for a week to visit our oldest daughter and son-in-law, which meant she had to drive the same type of fast moving highways. Rachel went to Hamilton, Ontario and back, but kept hearing a grating sound when she turned her wheel. She was home a couple days when the sound got worse. My husband was following her to the garage to have it checked. As they sat at a major intersection in Yorkshire, there was a really loud “BOOM”. Rachel’s tire had exploded. The problem was a wheel bearing also. I don’t understand all the ins and outs of the problem, but I know that once again God had miraculously protected one of our children from serious injury or death. To say we are grateful is an understatement. :o)

Bronchitis…UGH

2010-03-31T14:00:00.001-04:00

I have been sick for over a week and finally went to see the Dr. yesterday. Just as I suspected I had asthmatic bronchitis again. This happens at least once a year and starts with a simple cold. I have an antibiotic and a steroid so I am already feeling somewhat better.

We have been sticking to the South Beach Diet like we should. It has become fairly normal to us now and wow do we feel better (except for the bronchitis). :o) Prayerfully we will be smart enough to continue eating this way and get the weight off and keep it off. As of today my hubby has lost 20 pounds and I have lost 19 pounds. It has taken 6 weeks to lose this weight, which is slower than we have lost in the past. We are older and probably move way less than we used to…LOL Either way, we are pleased and psyched.

I am off to Joann Fabrics tomorrow to buy a pattern and some cute fabric. I plan to make our little granddaughters matching sun suits for summer. I love it when Joann’s runs their patterns for 99 cents each since they are normally between $10 and $15, which is just crazy..I would never pay that for a pattern but evidently some people do. :o)

Found an Amazing Etsy Shop

2010-03-27T10:58:00.001-04:00

The other day I was checking out some of the great shops on Etsy and I discovered this incredible fabric florist shop. The owners of this shop make the most amazing fabric plants and leaves. I have never seen anything like this before, so I thought I would share this great find with my blog readers. Please check out this shop and I would love to hear your thoughts on these cool plants. :o)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/janejoss

Wheat Pasta

2010-03-24T10:07:00.001-04:00

We have been doing great following the “South Beach Diet”. I have lost 14 pounds and Steve has lost a bit more. We are feeling so much better and have more energy. The first two weeks we didn’t eat any flour foods (breads, pasta, ect), starchy vegetables or fruit. We have introduced fruits back into our diet and things like sweet potatoes, rutabaga ect. We do eat a slice of whole wheat or rye bread once in a while. I love wheat bread and it is so much better for us. The problem I have is with the wheat pasta products. It doesn’t seem to matter what I make with wheat pasta, whether it is spaghetti, wheat bow tie pasta made into a Greek salad, or most recently I made a tuna macaroni salad…..usually my macaroni salads are well received in our house…most of this particular salad went down the garbage disposal. I managed to eat two of the little shell macaronis and all I could taste was wheat. I seasoned it well and used two cans of tuna….but the wheat taste was so strong. I told Steve that I think every once in a while, when we are hungry for some pasta, we should just make a small amount of the white pasta. The other foods we have been eating are great. I love fresh spinach and we eat a lot of that.

We had a C.S.E. meeting for Bradly at his school on Monday. The meeting went so well. He created and presented his own power point presentation explaining his disability which is “E.D. or “Emotional Disturbance”. He has learned how his disability relates to some of the problems he has in school, in his relationships and his everyday life. One of the new services he will have for 7th grade is a program on the computer which will read back whatever he has written, aloud to him. This allows him to be able to pick up on his choppy or run-on sentences and make corrections. The teacher did bring a sample of his writing from Sept. and a current sample…what a huge difference. This new technology should help him to improve even more. We are so proud of Bradly for the hard work he has done trying to improve his problems and for trying to understand his problems. :o)

Announcing the Winner

2010-03-21T20:00:00.001-04:00

I am pleased to announce that “StunningAnnaK” is the winner of the “Spring Break” purse I was giving away on my blog. Congratulations Anna. I will ship out her new purse as soon as I get her shipping address. :o) I thought it would be nice to also share her Etsy shop with my readers.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/stunningannak

Thank you to everyone who participated in my give-away and I hope everyone has a great week. Spring has actually arrived! :o)

Tooth Fairy Pillows

2010-03-19T13:56:00.001-04:00

I got 5 new tooth fairy pillows finished yesterday and even got the pics taken. It felt great to have 5 new items to list on my Arelel Designs 2 shop. I have another 5 I am working on. Walmart did not have any white embroidery floss, so I had to borrow from my mom. I like to do the hand appliqué while watching t.v. and then I go to my studio to finish them up on my sewing machine.

One of our past foster daughters who went home over a year ago is coming for a visit this weekend. We had her sister here last week as she had gotten suspended from school and her dad works so there was no one to watch her at home. It was so nice having her here and I know we will have fun with her sister this weekend…..they really need some mom attention and loving. The boys love when the girls come to visit. Nick still has a hard time understanding why they don’t live at “home” anymore (meaning our home). Considering the girls lived with us over a year and a half and Nick is only 8 now, I can see how that would be confusing.

Our daughter Rachel is off to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada for the weekend. She is going to visit our daughter Megan and her hubby Scott. They always have a great time together and I am so glad our kids are close. Rachel is also planning a trip to Houston, TX to visit our son Steve in June. Her and Steve had a wonderful time when she went down to see him last year.

Here are some of the pics of the new tooth fairy pillows. This is the link to my shop if you would like to see the rest of them. http://www.etsy.com/shop/areleldesigns2

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43001962

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43001544

Corned Beef and Cabbage.

2010-03-18T07:03:00.001-04:00

We had our traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day (and just because we love it), on Saturday rather than yesterday. We cooked our corned beef with cabbage, carrots and rutabaga. Normally we cook potatoes also, but since we are eating low carb, we omitted the potatoes. We had just enough corned beef left to slice thin and make open faced Rubén's on a slice of dark rye bread for lunch on Sunday. Rachel and I skipped the sauerkraut, but Steve had it on his. They were fantastic.

I have been feeling the effects of my exercise on the “Gazelle”. I am assuming since I am feeling the pain, that I must be doing it right. :o) Now, I just want my efforts to start showing. I must admit that I do feel better and have way more energy thanks to eating low carb and exercising……I really do hate the exercising part though…LOL

I did complete the two drawstring bags I was working on on Tuesday and I got the pics taken and the purses listed in my Etsy shop. I am now working on 10 new Tooth Fairy pillows for my Arelel Designs 2 shop. Tooth Fairy pillows sell fairly consistently, so I thought it was time to add some new ones with different fabrics. I have to buy more white embroidery floss because I can get all of them made. Here are a couple of pics of my new drawstring purses. :o)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=42865708

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=42864630

Getting up in the Dark Again

2010-03-16T07:04:00.001-04:00

It was so much nicer last week when I was up at 6:15 a.m. and it was actually daylight. Saturday night we had to turn our clocks ahead for “Daylight Savings Time”, and now I am getting up in the dark again. I know it will be nicer having the extra daylight in the evening, but it was great to start the day in the light!!

I have been working on two new drawstring purses. One is zebra print with a bright pink lining and the other is a cute girly skull print with the same pink lining. I am hoping to have them finished today and listed by this evening.

If you haven’t entered the contest for the Spring purse, don’t hesitate. Leave me a comment that you already are a follower or that you just became one. Check the other ways to score an extra entry below. :o)

We babysat our darling little granddaughters on Friday. Emma waved at me when she got here…yes I know it was a fluke, but I enjoy it anyway. :o)

Don’t forget to check out my daughter Megan’s new blog. She has some great low carb recipes complete with pictures. I love it when I can see a pic of what the recipe is supposed to look like. She would love to have to stop by. :o)

http://thetattooedcook.blogspot.com/

SPRING BLOG GIVE-A-WAY

2010-03-11T11:53:00.001-05:00

Hey, I am finally getting around to sponsoring my first “blog give-a-way.” I have been wanting to do this for quite some time and figured this would be a great way to celebrate the arrival of Spring. I am giving away a cute bag I made using a pretty madras plaid fabric and a recycled t-shirt that says, “What Happens on Spring Break, Stays on Spring Break”. The interior of the bag is lime green with a zippered pocket made of the madras fabric.

It is easy to enter and you may have a total of four entries. All entries will go into a large can with a lid. Entries will be accepted no later than midnight, EST on March 19th. On March 20th, I will randomly draw one entry from the can…this person will be the winner of the bag. When you make an entry, you MUST include your e-mail address so that I can notify you if you were to win. I will also post the winner on my blog on March 20th.

Here are the 4 ways you can submit an entry.

1) Follow my blog. If you are already a follower, let me know and that will count as an entry.

2) Go to my Etsy store and pick your favorite item in my shop. Come back to my blog and post the link to your favorite item. This will count as entry #2. www.ArelelDesigns.etsy.com

3) Twitter about my blog give-a-way and come back to my blog and post the link….hence, entry #3.

4) Share the information about my blog give-a-way with your Facebook friends. Come back to my blog and post the link and there will be entry #4.

Join the fun and win yourself a cool new purse for Spring. Here are a few pics of the purse.

9 Pounds in Two Weeks

2010-03-08T12:13:00.001-05:00

We have moved from phase 1 to phase 2 today on South Beach Diet. I lost 9 pounds in two weeks and Steve lost 10 pounds. Rachel and Megan did well too, but I can’t remember their exact losses. I must say it feels good to be in control of my eating again. This diet is wonderful for my diabetes (which I had been in denial of up until a couple of months ago). I would love it if my insulin levels would stay within a good range and maybe down the road I won’t need medication.

I made up a new recipe yesterday that we all enjoyed. I call it “Greek Meatloaf”. I used ground turkey and added some small pieces of fresh spinach and some feta cheese. I used a couple of eggs, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and a couple of TBSP. of Chavetta’s Italian dressing. About 10 minutes before it came out of the oven, I drained a can of petite diced canned tomatoes and spread them over the top. We had fried mushrooms and zucchini latkes with it. It was a fantastic meal, and I wish I would of taken a picture, but I was too hungry…LOL

I am heading to the basement to workout on our Gazelle Freestyle Trainer. Megan bought it when she lived in Cape Cod and says it is too big to haul to Canada. I like it because it is low impact and you can set your own speed. It is elliptical and it is one exercise i don’t mind too much. Of course I can’t do it for very long yet, but a little is better than none. :o)

Nick Had His First Invite to a Friends House

2010-03-06T16:33:00.001-05:00

This is huge!! Nick was invited to spend a couple of hours at the home of his best friend, Vicky, who rides his bus. They have been trying to orchestrate this visit for about 3 weeks now and Nick was over the moon excited about going. The amusing part is that he was sure he should wear a white shirt and a tie, and he figured Vicky would be wearing a dress. Nick was disappointed to discover that he would not be dressing up after all. The plan is that they will watch one of Vicky’s “Spiderman” movies, and then call so he can get a ride home. We are keeping our fingers crossed so that he can go again sometime. Vicky will come here to visit next time.

Our daughter Megan, who has been doing “South Beach Diet” also, and actually started almost a week before we did, has been experimenting with some low carb recipes. Megan decided to take pictures of the dishes she creates and write a blog about her low carb food adventures. She will be honest about the success of each recipe she tries and also include the recipes. If you are interested in low carb recipes or are following '”The South Beach Diet”, you might want to check out her blog. :o)

http://thetattooedcook.blogspot.com/

The Wait is Over

2010-03-05T19:39:00.001-05:00

I am so happy and relieved to report that my biopsy results came back yesterday and I am fine. I really thought I was, but the wait is nerve-racking. I am feeling very thankful for my good health and I have been really trying to eat healthier and hopefully maintain good health. I wasn’t sure if I should even mention that we have been on “The South Beach Diet” once again. Last year when we were doing the diet, we fell off the wagon and never seemed to get back on. We have been on phase 1 for almost 2 weeks and we are feeling so much better and have even dropped some weight.

I thought I would share this wonderful recipe that my daughter, Megan found. We had this for dinner last night and it was a huge hit. I wish I would have taken a picture of the finished casserole because it was rather awesome looking. Here is the recipe.

BAKED SPAGHETTI SQUASH

1 spaghetti squash (mine was 2 pounds)

1 pound ground turkey breast

minced garlic to taste

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

1/2 of a bell pepper (any color) diced

1-28 oz. can diced tomatoes (I use petite diced)

fresh sliced mushrooms (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

1 teas. olive oil or spray

Italian seasoning to taste or oregano and basil

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or shredded parmesan cheese. You can use feta if you prefer.

DIRECTIONS

Poke holes in squash and microwave so that the squash is a bit crunchy and not mushy. The time will depend on the size of your squash. When the squash is cool enough, cut in half the long way and remove seeds. Carefully scrape out all the “spaghetti” strands and place in a bowl (this can be done earlier in the day if you wish).

In a large skillet, brown the ground turkey breast in the oil and add the onion and garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper and salt and pepper. Cook until tender and add the tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Simmer about 5 minutes and then add the squash strands and mix well. Simmer a few more minutes and then place into a 9x13 glass baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover the top with the cheese of your choice. I used fresh grated parmesan and a bit of mozzarella and some shredded cheddar.

Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees until the cheeses browned a bit and the casserole is bubbling.

FLU

2010-02-27T21:33:00.001-05:00

Well, Nick was home sick with the flu for two days. He went back to school Friday and we ended up having to pick him up early from school as he wasn’t feeling well. Today Bradly got up with the flu. I sure hope nobody else gets it…..it is not fun. :o(

We are still getting snow. Isn’t Spring supposed to be here soon?? I am so ready to see grass and some nice Spring flowers and trees with buds. The guy we hired to keep our drive way and the parking area on the side of our house did come to plow yesterday, but because it was garbage day, he plowed around our recycling bin. He may as well have skipped us for all the good it did. We feel like we pay him enough to get out and move a bin…it was early and the garbage truck had been here a little before the plow guy, and this would only happen on a Friday.

I got a request today from a customer who would like me to make her a custom yoga mat bag. Hopefully I can start it on Monday. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend. :o)

Waiting for Biopsy Results

2010-02-26T08:15:00.001-05:00

Don’t you just hate waiting for test results? I am sure everything is fine, but then I wonder how many other people felt that way and found out they did have cancer?? I had a biopsy done on Wednesday and I am not sure how long it takes to get the results back, but I hope it is soon. As you can tell, I am a bit nutty about such things…LOL.

We got quite a bit of snow during the night and it sounds like more is on the way. Since it was my day to get Bradly up for school at 6:15 a.m., I must admit I was praying that school would be delayed an hour or two due to the snow, but it didn’t happen. An extra hour or two in bed would have been very welcome. :o)

I am trying something different for dinner tonight. The plan is to cut zucchini squash in half lengthwise and hollow out to create a boat. I am going to stuff the squash with Italian seasoned ground turkey breast browned with some onion and maybe a few mushrooms. The squash gets par boiled before it is stuffed. The stuffed squash go onto into a baking pan and bake until soft. I think I will add a bit of cheese over the top just before I take them out of the oven. I will let you know how they turn out…..I am a big fan of zucchini and love when I think of something different to do with them.

We watched our little sweeties for a while on Monday. I am amazed at how much the babies grow between visits. Here is a cute picture of Morgan and Emma. I just love being a Grandma. :o)

Red Robin

2010-02-22T10:54:00.001-05:00

We had a great time with the boys yesterday when we went out to eat at Nick’s favorite restaurant, Red Robin. The mushroom Swiss burger was outstanding and of course the fries with their homemade ranch dressing is awesome. The boys got chicken tenders and fries.

I cannot believe that I had to either let Nick go to school without his hair combed or let him miss the bus this morning. I have never let one of my kids go to school ungroomed. Naturally, when I used to work at school, I absolutely hated to see a little kids who had obviously not had their hair combed. Now I am one of those parents…LOL

It does feel wonderful to have mid winter break over with and the kids back in school. I really need to get busy making things for my 3 Etsy shops. I am off to work in my studio and hoping some creative ideas come my way. :o)

Olympics

2010-02-20T21:50:00.001-05:00

I have been enjoying the Olympic events being televised. My personal favorites are downhill skiing, snowboarding and speed and pair skating. It is amazing what wonderful athletes these people are and how hard they have worked to get to the Olympic games.

I finally listed the corduroy messenger bag I had been working on. I am having trouble getting really motivated. Maybe this next week with the kids back in school I will get my creativity going again.

We are planning on taking the boys to Red Robin for lunch tomorrow. We had planned on going today, but right before we were going to leave, Steve had a strange dizzy spell and almost fell down. We decided we had better wait and go tomorrow…..Nick was disappointed because this is his all time favorite place to eat. :o)

Obits

2010-02-18T22:37:00.001-05:00

Well, the obituary page of our local paper was quite depressing today. It seems that there were many recent deaths and just about all of them were our age or younger. Ouch! I was just on Facebook and saw that a friend from high school lost his sister on Tuesday and that another classmate is not doing well. This time of year is depressing enough without all these deaths.

On another note, our son Reid is heading to Messina this weekend to be fitted for the tux he will be wearing in August when he stands up in a friends wedding. I talked to both Reid and Steven this week which was really nice. We saw Chris last Friday when we watched his little girls. He is job hunting again and we hope he can find something.

My mom told me today that I really needed to update my blog. I told her that so many times I have sat down to do just that, only to realize I don’t have anything to say that someone might want to read…LOL. I do apologize to my readers for my lapse in updating. I will try to do better. This week we are just trying to maintain our sanity as the kids have a week off from school. LOL Nick went to Mom and Dad’s on Tues. which was really nice. He had a great time and I think Mom and Dad enjoyed his visit (we sure did). :o)

Sunny Winter Day

2010-02-06T13:25:00.001-05:00

It may only be 18 degrees, but at least the sun is shining. I have been thinking it might be a great day to take the kids sledding….while I wait in the car with a cup of hot coffee…LOL

My sweet hubby is busy making some cream puffs with sugar free pudding he made from scratch….they smell so great…can’t wait to try one.

We had a C.S.E. meeting yesterday for Nick at his school. The meeting went very well and most everyone was reporting some improvement since Sept. Nick has met his goals for occupational therapy, so as of July 1st, O.T. will be eliminated from his I.E.P. We will take any improvements and be grateful. :o)

Dog Obedience Class

2010-02-03T12:29:00.001-05:00

Well our dog Karli who is 3/4 Dachshund and 1/4 Jack Russell started dog obedience class last night. Karli REALLY needs this class. Rachel is taking her for this 8 week course and we hope does well. Our older dog, Chloe flunked out of obedience class…LOL

My husband ended up having a terrible time getting his mouth to stop bleeding after his tooth extraction. The blood thinner he takes didn’t help this situation. He had the tooth extracted on Monday and it finally quit bleeding around 5 pm on Tues. He was glad he didn’t have to go back to the surgeon and we were both so relieved when it finally quit bleeding.

I am working on a lovely green corduroy lap top/messenger bag. I have a beautiful coordinating green fabric with small leaves for the lining. I hope it turns out as nice as I am picturing it. When I get it finished, I will post a pic.

We are having our last “Crisis Management Class” today. We have learned a lot and I would highly recommend this class to all parents whether or not they have behaviorally challenged children. :o)

Thankful

2010-02-01T12:37:00.001-05:00

I am so relieved that Steve’s tooth extraction went off without a hitch. I was worried because he has taken blood thinners for years, but he didn’t bleed anymore than anyone else. :o)

Went out and froze to take the pics of my newest yoga mat bags. The natural light produces much better photos, but boy, I am so ready for Spring. I also took a pic of the newest baby mittens my mom made. All three items are even listed in my shops. Here are those pics I froze for…:o)

Morgan and Emma

2010-01-31T22:32:00.001-05:00

We had such a nice afternoon….we babysat for our precious little twin granddaughters. The girls are almost 2 months old already. Morgan weighs 8 pounds and Emma is up to 6 pounds. Considering at one point there was a three pound difference, this is wonderful. I didn’t get to go out and take pictures of the new “yoga mat bags” I finished yesterday, but I can do that tomorrow….way more important to spend time with our granddaughters. :o)

When Chris and Heather arrived to drop off the girls, Chris made a bee-line to the cookie jar only to discover that it was empty. He was hoping for some chocolate chip cookies. His father had pity on him and baked him some cookies while they were gone. Chris was thrilled when he got back and saw a whole container for him to take home with him.

Steve has to have a tooth pulled tomorrow which makes me a little nervous. Steve has been taking a blood thinner for many years due to problems with blood clots. The dentist got his numbers from the Dr., but I will be so happy when it is over and he is ok. It is our week for the dentist…I have to get a tooth fixed on Tuesday. :o( UGH, I hate when I have to go to the dentist. I am actually going right away (I usually procrastinate and a small problem then becomes a big one.) Isn’t it so nice I have learned from my past mistakes?? LOL

Yoga Mat Bags

2010-01-30T11:34:00.001-05:00

I have started making yoga mat bags and listing them in my Etsy shop. I have two listed and a third one almost finished. The bags are fun to make. I am having a dilemma about which one of my shops I should put these bags in. At the moment I have them listed in my Arelel Designs 2 shop. I put them there because I have laundry bags for sale in that shop. My daughter, Megan, thinks they should be listed in my Arelel Designs shop where I sell purses and bags. I am starting to think maybe she is right. Yoga mat bags are a whole different type of bag compared to laundry bags. If I made a duffle bag or sport bag I would list them in the purse shop…..so I think I should switch them I would love any input any of you might like to give. :o)

I hope no one has fainted at the sight of me posting 2 days in a row…LOL

Health Problems

2010-01-29T08:02:00.001-05:00

I will be so glad to put January behind us. It seems as if I have had one medical problem after another for most of this month. It started with a routine visit to the Dr.. My blood pressure was still high even though I take a blood pressure pill. The Doc decided to put me on another b/p pill along with the one I was already on. I was so sick for a week when I decided I didn’t have a bug, it must be the new b/p med. The final straw was the day I was taking a shower and got so weak I was scared I was going to pass out. Sure enough, I quit taking it and felt fine again. I was also told by the Doc that I was taking too high a dose of Motrin. She wanted to cut back on it, but I decided just to quit taking it all together. I assumed I was going to have to get used to hurting a lot more. The most amazing thing happened…I actually hurt way LESS without it. When I think of how many years I have been taking it and the damage that it may have done to my kidneys I just shudder.

My next medical dilemma happened when I started having female problems which progressed to the point that I ended up taken to the emergency room in an ambulance (not an experience I ever care to repeat by the way). This is when I discovered that my gynecologist whom I hadn’t seen in way too long, had retired last year. I have been so stressed and worried about finding a Dr. I like and could trust, especially since I may have a hysterectomy in my future. I went to the Dr. yesterday and she set me up with a very nice place to get my tests done and the girl in the office set me up with the gynecologist that some of the nurses and office staff see. She is located in Orchard Park and I already have an appointment for Feb. 24th which will be after my tests are completed. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to know how to deal with this and who to have for a Dr.

I do apologize for totally neglecting my blog. I actually tried to write a few times and just gave up. I was so down, I couldn’t think of anything positive to say, so I thought it best not to try. :o) Hopefully I am back in the swing of things and will update much more frequently. Thanks for sticking with me. :o)

Three Day Weekend

2010-01-19T07:45:00.001-05:00

Well, the kids are back to school today after three days off. We have been trying something new with Nick and it seems to be working well. The weekend actually went pretty good which was wonderful.

I was sick for a little over a week before I realized that my new blood pressure med was causing the weakness I was experiencing, sometimes so bad it felt like I was going to pass out. I has pains in my stomach and just an overall sense of being sick. Saturday I did not take the medication and it was amazing how much better I felt. Sunday I didn’t feel well again and started to think maybe it was this med causing the problem. Well, when I took my meds on Monday, I realized I forgot and took the b/p pill on Sunday. That explained how I felt. It feels so good to feel like myself again.

Maybe I can actually get some work done in my studio today now that I am feeling better. I have an order for a dog collar I need to fill today. My first priority is the cleaning of my iron. The last day I was able to work, I accidently dropped my very hot iron on the floor. The carpet fibers actually melted to my iron, so now I gave to clean it with something…yuck. :o)

CASTLE

2010-01-12T13:27:00.001-05:00

Is anyone else a fan of the show “Castle”?? Steve and Rachel and I just love this show and were so glad it was not cancelled. Last night was this years first episode and it was so good. There is an actual “Castle” book out and Rachel and I both want to read it. I would love to know if anyone else is a fan of this show.

This is the first day I have actually felt better. I have not felt good since last Thursday. I was starting to think it might be because I took myself off from my 800 milligram Motrin which I have taken for years. I got nervous after my Dr. appointment last Wed. when she told me how unhealthy that high of a dose was for my kidneys. The Dr. wanted me to cut back, but I decided to jump in and just quit. We talked to the pharmacist today and he says there wouldn’t be any withdrawal symptoms other than some increased pain. He figures I have a bug.

Sold my first plaid pair of dog booties last night. I was so pleased to find this plaid fleece at JoAnn Fabrics…it made up into adorable booties. :o)

Finally Finished the Dog Booties

2010-01-08T20:37:00.001-05:00

I have been working on 7 sets of dog booties since before Christmas. I went down to my studio and sewed for awhile yesterday, but then we had the opportunity to babysit Baby Morgan again and what can I say…..I spent time with her instead. Today however, I forced myself to completely finish all 28 of the booties. What a relief…LOL

Hmmm…so much for my New Year’s resolution…that I would post on here every day. :o( I guess I better try harder.

This week went really fast. It is hard to believe it is the weekend already. I am hoping we can have a nice weekend and the boys will behave. Oh, and great news….Emma is coming home today…finally. I can’t wait to see the girls together….I bet as tiny as Morgan has seemed to us, she will look big beside Emma.

I sold 8 of my b/f, Peggy’s purse cards and three pair of my mom’s baby mittens yesterday. Peg will be so surprised. I told my mom she should probably make some more baby mittens since there are none left in the shop. What a nice problem…LOL Aren’t these purse cards just adorable?? :o)

Babysitting

2010-01-05T13:56:00.001-05:00

Yippee, we are finally babysitting baby Morgan. Emma was scheduled to come home yesterday, but she was sick over the weekend and not able to keep anything down. Now it is the waiting game again as I would imagine she lost some weight. The most important thing is her body fat ratio. Can’t wait to have her home too. Chris sounded disappointed, but I told him that she was in the best place if she was sick, which he knew of course. It does my heart good to see what a great daddy he is becoming and how much he loves these babies. We hope that his love for his children will keep him on the straight and narrow and he will never go back to the harmful activities of the past.

My resolution for this new year is to try and post every day on this blog. I feel bad that I have really slacked off with my postings. It seems great to have the holidays behind us. As much as I love Christmas, it is always nice to get back to normal and not feeling so stressed. I really need to get busy in my studio again. I did go down and work on dog booties until the baby arrived, but I sold another pair of booties today at the grooming salon, so I really need to get these finished and keep well stocked. This is the time of year they will sell the best. I am amazed and quite happy about how many pair of booties we have already sold. The lady that bought the large pair today ordered another pair for her friend’s dog. We have to go to Warsaw tonight for Bradly’s therapy appointment and I am hoping the roads stay good. :o)

Good-Bye 2009

2009-12-31T23:29:00.001-05:00

Only a matter of minutes until 2009 is gone and we usher 2010 in. This past year has been a mixture of happiness and sadness which of course is just part of life. Looking back on this past year I just want to mention a few of the highlights. We have seen many improvements in Brad and Nick’s behavior. Our oldest son continues to keep making improvements in his life (praise the Lord), and our adopted son, Chris is making some huge improvements in his life…..being a new daddy is having a good effect on him…he has certainly matured (Praise the Lord). Our children are all healthy and reasonably happy and it has been wonderful seeing how excited our kids are over the birth of the twins….they all love being Aunties and Uncles. Nick likes being an Uncle as long as he does not have to change diapers (his words)…LOL I WISH ALL MY BLOG READERS A VERY HEALTHY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :o)

I Love Facebook

2009-12-28T11:53:00.001-05:00

My kids convinced me a while ago to set up a profile on Facebook. I wasn’t really very thrilled about it, but they thought it would be a good way to promote my Etsy business. I can’t really say whether being on Facebook has really been a boost for my business, but I am having a blast reconnecting with friends and family I haven’t seen in years. I have been pleased to see that I am not the only person in my graduating class that has aged..LOL Isn’t it funny how real life is not as it seems in high school. THANK GOODNESS!!!

Our family had a wonderful Christmas. It was wonderful being together…I was sad that our oldest son, Steven couldn’t be here with us, but I know that is how life is when your kids grow up and have lives of their own. Our adopted son Christopher seems to be adapting to parenthood very well. Chris, Heather and baby Morgan spent Christmas Eve with all of us and it was so nice having him back in the family fold. I can not even begin to tell you all how beautiful our little granddaughter is, and what a joy it was to hold her and see how each of her Aunts and Uncles adored her. We are all anxious for Emma to be able to come home.

Grandma and Morgan

Tomorrow is my step-dad’s 82nd birthday. Dad has always been very active and it saddens me to see how much pain he is in and how it discourages him. His joints are really bothering him and have hindered his normal activities. I hope it is just a passing thing and he will start feeling better soon.

I just read a wonderful book called “Shades of Blue” by Karen Kingsbury. It is a beautiful, heart wrenching book on past choices and forgiveness. I cried through a good share of it, but it was truly beautiful. If you get a chance to read it, you won’t be sorry. Just keep the tissues handy. :o)

Christmas is Fast Approaching

2009-12-18T23:09:00.001-05:00

I have a list and I am checking it twice. Will we ever have everything ready for Christmas?? Actually we accomplished a lot today. We finished up our shopping, plus I packed a box to ship to Steven. The box had some Christmas gifts as well as all the different kinds of cookies and candies we have made. We had his big gift sent to him directly from the store, so he is going to wrap it and put it under his tree. I also made a set of dog booties that were ordered yesterday along with a an order for pumpkin peanut butter dog treats. Steve baked up the dog treats as that is his department, while I sewed. Steve took Steven’s package and this order and shipped them out. I have one more order to ship tomorrow and I would think that would be it as far as Christmas orders.

Rachel made Scottish shortbread today and Steve, Rachel and I all made cherry snowballs (Mexican Wedding Cake dough without the nits, wrapped around a maraschino cherry and baked then rolled in confectionary sugar a couple of times). We also packed up gifts of all of our goodies for our two favorite neighbors and Bradly and Rachel delivered those. I managed to check quite a few items off our to-do list today…..sure wish the gifts were wrapped…LOL :o)

Huge Snowstorm

2009-12-13T15:39:00.001-05:00

The big snowstorm that was forecast for Thursday hit all around us, but we missed it (and that was after our school system announced the night before that school would be closed due to the weather predictions. I am sure the powers that be were not pleased when we didn’t even get the storm. We got hit with it beginning Thursday night and all day Friday. Of course the school had to be closed again. We got about 2 feet of snow from Thurs. night through Friday night. There was some lovely wind from this system also. The boys loved having two days off from school and had fun outside (until I couldn’t stand the fighting and bickering anymore).

The Christmas baking has been going well. We have made 2 kinds of cutout sugar cookies…one with sour cream and one with cream cheese. Molasses cookies are finished as well as peanut blossoms. Yesterday I made penuche and peanut butter balls which have been a family favorite since my younger brother was in 2nd or 3rd grade and brought the recipe home from school. It is easy for kids to make and delicious. The only ingredients are 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 cup 10x sugar, 1 cup peanut butter and 1 cup mini chocolate chips. This is mixed together and rolled into small balls and place on waxed paper. When finished, they go into an air tight container and are stored in the fridge. I swirl a bit of melted milk chocolate on the top of mine to fancy them up a bit, but that is not part of the original recipe. Today we are hoping to make Mexican wedding cakes….some with a maraschino cherry in the middle.

We took the boys to the village park sledding hill yesterday. They had a great time and we only had one major incident…Nick got mad an bopped Bradly with his saucer. I was amazed at how many times they went up and down that hill. Of course today is warmer and it is going to rain so it is a mess outside. Nick is not happy about not playing out today. He did go out and played in the snow on the front porch for a little bit….he made a small snow sculpture of his grandma..I was afraid to ask which one it was…LOL

Here is a pic I took at the sledding hill. Brad is in the blue coat and Nick in the red one. :o)

Baby Update

2009-12-03T22:29:00.001-05:00

Baby Morgan and Heather (mommy) are scheduled to come home Sat. Emma has to weigh over 4 pounds before she will come home. We got a picture of Morgan tonight while we were at Brad’s Christmas Chorus concert. Brad did a great job.

I am so busy keeping up with orders and trying to add new items to the shops that my head is spinning. Believe me, I am not complaining..I love it.

So here is the pic of Morgan….the girls look so much like their dad.o)

Chris and Heather on Thanksgiving Day.

We Are Grandparents

2009-12-02T21:37:00.001-05:00

Steve and I became grandparents to an adorable set of little identical twin girls this afternoon. They are Emma Marie and Morgan Lynn. Emma only weighs 2 pounds 13 oz. Morgan weighs 5 pounds. Our adopted son Christopher is the proud daddy. Chris ended up in the E.R. as he fainted in the operating room just after Heather had a c-section. He thought he was doing fine and that he sat in a chair, but came to on the floor. Evidently he was trying to walk out the door and passed out cold. He is a little embarrassed, but hey, it will be a fun story to tell the girls..LOL We have our first pic which we received via the cell phone. So far we only have a pic of Emma..the tiny one. I wouldn’t be a grandma if I didn’t share…LOL :o)

Happy Dance

2009-11-29T17:27:00.001-05:00

Whoo whoo….we are so ready for Thanksgiving vacation to be over with. We had a very nice Thanksgiving, but Steve and I are about at the end of our rope with bickering and arguing by the boys. Oh, and let us not forget the lying..I am sick of that too!! LOL

We just got back from a trip to JoAnn Fabrics where I purchased some thread, some fleece and the non-skid stuff that goes on the bottom of my dog booties. Now it is time to finish decorating the tree. It is up, but three strands of lights did not work when Steve went to put them on the tree last night. We just bought them last year so that was quite annoying. He bought more today, so now we can proceed. All the other decorations are out..even the outside lights. :o)

Yesterday we had to have our cat, McGreggor, put down at the vet’s office. He was sick and getting worse. Megan got him from a rescue about 7 years ago and then she moved and he became our cat. He was well loved and had a good life, but we shall all miss him.

Cleaning Day

2009-11-24T10:12:00.001-05:00

I have declared that today is going to be our “deep” cleaning day in the living room. All furniture will be moved out, vacuuming done and the curtains washed. By getting this done today, the living room will look nice for Thanksgiving and will be all set to put up our Christmas tree this weekend. I sure hope I muster up a little more energy than I have right now..LOL

On Sunday I got very nervous while I was looking at the store ads. I had put on my reading glasses, but everything was a bit blurry…not as bad as when I don’t wear my glasses, but I couldn’t see very well. I asked my hubby if he thought I was due for an eye exam, because I thought my eyes had gotten much worse. I have to admit I was rather nervous as I am diabetic and have been eating some sweets I shouldn’t be…so I thought it was effecting my eyes. Well, when I took off my glasses and went to set them down, I saw that one of my lenses had fallen out….Steve and I really had a good laugh over that one..LOL :o)

Where Has The Week Gone???

2009-11-19T20:15:00.001-05:00

Wow, this week has just flown by. Hard to believe it is almost Friday. We have to run to JoAnn Fabrics tomorrow. I have an order for a set of dog booties made out of tie dye fleece. Hopefully the store has some…they have so much fleece, it would seem there should be some tie dye there somewhere.

Bradly had a great birthday despite the fact that he was not feeling well. We kept him home from school on Monday and took him to the Dr. Thankfully he did not have the flu, but he did have an ear infection. He is feeling much better thanks to the antibiotics.

I was blessed today to sell 10 sets of dishcloths from my shop. That was a total of 20 dishcloths. I am thrilled that they sold as I have had them awhile and it seemed like they were never going to sell.

My Arelel Designs shop has some new girls purses made from various children’s fabrics. I also made a drawstring backpack for a preschool aged child out of Dora the Explorer fabric. I thought I would post some of the pics. I don’t know about all of you, but I love seeing pictures when I read blogs. :o)

Bradly’s Birthday

2009-11-15T11:45:00.001-05:00

Bradly turns 12 years old today. He came to us in foster care almost 8 years ago when he was 4 years old. Wow, time does go quicker the older you get…LOL Despite a few ongoing problems, Brad is doing great and has come so far and worked so hard to achieve the gains he has made. Brad’s report card came in the mail yesterday, and I just have to share his grades. This is without a doubt the best report card he has ever received. English/Language/Arts-88, Spelling-75, Social Studies- 86, Math-80, Science –85, Art- 99, Chorus -95, Health-100 and Phys. Ed. – 98. We are so proud of him.

Bradly requested steak, potato salad, broccoli with cheese sauce and fried mushrooms for his birthday dinner. He requested blueberry pie for his “cake”. My parents and Chris and Heather (our oldest adopted son) and his girlfriend , (the one having twins in a month or so) are coming for pie and to share the gift opening. Rachel came home yesterday so that she could be here too.

I got the pics taken and listed Bradly’s new ornaments yesterday as well as the baby mittens my mom made. I also completed another purse I had an order for and cut out 5 little girl purses. I must say, yesterday was quite a productive day. Here is a pic of the adorable mittens my mom made and one of Brad’s new ornaments. :o)

Confidence

2009-11-10T07:23:00.001-05:00

I have decided that as enjoyable as it is to sleep in, that I am often more tired during the day if I have slept later. Yesterday I slept in and was tired the rest of the day. I even fell asleep and had a nap in the afternoon. (Maybe I am just getting old. LOL) Anyway, I need to get lots done today, so I guess it is a good thing it was my day to get up at 6:15 am.

We have to take Bradly to Warsaw for his Therapeutic counseling session tonight which means we have to leave as soon as Nick gets home from school and won’t get home until about 6:45 pm. Tomorrow night the boys have their last Therapeutic Horseback riding class. They are going to miss it. I think Nick has managed to amaze the instructor. This little boy was scared of so many aspects of horseback riding when he started these classes. Judy (the instructor) just kept encouraging him to try new things and eased him into not being afraid. He now gets on and off the horse by himself, and he sits right up like a professional, holds the reigns, and rides. He even trots now and rides the obstacle course by himself. Judy was starting to lead him last week and when she saw how confident he was, she threw the lead rope up over the horses neck and let Nick do the obstacle course himself. He has gained so much self confidence through participating in these classes. The number one rule is that you have to respect the horse, the other participants as well as yourself. It has been a great experience for both boys, and I hope they get this opportunity again.

My dear friend Peggy, makes amazing greeting cards. She has donated tons of them to a lady who sends them overseas to the soldiers. She has so many still left, that she brought a box full up to me and I convinced her to let me sell some of them for her in one of my Etsy shops. It took some convincing, but finally she agreed to let me try it. I decided to sell the cards in groups of three or four and keep the cost very reasonable. Peggy will be happy to just make enough from the sales to purchase more card stock and other supplies so she can keep on creating her cards. I am sharing some of the card pics today. :o)

White Velvet Cutout Cookies

2009-11-08T08:42:00.001-05:00

I almost forgot that I promised to share a wonderful new Christmas sugar cookie recipe my hubby discovered last year. These cookies have replaced the cookies my mom made all the years I was growing up and were so enjoyed. Steve found this recipe in an old “Taste of Home” publication from 1997. It only took us over ten years to finds this recipe, but we are so glad we did...LOL Enjoy! :o)

WHITE VELVET CUTOUT COOKIES

2 cups butter or margarine (softened)

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar

2 egg yolks

1 teas. vanilla extract

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add sugar, egg yolks and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add flour. Cover and chill 2 hours or until firm. Roll on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 3 inch shapes; place 1 inch apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until set (NOT BROWNED). Cool 5 minutes; remove to wire wracks to cool.

BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

3 1/2 cups confectionary sugar, divided

3 TBSP. softened butter or margarine

1 TBSP. shortening

1/2 teas. vanilla extract

3-4 TBSP. milk, divided

food color (optional)

Combine 1 1/2 confectionary sugar, butter, shortening, vanilla and three TBSP. milk in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Gradually add remaining sugar; beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add enough remaining milk and food color until frosting reaches desired consistency. Frost cookies.

YIELD: 7 dozen

I Finished the Backpack

2009-11-06T10:52:00.001-05:00

I was so nervous about the order I got for one of my “Doggie Travel Bags”, because she wanted me to make hers into a backpack, rather than a bag with two straps. I said yes, although I had never made a backpack and I was so scared I couldn’t do it. I made a practice one that took me 2 days to make, but by doing that, I figured ways to make the bag sturdier and a bit easier. Sometimes I think pattern companies make their patterns too hard when in fact the same thing could be accomplished in an easier fashion. I much prefer creating my own patterns to using a store bought one, but sometimes I have to bite the bullet and use one that came from the store. Anyway, I finished the ordered bag yesterday and I am very pleased with how it turned out. I may never make another one though..LOL The customer stopped by this morning to pick up her backpack and she was thrilled. It was just what she wanted. I love the great feeling I get when I create something for someone and have it turn out just as they envisioned. I took a couple of pics last night, so I could post it for you all to see.

One last thing…we are so happy for Bradly because as a member of this year’s “Chess Club” at school, he is going to his first beginners tournament tomorrow for most of the day. We have to have him at school at 8:30 am where the kids will be picked up and driven to Belmont Central School for the tournament. Brad will be back around 4:30 pm. Brad is very excited and this is huge for him because it is a privilege he has earned by working on his honesty issues and becoming more trustworthy. We are so proud of his accomplishments. :o)

Working Hard

2009-11-03T09:18:00.001-05:00

Ugh…I am feeling a bit stressed (but happy) with the orders I need to get done. I am showered, dressed and ready for the day and it is only a little after 9 am….so as soon as I finish with my blog, I am off to my studio….hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go..LOL

My hubby has been doing such a great job of keeping up with the laundry and the cooking while I am working. He is a peach. :o) Yesterday he baked oatmeal scotchies and an apple pie. He finished up the last of our 2 bushel of apples and made more apple sauce for the freezer. He roasted a delicious chicken, made stuffing from scratch, mashed potatoes and he cooked up two winter squash. Am I one lucky women or what?? It does help to marry a bakery manager..LOL ** In case you can’t tell, our diet is not going well. **

Speaking of baking, tomorrow I want to share an awesome sugar cookie recipe that Steve found in a country magazine. He made them last year and they were so good and easy that we traded that recipe for our old family recipe I have been eating since I was a kid. These have cream cheese in them!! MMmmm :o)

Candy, Candy and a “French Maids” Costume

2009-11-01T09:00:00.001-05:00

Brad and Nick both managed to gather quite a bit of candy while trick-or-treating last night. Rachel came home for the night and took them out. Rachel’s friend Kelly went with them I guess they were out about an hour and a half and quite cold by the time they got home. So now begins the battle of them wanting to eat candy 10x a day (Nick started today by grabbing his candy bag and asking if he could eat some candy out of it.) . Of course I told him that he was not eating candy for breakfast…so he had two granola bars and a drinkable yogurt. Now, he is eating a tiny sucker (yup, I caved in, but at least he had something healthy first). LOL

Yesterday my neighbor’s hubby asked me if I could whip up a “French Maids” apron for his wife. Evidently she bought a costume at Walmart, but he didn’t care for it. I made one and if I do say so myself, it turned out very well. When her hubby saw it, he was thrilled (I have a feeling he was thinking of maybe getting more use out of it after Halloween if you know what I mean…LOL). Anyway, his wife called me later and thanked me for my contribution to making her look even cheaper than she was already going to look. She said no way she was going to wear it to hand out candy, but she would wear it to the Halloween party they were going to later last night. Turns out she had no idea her Hubby was having me make this “French Maid” apron. He surprised her. Ha ha. I assured her I thought she wanted this apron made…..she wasn’t mad but it was rather funny.

These pics of the boys and then the boys with Rachel before they went out last night aren’t very good, but I thought I would post them anyway. Nick was a robber…he came up with his outfit and Brad was a Ninja. :o)

Are You Ready for Halloween??

2009-10-30T08:48:00.001-04:00

When you live in town on a busy street, it is a must to be ready for Halloween. We have to plan on between 200-300 trick-or-treaters. They start to converge upon us beginning at 5:00 pm and they keep coming even after curfews sometimes and we have to tell them we are out of candy. The boys are quite excited about going trick-or-treating, especially Nicholas. Bless her heart, but Rachel called to say she would be home tomorrow and take the boys trick-or-treating. What a peach!!! :o)

Bradly returned to school yesterday after staying home for three days as he had the flu. Wouldn’t you know that about 10 am yesterday, the school nurse at Nick’s school called to say that he was in her office sick, could we come pick him up. When Steve got there he was all covered up and anxious to go home because he didn’t feel good. We were afraid he would have a cow about coming home early since they were dressing in their costumes and having their Halloween party and a parade in the afternoon. He was fine about leaving, but when they go home he was in tears and wanting to wear his costume. He has a clown costume and I saw no reason that he couldn’t wear it, so he did and was happier than a pig in mud. By 11:30 am he was feeling great and asking for a piece of pizza. He has been fine ever since and was actually quite hyper and irritating for the rest of the day. He had almost vomited 2x in school so everyone assumed he had the flu also. Evidently something just hadn’t agreed with his tummy. We are very glad that he doesn’t have the flu.

The kids have no school today as our school district is having a staff development day. I have a teacher book/tote bag almost finished and am hoping to finish it and list it in my shop today. I also have two men’s barbeque aprons finished and I am hoping our buddy Robert next door, who is a senior in high school, will come over and model them so I can take some pics and then list them also. Bradly has some more ornaments ready to list also, we just need to take pics of those too. Anyway, I think I have a busy day ahead of me and hopefully it will be a good one. Here is a pic of my newest listing…a zippered teacher pouch. I also just listed a cute little “Dora the Explorer” purse for a little girl. :o)

Recycling Newspaper

2009-10-27T10:20:00.001-04:00

I am frequently impressed with the ingenuity of the crafty people that sell items on Etsy. I have seen so many creative products made from recycled materials. I ran across this shop today called “reuse2recycle” . Even the name of the shop is a clever play on words, and leaves no doubt in your mind that they use recycled products to create new products. This seller is looking for some feedback on her shop as sales are not going well. Take a look at her products and if you have an opinion, please let her know. Here is her addy and I will add a couple of pics.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=8278996

Flu

2009-10-26T12:05:00.001-04:00

Yes, it happened…Bradly has the flu. His school has been inundated with it for the past two weeks, so I guess it was inevitable. He went to the Dr. Sat. and the diagnosis of “flu” was confirmed. He will be home for most of the week according to the Dr. He is definitely feeling better today than he did Saturday, so that is good. We have been cancelling appointments for this week and I still have one more to cancel for tomorrow. We are hoping and praying that the rest of us do not contract it.

My BF, Peggy is coming back to NY today with her hubby…they live in Virginia. Due to the flu, she won’t be able to drop in for a visit. Peg’s mom was diagnosed a few months ago with Leukemia, and she is finally home . Peg will be staying there, and the last thing she would want to do is take the flu bug to her mom who of course has a much lowered immune system due to the chemo she has endured these last months. Her mom will be going back into Roswell every other day for treatment.

I got an order for one of my “Doggie Travel Bags”, but made into a back pack. I have never made a back pack so I am a bit nervous about it, but I think I know how I want to do it. I also have an order for a leash I need to get made before Thursday. :o)

Let’s Encourage

2009-10-23T11:50:00.001-04:00

I met an Etsy seller yesterday who is really discouraged and thinking of giving up her shop. I knew if I mentioned her on my blog, that some of my wonderful followers would give her some encouragement. Being a seller right now is tough with the economy the way it is, but customers still enjoy having the option of buying something hand made as opposed to something bought in a store. I am hoping this fellow Etsian will hang in there and see if she doesn’t get a few sales with Christmas on the horizon. Here is her shop…take a look and if you are of the mindset, please give her some encouragement. The shop name is hisjamilynn. :o)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7913881

Agility Training Snack Pouches

2009-10-20T23:03:00.001-04:00

I have been busy making 10 agility training snack pouches. My niece Elizabeth had the idea that these might be a good item to add to our Mutt Mania Etsy shop. I talked to our dog groomer who has our collars and dog booties ect. on sale in her shop. She is actually an agility dog trainer as well as a groomer and she thought the pouches would probably sell well. I make adult and kid sizes. Two have already sold and I do enjoy making them. I need to place another order for hardware as I have used all that I had. Here are a couple of pics

I took a pair of Camo shorts that Nick has outgrown and repurposed them into a cute purse. I don’t think I want to tell him that the bag used to be his shorts or he will want it to play with and pack his toys into it. He loves bags and packs them full of toys and hauls them around the house or into the car. Here is how the purse turned out. :o)

Snow

2009-10-17T10:08:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately we got up to snow yesterday morning and it is still here today. In my opinion it is way to early for snow. I think if we had snow from Dec. 15th until Jan. 2nd that would be just enough..LOL Living in western NY does have its drawbacks. Of course Nick wants to go out and play in the “snow” and trying to make him understand that under that thin layer of snow is mud just isn’t cutting it. I am sure I will hear about it all day. :o)

I want to congratulate my niece Nicole and her hubby out in South Dakota on the birth of their baby girl very early this morning. I am still waiting for all the details, but I received a pic. a little before 3 am today and of course she is just beautiful. This makes my brother and sister-in-law grandparents for the second time and I bet they are thrilled beyond words. :o)

I wanted to share an awesome shop I found on Etsy this morning. The shop is called “Oddsandends4u”, and they have recycled so many items into awesome products. This would be a great shop to pick up some teacher gifts or stocking stuffers for Christmas…gifts too. This is the link… and here are a few pics of my favorite items.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7041847&page=1

Divide and Conquer

2009-10-15T09:18:00.001-04:00

I finished four trivets yesterday, plus I made three eyelet mop caps for a friends mom going through chemo. I made the three way leash attachment that Mindy (our groomer) had ordered. I felt like I actually accomplished something yesterday. Anyway, the trivets smell amazing as they are filled with raw rice, whole all spice, whole cloves and a few drops of cinnamon oil. I am thinking these would make great teacher gifts too. I have included the pic today as I promised.

Well tonight we are going to divide and conquer. Brad has an appointment in Warsaw at 6 pm and Nick has an open house at school that he has been talking about all week. We never received a note from school at all, so we thought he might be confused. After calling the school this morning, we discovered that he did indeed know what he was talking about. This is the first time that he has cared about an open house so there is no way we can miss it.

Crazy Busy Day

2009-10-14T09:41:00.001-04:00

Today is going to keep us on the run all day long. At 12:30, Steve and I have our “Crisis Management” class, then Nick’s skill builder will be here working with him. At 5:30 the boys have “Horse Therapy”. When we leave there it will be 6:30, so we will stop and buy a pizza, come home and eat, do homework,then showers and bedtime. Whew…I am pooped out before we ever start..LOL

We shipped out the order for two different kinds of dog treats to a man in Oregon yesterday. I also finally got the dog collar made and got that order sent to Canada. Mindy called this morning to say that she had sold another collar too. Rachel called last night to ask me to take the peace sign purse off because her room mate when on my shop to buy a purse for a gift and fell in love with this purse and bought it for herself. Rachel is coming home this weekend, so she can take it to her and save her the shipping charges. We have certainly been blessed with sales lately and we hope it keeps right on…LOL :o) I am working on some scented trivets now, and do they ever smell fantastic. I mixed raw rice with whole cloves and whole allspice…added a few drops of cinnamon oil and this mixture goes into the fabric trivets I have sewed. The cool part is that when you use one and set a warm pot on it, it makes the smell come alive. Plus, if anyone is like us, we keep our hot mats in a drawer in our hutch. These would also act like a sachet. I will take some pics when I am finished and post them.

Our little great nephew is already going to be a year old tomorrow. He is so cute and has been such a blessing to my brothers family. I just want to say “Happy Birthday Elijah”. :o)

Columbus Day

2009-10-12T10:48:00.001-04:00

Today is our Columbus Day and Canada is celebrating their Thanksgiving. It is rather interesting that the powers that be made it so that two countries that bordered one another got a holiday and no work or school on the same day. Works out good for our family since we have a daughter and son-in-law who live in Canada

We now have almost half of our 2 bushels of apples made into apple sauce. Maybe we can get the rest made and in the freezer today. Steve has worked on applesauce for the past two days while I was doing other things. Yesterday I mixed up a double batch of “snickerdoodles”. Bradly rolled the cookie balls in cinnamon and sugar for me which was a big help. I must say though, it felt like I was never going to get them all baked. They are so yummy though, that I have decided it was well worth the effort. :o)

While visiting another blog yesterday I came across a promotion for a really cool shop which is geared around animals and animal rescue as well as the promotion for getting your animals spayed or neutered . The shop has pages and pages of buttons, key chains and magnets dealing with these subjects. I thought I would give their shop a feature today. Here is the addy and a couple of my favorites.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=21445

Finally Friday

2009-10-09T19:16:00.001-04:00

It feels good to have the weekend upon us and it is a three day weekend at that. Of course, by Monday, I will probably be ready for the weekend to be over and the kids back in school. LOL

Rachel is going to the Keith Urban/Sugarland concert tonight, and then she is heading up to Megan and Scott’s tomorrow to help them celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. We wanted to get up to see them before the winter weather sets in, but we haven’t gotten our enhanced licenses yet.

I wanted to let everyone know that Brad is doing very well. We cried together over his loss of Grandma Nancy and then we talked about the good memories and ways we can remember her since there isn’t going to be a cemetery plot for the boys to go to. Brad is thinking of what kind of shrub, tree or plant his grandma liked and we will plant one in the spring in her memory. Today his skill builder worked with him and she had a small bottle with a cork. She had him write what he would like to say to his grandma and then he put it in the bottle. He was very excited about that and showed me what he wrote. I appreciate all the prayers, and I know that is what has made the difference.

I finished four purses today…all out of recycled clothing. I will post them so you can see what you think. Enjoy your long weekend. :o)

Sadness

2009-10-07T09:18:00.001-04:00

We have been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster. We found out yesterday that our dear friend had lost her battle with cancer. She had been doing great after beating breast cancer in 2008 and then that went into brain cancer this past spring. She was doing great and then started feeling dizzy and ill. A spinal tap showed that the cancer was all through her body and her body just could not handle any more treatment. This beautiful, generous and loving women came into our life when Bradly and Nicholas did. She is Bradly’s paternal birth grandmother. She became part of our family and all of our kids called her Grandma Nancy. As well as becoming a grandma to all of our children, she became a very good friend to Steve and I. She was only 9 years older than my hubby and she was so good to all of us. She always treated Nicholas as her grandchild too and he doesn’t have any idea she was really just Brad’s grandma. The hardest part is yet to come. After school today, we have to tell the boys. We are so concerned about how Bradly is going to take this news. Grandma Nancy has been the one constant person in his life through all the upheavals and trauma he has endured in his life. It will hurt him terribly and my heart just breaks for him. Any of you who believe in the power of prayer could pray for wisdom for us and comfort for Bradly. Your prayers would mean so much.

Grandma Nancy is the red head in the middle back behind Brad and Nick. Nancy’s mother is in the pink shirt and she is lovingly called “Cookie Grandma” by all of her grandchildren. My mom, Grandma Hubbard is in the blue slacks. This photo was taken three years ago at the boy’s adoption.:o)

Davey

2009-10-03T09:01:00.001-04:00

Nicholas and Bradly will be starting “Horseback Riding Therapy” this coming week. This will be Nick’s third session and Bradly’s second session. Each session lasts for 6 weeks and they are quite excited about getting to ride again. The hard part is that Nick’s horse “Davey” is being retired as he is old. Davey will be going to live at the home of a girl with special needs whose horse passed away a while ago. It will be a good life for Davey and this girl, but it this news left Nicholas devastated. He cried so hard when we told him. The head of the program had suggested we bring Nick up to say good bye before classes began and before Davey was moved. In the midst of his tears Nick said he didn’t want to say good bye. I told him he didn’t have to say those words, that he could say “hi” I will miss you. He perked up and decided to go see Davey and take him a few carrots and an apple. Judy, who heads up this program, is just wonderful with the kids and the horses. Judy talked to Nick about her first horse when she was a kid and how, after all these years she has never forgotten that horse. She told him he would never forget his first horse either. Nick did very well and is wondering which horse he will be riding this week. They match the kids with a horse…the horse chooses the child. The really cool part is that these horses have all been rescued and some had been very abused. If there is a child in the program that has suffered from abuse, those horses always pick one of those children, because they seem to be able to relate to the child. I think that is so wonderful. This is a pic of Nick when he went to say his good-byes. :o)

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

2009-10-02T12:04:00.001-04:00

Yesterday kicked off the official “Breast Cancer Awareness Month”. I was impressed to see that even the NFL jerseys as well as many other items have been made up in pink and that the players will be wearing to show their support for this special month. Of course, the way those football players are built, they would look masculine in pink or any other color. :o)

We are heading out for a fish fry lunch with my parents. We have not had one in so long, I can’t even remember the last time we partook of a fish fry. Our 29th wedding anniversary is on Sunday, Oct. 4th, so we figured this would be our only chance to go out to eat without kids, so we better take it.

Today is my brother James 47th birthday. Wow, it is hard to believe he is that old, but then I remember that I am 4 years older than he is…ouch!!

I thought in the spirit of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I would put up the pics of the few items I carry in my shop that promotes this awareness. :o)

Zippered cosmetic bag

Patchwork Bag

zip change purse

Fall

2009-09-29T08:04:00.001-04:00

Fall has been my favorite season for as long as I can remember. I love the beautiful colors, the crisp air, apple cider, and pumpkins. Of course once Fall arrives we all know what that means…snow will be following right behind…..and that I don’t like. Actually, if we only had snow for the month of December, that wouldn’t be bad because I do love snow for Christmas.

My hubby made a fresh pumpkin pie yesterday (yes, it is great having a baker for a hubby). It was so delicious.

Tomorrow we have to keep both boys home from school as they both had dentist appointments. We go all the way to Batavia (an hour away) because there is a wonderful pediatric dentist there. We discovered him when we started doing foster care. I wish we would have had someone like him when our older kids were young. Megan had a very bad experience when she was 6 and has been very leery of dentists ever since.

I listed a new clutch purse that I designed. I will tweak the design just a bit when I make another one, but overall I am very pleased with this one. I like the first one I made, which didn’t have the fleece interface. I know some women prefer a more relaxed purse…I like the fleece interface to give it a bit of shape and body. One of my tooth fairy pillows sold last night, so that was encouraging. I am hoping with the holidays ahead of us that business will start picking up soon. :o)

Steven’s Visit

2009-09-24T07:05:00.001-04:00

Steven (our 26 year old son)flew in from Houston and was in NY for almost a week. He stayed with a friend in West Seneca but we saw him quite a few times. Last Thursday, we met and went to lunch at “Red Robin”. Rachel skipped a class so she could go and Reid drove from Brockport. The only one missing of our homemade four was Megan. We were all wishing so much that she could have been there. It was really nice. Sunday, Steven took Brad and Nick fishing. Brad caught 2 fish and Nick caught 10. On Monday we met at the camper and had a birthday supper for Steven (his birthday was the 10th of Sept.). My parents and Steve’s brother stopped by for birthday cake and to see Steven. We had two cakes…one for Steven and one for mu hubby Steve since his birthday was Tues., the 22nd. Steven chose pistachio pudding cake and my hubby picked banana cake with flour frosting. They were both quite yummy I must say. Parting was very hard as we may not see each other for another year. :o(

I have been working hard trying to get our shops filled. I had a convo from a lady in Italy this morning wanting to purchase the pink dog booties, but have them shipped to a friend in Chicago. She wondered how to do that and not have Etsy automatically charge her for overseas shipping. I told her I thought the easiest way was to just purchase and pay the shipping and then I would reimburse her paypal account the $2.75 difference in shipping. I am waiting to hear from her. If the booties sell, this will be our first sale from our new shop. Mindy, our dog groomer has sold some collars at her grooming shop. My niece, Elizabeth suggested that I should make little doggie snack bags for dog training classes. I talked to Mindy (who also teaches dog training and agility classes) about the pouches. She said many of her students do use them for agility training and she thought they would definitely sell well. I need to figure out which clips I am going to use because if someone doesn’t have a belt loop I want them to be able to clip it to their waistband. I spent the last two days working on two clutch purses for my ARELEL DESIGNS shop.

Time to go make a pot of coffee and get busy for the day. :o)

Birthdays

2009-09-21T07:19:00.001-04:00

September is our month for lots of birthdays. Our son Steven just had his on the 10th, Megan had hers on Friday the 18th, my hubby has one tomorrow the 22nd and our son-in-law has one on the 27th. We are celebrating a couple of birthdays tonight, so I need to get my hubby’s banana cake with flour frosting made today as well as a crab salad. We also have to take both of our dog’s up to Mindy’s for baths and grooming this morning. It will be a busy day, but a nice one.

Bradly’s bus is really late this morning…I sure hope they didn’t forget him. The bus is usually here like 10 minutes ago, so now Brad is nervous and driving me a bit crazy (it is a very short drive however). :o) I just called the bus garage and yup..he missed the bus. :o(

I thought I would put up a couple pics of my newest creation, which is a seat belt neck protector. It seems like once kids move into a booster car seat, the seat belt rubs their neck and irritates the skin. I have taken fleece and cotton and velcro and made these protectors so they go right into a tube around the seat belt. I got to thinking about how my seat belt irritates me too, and decided to make a couple of adult sized ones. Let me know what you think….:o)

Our New Shop is Open!!

2009-09-17T08:53:00.001-04:00

All of our hard work has paid off…we now have our new Etsy shop, called, “Mutt Mania” up and running. We have listed quite a few collars, bandannas, “Doggie Travel Bags” as well as my newest creation…Dog Booties. Steve has found two healthy dog treat recipes that our dogs love, and we have listings for those also. Each time an order is placed for a bag of treats, they will be baked fresh. Many of our items will be for sale at our dog groomers. She called yesterday and said she had sold another collar and needed some more for variety. She was glad when I told her I had 15 of them finished. If you would like to take a peek at our new shop, here is the link.

www.MuttMania.etsy.com

F.Y.I……We are running a grand opening promotion until Sept. 30th. Any purchase of $25.00 or more (before shipping) will receive a free dog bandanna of their choice. :o)

Dog Booties

2009-09-15T08:06:00.001-04:00

I made two sets of doggie booties yesterday. I am really pleased with how they turned out and will definitely be making more. These are to be listed in our new shop, “Mutt Mania” which will hopefully be opening later this week. I am going to work on a set of extra small booties today. I made a trial bootie and tried it on Karli. She tried to eat it…LOL…Our older dog Chloe is like a grumpy old lady. I called her to try it on her, she sniffed it and turned and walked away..no way she was putting that on…LOL I want to try a pair of “boots”, which I will just make taller and do a double strap of velcro. Here are some pics of yesterdays accomplishments…. Large set

Sm/Med. set

Steve has been experimenting with different healthy dog snack recipes. Yesterday he made Banana/peanut butter with oatmeal. Yup, Chloe and Karli loved them. Steve does a great job and even adds an egg wash coating before baking so the snacks will have a nice shiny finish and be “pretty”. :o)

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-09-14T08:42:00.001-04:00

I thought I better update my blog before someone decided I had croaked or given it up..LOL I have been really busy getting collars and bandanas made so we can open our new dog shop. Today I am going to start making booties for the shop. All of my items will also be on display at our dog groomers shop where I have had some collars on display for a few months. Steve is busy trying out some healthy dog treat recipes. Our two dogs love being the taste testers…LOL Our daughter Megan has three dogs and we sent some samples to them and they loved them too.

Bradly spent the weekend with Megan and Scott at their home in Hamilton, Ont. We went up near the Canadian border last evening and met Megan so we could retrieve our son. He had a wonderful time, and we really appreciate how wonderful our older children are with the younger ones.

Bradly is on cloud 9 because while he was gone this weekend, 6 of the Christmas ornaments sold that he had listed in “Bradly’s Corner” of one of my Etsy shops. He is raring to make more and this was a huge boost to his self esteem. I know how great I feel when I sell something I have made with my own hands, and now he has experienced this high. :o)

Our Son is 26 Years Old Today

2009-09-10T09:55:00.001-04:00

Hard to believe that 26 years have come and gone since the birth of our oldest son. Steven lives in Texas, so we won’t be celebrating with him, which makes me sad . :o(

The art smocks that I had orders for are finished and I have begun sewing for our new shop, “Mutt Mania”. This is going to be a one stop shopping place for buying for your dog(s). Steve has been experimenting with recipes for healthy dog treats. Yesterday he made some pumpkin peanut butter treats.m Our two dogs loved them. I got 16 collars and 10 bandannas cut out yesterday, so the goal is to get them all sewed today. I bought a cute banner and avatar design from a graphic designer on Etsy. I thought I would share those with you and see what you think.

banner

avatar

I am going to be making doggie booties, but I need to think of a waterproof, non slip fabric to sew to the bottom. If anyone has any ideas, I would LOVE to hear them.

Bradly has had a great morning every day this week….whoo whoo!! Nick has had 2 great days in school in a row. I just hope and pray it continues and isn’t some kind of “Honeymoon” period. :o)

Labor Day

2009-09-07T13:05:00.001-04:00

Well, I have been busy with the kids being off school for three days. Nick has been having a difficult time controlling his temper, which has made the weekend a bit rough. We did go to Walmart yesterday in search of a zippered binder that Bradly was required to have for school. The only zippered binders they had we lavender or pink, which obviously did not work. I did get some really cute Winnie the Pooh fabric to make a diaper bag for Chris’ (our 22 year old adopted son) girlfriend. They are having a baby in November and have decided on a Winnie the Pooh theme. We ended up coming home and going to Walgreens and they didn’t have the binder either. Just by chance that Rite Aid might have a few left, Steve ran in. They had lots of them and they were 1/2 off, so he got a really nice black zippered binder for about $9.00. We drove 45 minutes to Walmart and it turns out it wasn’t necessary, although it was a gorgeous day for a drive and we really enjoyed the outing.

I have an order for two art smocks I have been working on. Rachel’s friend ordered them for her two boys for school. One is skulls and one is dinosaurs. I have the skull one almost finished.

Steve and I are in the process of opening a third Etsy shop. You are allowed to have a maximum of three shops. This shop will carry all kinds of dog items…healthy snacks, collars and leashes, booties and doggie travel bags. I will share more about this the next time I update. :o)

Back to School

2009-09-03T08:09:00.001-04:00

Brad and Nick started back to school today. Nick is now in 3rd grade and Brad is in 6th grade. Bradly was awesome this morning and it seemed so nice. His bus was late. Nick did great also, and his bus was 10 minutes early. Thank goodness he was ready. I took a couple of pics and had intended to take a better one of Nick outside, but because the bus was early, this one will have to do. :o)

Bradly

Nick

I also finished a cute angel art smock and got it listed yesterday. I thought I would share a picture of it. I did not have a little girl to model it for pictures, and I couldn’t convince Nick to model it..LOL I think it is cute. I need to make one for a boy today and get it listed. :o)

Pudding Desert

2009-08-31T11:00:00.001-04:00

I thought today would be a good day to share the pudding cake recipe as I promised after I told you we made it for my mom’s birthday a few weeks ago. This recipe can be made with less calories if you use light cream cheese and sugar free pudding.

PUDDING DESERT

Crust: 1 cup flour, 1 stick butter or margarine and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional). Mix well and press into the bottom of a 9”x13” cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until crust is lightly tanned. Cool completely before proceeding.

Mix with an electric mixer: 1 (8 oz.) cream cheese softened, 1 cup 10x sugar and 1 1/2 cups thawed cool whip. Spread this mixture carefully on top of the cooled crust.

Beat with the electric mixer: 2 pkgs. INSTANT pudding (flavor is your choice), and 3 cups of cold milk. Spread this mixture evenly over top of the cream cheese layer.

Frost the top of the desert with a layer of cool whip and refrigerate. To serve, cut into squares. Yum! :o)

ROUGH DAY

2009-08-29T15:56:00.001-04:00

We got a lot of rain earlier today, and it is fairly cool, but humid. The boys have been out of sorts today and it has been quite rough so far. Things have settled down somewhat at the moment.

My hamburger vegetable soup is simmering on the stove and Steve baked dinner rolls to go with it. My dear friend is up from Virginia. Her mom was just diagnosed with Leukemia and is already receiving chemo treatments. Her parents and 2 of her brothers have a dairy farm, so there are many mouths to feed and work to be done. Her mom is in Roswell and will be there for a while. She is one of the sweetest ladies I know and we are praying for the Leukemia to go into remission. Anyway, we thought homemade soup would be something they could just grab a bowl and warm up whenever someone wanted to eat. The dinner rolls should go well. We have to stop at my mom’s on the way as she made brownies and cookies to send up too.

Rachel and Steven are having a good time on vacation. Today they are in San Antonio, TX and are going on the “River walk”. Rachel will be flying home on Monday and she has classes on Tues. I can’t wait to see their pictures. :o)

Rachel Arrived

2009-08-28T10:43:00.001-04:00

Rachel (our 22 year old daughter) arrived safely in Houston last night. She is going to spend the weekend visiting Steven (our oldest son). They have plans to go to Austin today and San Antonio tomorrow. I hope they have a great time. We haven’t seen Steven in a little over a year, since he moved to Houston. It is really hard not seeing your children, but at least we talk on the phone quite often and he is doing so wonderful there.

We got to see Megan (our oldest daughter who is married and living in Hamilton, Ontario Canada) on Wednesday for a couple of hours. She visited with us and then went to Buffalo and took Rachel out for dinner for her birthday which was in July. They had a great time. It seems so good to have Megan back from the summer camp in Pennsylvania where she has worked as a nurse for many years. Megan called last night to see if her and Scott could have Bradly for a weekend in a couple of weeks. There is a dinosaur exhibit at the museum in Toronto and they know he will love it. They have a couple of other things they want to do with him too. I know this will make him feel so special, and the one on one attention will be great too. I can’t tell you how fantastic it is to have grown children that all care so much about their young, adopted siblings. Steve and I have been truly blessed. :o)

Finished

2009-08-27T14:04:00.001-04:00

The laundry bags are finished and all packaged to be shipped. The customer was very pleased with them as I sent her a picture of the finished bags. Here is a pic.

I gave Bradly his own section in one of my Etsy shops. Brad loves to make things and has been creating some very nice ornaments and key chains with his Perler Beads. What we are hoping he will learn is the importance of doing a good job and how to handle his money. It will hopefully be great for his self esteem. He is paying his own listing and commission fees, and the rest of his income is all his. Here is a sample of his work. :o)

Laundry Bags

2009-08-26T10:14:00.001-04:00

I have an order for three of the laundry bags I started selling in my Etsy shop. I have one finished and need to get the other two done and ready to ship to Toronto Canada by tomorrow. I have so many projects I want to work on that it seems there just isn’t enough time in the day to get it all done. I will have more time once the boys are back in school again.

Rachel is leaving tomorrow (Thurs.) for Houston to visit Steven. They are going to Austin for a couple of days too. I am worried about Rachel flying alone, but she is 22 years old and I am sure she will do great. I always worry about the kids when they travel. Megan broke us in since she was determined to be a world wide traveler. LOL Reid’s solution is not to tell us he traveled until he returns. I guess no matter how old your children get, they are always your children and you worry. :o)

Finished My Newest Tote Bag

2009-08-22T10:43:00.001-04:00

Finally, I have finished this humorous new tote bag I have been working on for the past three days. I think it is really cute and hopefully someone else thinks so too. Take a peak and see what you think.

I have to go to my studio and make a list of all the thread I need. I feel so stupid because I was all excited that Joann Fabrics was running a weekend sale with all the thread buy one get one free. The sale they usually have is 50% off. Last night my hubby made the comment that probably some people would think because the word free was in the ad that it was a better deal, but it is the same as 50 % off. I couldn’t believe I was one of those people. LOL Well, I am off to get ready for the big trip to Joann’s. If you don’t hear from me for a day or two, it might mean I am still there browsing and ogling the big selection of fabrics,,,don’t send out the search party as I always return eventually. :o)

My Mom Has A Birthday Today

2009-08-21T11:32:00.001-04:00

I just popped the crust to my mom’s birthday cake into the oven. She is having a pistachio pudding cake. We haven't had one of those in years and it is so yummy. Maybe I will post the recipe when I get time as you can make it with any flavor pudding you like and it is very refreshing on a hot day.

The kids had counseling yesterday, so afterward we went to Sprague Brook Park and had a picnic and then they donned their swim suits and their creek sneakers and played in the creek. They looked for Cray fish, but never found any. I went in with them and screeched quite loudly when Bradly turned over a fairly large rock and there was something under which we thought was dead because it didn’t move. Bradly disrupted it and it took off in a direct path to my feet. It really startled me and yes, I screeched..LOL In retrospect, I think it might have been some kind of a salamander. We had a really good time.

Karli is going today to get her stitches out. Last Monday Karli got spayed and had all four dew claws removed. She is quite active and you would never know she even had surgery.

Tomorrow I am off to Joann Fabrics as they are having a fabulous weekend sale. I have needed to buy more thread and it is actually buy one get one free, which I have never seen. :o)

Skateboard Anyone??

2009-08-19T09:30:00.001-04:00

I found this etsy shop and wanted to share it with my readers. This artists shop is called “Krystie17”, and she has some beautiful, hand painted, 100% bamboo skateboards. If you have a skateboarder in your life, one of these awesome boards would make a terrific gift. You can find her shop here…..http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7392060

Krystie also has a web page. www.krystiesargent.com

I hope everyone is enjoying these last few weeks of summer. Things are going surprisingly well with Nick being done with summer school. Today both boys are working with their skill builders. Bradly has really made some gains this summer and we are very pleased with his progress. We are hoping he has a good year in 6th grade and that Nick does well in 3rd grade. :o)

Recipe for Zucchini Bars

2009-08-15T19:17:00.001-04:00

This is the time of year that everyone is over run with zucchini squash. I had forgotten all about this recipe until yesterday. Anyone who eats this will swear they are eating apples, not zucchini. I made it probably 10 years ago, and my Dad (who hates zucchini and will not eat it) loved it . Since it is baked on a large cookie sheet, it will feed many people. I cut my zucchini in half the long way, and then after the seeds are out and the skin is gone I start slicing. The shape even looks like apple slices. :o)

ZUCCHINI BARS
1.) Prepare crust: 4 cups flour, ½ teas. Salt, 2 cups sugar, 1 ½ cups
Butter or margarine
Mix like a pie crust until crumbly….set aside

2.) Prepare filling: Simmer 6-8 cups of sliced zucchini (skins and seeds removed) in 2/3 cups lemon juice until tender. Add 1 cup sugar, ½ teas. Nutmeg, 1 teas. Cinnamon. Simmer 5 more minutes. Add ½ cup of the crust mixture to thicken. Let cool.

3.) Pat one half of the remaining crust mixture in a large cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and pour cooled filling on top. Add 1 TBSP. cinnamon to remaining crust mixture and crumble on top of the filling.

Bake 30 minutes longer at 375 degrees.

Last Day of Summer School

2009-08-14T12:10:00.001-04:00

Well, today is the last day of summer school and we have two weeks until school is in session again. We are hoping that Nick will do well during these two weeks without school as a diversion. Weekends are usually quite difficult, so we are hoping and praying that we can enjoy these two weeks.

Yesterday, Nick was in a talent show at school. He got up by the microphone and was too scared to talk, so another boy said Nick’s line. They were doing a little Dr. Suess skit. When his class was done, Nick got right up to the microphone and thanked everyone for coming, which was really cute. We brought him home with us since he had had a rough morning and the other singing during the rest of the show bothered his ears. He was really happy to stop at McDonalds on the way home and partake of a strawberry milkshake.

Rachel, our 22 year old daughter, left Wed. night on a bus to New York City. Our older daughter met her there yesterday afternoon as she caught a ride into the city from the camp she is a nurse at every summer. Last night our son in law and his sister and brother in law flew into NYC and they are all vacationing together until Sunday. Since Megan and Scott and his family live in Hamilton, Ontario they were originally going to fly in from Toronto, but the prices went quite high. They saved a lot of money by driving down to Buffalo and flying from there. Rachel was quite thrifty and took the bus from Buffalo to NYC for $1. The price was great but she wasn’t too thrilled with bus travel. :o)

Another Rough Day

2009-08-09T13:20:00.001-04:00

The last hour has been really rough. Nicholas is having problems controlling his temper, which is an on going problem, but some days are worse than others. He has birthday money to spend and we told him if he could keep himself under control we would take him to Kmart or Walmart today to spend it. There is no way we can take him out in public when he is like this. We will wait and see how the afternoon goes and if he can get it together, we will try it. It is so sad and so hard.

On a good note, Bradly got a chance to work with Rachel yesterday at the ice cream shop. The girl that was supposed to work with Rachel was in a car accident, and there really needed to be two people working in case it got busy. Rachel showed Bradly how to use the cash register and he caught on quickly and only made a couple of minor mistakes. He also made $3 in tips which he was thrilled about. He did some cleaning too which he loves to do. We are really proud of him. He got paid and is also looking forward to buying some things at the store.

Nick has only one more week of summer school and then he is off until school starts in September. To be quite honest we are hoping those days are not just a big series of temper tantrums. We need to go shopping for school sneakers. The boys have been growing so much that we thought we better wait until August to shop, as we usually start shopping earlier in the summer. We would have liked to have gotten that shopping done today. Time will tell. :o)

Funny Mugs

2009-08-07T10:55:00.001-04:00

I ran across a shop on Etsy that carries hand painted coffee mugs. You can have a mug custom made or buy one of the many she has listed in her shop. The shop is called, “Dirty Dishes”, and would be the perfect place to purchase a gift for that hard to buy for person in your life. The sayings on the mugs range from sarcastic to a bit dirty and are quite humorous. I will post a couple of pics from her shop, but if you would like to check it out, here is the link to her shop. :o)

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5317562

Fresh Veggies

2009-08-06T13:50:00.001-04:00

My mother has been keeping us supplied with fresh zucchini and yellow squash and green beans out of her garden. Monday I took two zucchini and stuffed them for dinner. I cut them in half length wise and scooped out the middle. I chopped the squash I had pulled out and put it in a frying pan with a little butter and cooked it with onions and minced garlic. The zucchini halves went into the microwave long enough to half cook them. Meanwhile, I mixed one egg and about 1 1/2 cups of ricotta cheese, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. I slowly stirred the warm squash and onion mixture into the ricotta mixture until it was well blended. The squash halves went onto a baking sheet with a bit of water in the bottom and the filling went into the zucchini halves and I sprinkled the tops with parmesan cheese. They baked about 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven and then I added some shredded mozzarella cheese and stuck them under the broiler until they browned. They were a big hit. I had two left which we zapped for lunch yesterday and they were still delicious.

Bradly is off to go pick blueberries with my mother. This is wonderful for him and even better for me because he has been extremely irritating the last few days, and I really need a break from him. :o)

I finally finished my newest “Doggie Travel Bag”. All the other ones had sold so I figured I better get a new one made. Here are a couple of pics.

Still Here

2009-08-04T09:08:00.001-04:00

I decided I better post on here today or some of you might think I had dropped off the face of the earth. LOL

Saturday, we took some time for family and spent the afternoon and early evening at Letchworth State Park. It was a warm, sunny gorgeous day, and we had a great time. When we stopped at the middle falls, there was a beautiful rainbow and the boys were amazed by it. Bradly was enthralled by the gorge and the rock formation, the railroad trestle, the wildlife and pretty much everything. Nick took binoculars along and both boys had a blast using them to look into the gorge. (A small amount of bickering over them was to be expected and we weren’t disappointed..LOL).

Brad and Nick (Brad looks like he is facing a firing squad.LOL)

We toured the beautiful campground in the park where we spent many fun days camping with our older kids in years past. Being there made us wish we didn’t have our camper parked permanently and could tow and go different places again.

A short trip to the “Charcoal Corral” in Perry procured us a delicious pizza which we took back into the park and ate at the “Wolf Creek” picnic area. Karli went with us and a great time was had by all. :o)

Wolf Creek

Rainbow at the middle falls

Steve with Brad and Nick

Italian Zucchini Crescent Pie

2009-07-29T09:09:00.001-04:00

This is that time of year when zucchini squash becomes very plentiful. My mom gives us many of these awesome squash out of her garden. I made this “Italian Zucchini Crescent Pie” for dinner last night and it was so yummy, I thought I would share the recipe. My mom used to make this when I was a kid, and now I make it a couple of times every summer. You can make a meal of just the pie as it has cheese in it, or serve it with some sort of meat (we had cube steak with ours). I wish I would have taken a picture of the pie before we ate it so I could post a pic, but it smelled so good, all I could think of was eating it. :o)

ITALIAN ZUCCHINI CRESCENT PIE

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. You will need;

4 cups of sliced zucchini

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 TBSP parsley, 1/2 teas. salt and pepper, 1/4 teas. garlic powder, 1/4 teas. basil, and 1/4 teas. oregano

2 eggs

2 cups shredded mozzarella or muenster cheese

2 tsp. brown or Dijon mustard

1 8 oz. can crescent dinner rolls

Melt butter in a large skillet and cook the squash and the onion until tender. Stir in parsley and other seasonings. In a large bowl, mix the eggs and cheese and add the squash mixture., and stir until mixed.

Separate the 8 triangles and place in an ungreased 10 inch pie plate or a 12 x 8 baking dish. Press over the bottom and up the sides of the pan to form the crust. Use the back of a spoon to spread the mustard evenly around on the crust. Pour your squash and cheese mixture into crust and spread it evenly.

Bake until knife inserted near center comes out clean. If your crust starts to get too brown, cover with foil for the last 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Cut into wedges to serve. Serve hot, and enjoy!!

Ice Cream Cake Recipe

2009-07-28T13:02:00.001-04:00

Reid and Rachel’s birthday celebration went great……my hubby makes the most marvelous ice cream cakes. I thought I would share this simple recipe. About 10 years ago, a friend I worked with shared it with me and birthday cakes have been so much better at our house ever since. This recipe even works for a diabetic if you use sugar free ice cream and cookies and light cool whip. You can use any combination you like. Reid had a mint chip ice cream with mint Oreos and choc. syrup (also great with mint julip). Rachel had vanilla ice cream with Nutter Butter cookies and peanut butter topping…the combinations are endless. I had one once with butter pecan ice cream and Pecan Sandies and carmel sauce …let your imagination run wild!! :o)

You will need a 9x 13 pan (we use glass), 1/2 gal. of ice cream(1 box) about 1/2 pkg. cookies, a 12 oz. cool whip, and ice cream topping.

Directions

Place cookies in a ziplock plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them (use just enough cookies to crumble and lightly cover the bottom of the pan). On top of the cookie crumbs, you slice the ice cream and lay the slices to fit in the pan. Use it all and it will be getting a bit soft by now…just smooth it over with a knife. The topping is the next layer to go on…you can use choc. syrup, (I make homemade peanut butter sauce), but if you use a warm topping, let it cool before you put it on the cake. Use whatever topping goes well with your ice cream. So, after you spread the topping, frost the top with thawed cool whip. We sometimes drizzle syrup on the top and make the cake look fancier. Cover the cake tightly with plastic wrap and put it in the freezer. Leave it until; about 5 minutes before serving. Let it sit and soften just enough to cut. The great thing about this cake is that it keeps so well that you can make it a few days or even a week ahead of time. I hope if anyone tries this you will let me know how you liked it. We very rarely get an order for a reg. baked cake anymore. Here is a pic of Reid and Rachel with their cakes so you can see what they look like. :o)

Twin’s Birthday

2009-07-27T11:26:00.001-04:00

Reid and Rachel are celebrating their 22nd birthday today. It is wonderful that they are both able to be here. They just left to go to Red Robin for lunch and then we will have chicken cor don bleu and hash brown potato casserole for their birthday dinner. Reid ordered mint chip ice cream cake and Rachel ordered peanut butter. Steve made those yesterday, so they are in the freezer just waiting to be eaten. It is also Chloe, our dogs birthday…she is 11 today. She is getting a new rawhide chew. When we got her, almost 11 years ago, we never knew the exact date in July that she was born, so the kids decided she would have the same birthday as them. My parents are coming over to help celebrate. :o)

Reid and Rachel Lund

50’s Festival

2009-07-25T12:22:00.001-04:00

Today our town is sponsoring their annual 50’s festival at the village park. We are hoping to go over and check out the antique car show (my husband’s thing…not mine LOL), as well as listen to the 50’s music. We are hoping the weather holds out as it is supposed to rain this afternoon.

I just retook pictures of my apple and pear drawstring bag, which I had changed the string on, and relisted it. It has had 400 hits, so it would be great if it finally sold. I know the pics are so important to good sales, and some of mine need to be redone. Here is one of the new pics. :o)

Rain, Rain Go Away!!

2009-07-23T09:29:00.001-04:00

I thought April was supposed to be the rainy month!! It seems like it rains every day here lately, and I am so sick of it!! Our back yard is under water again. The good news is that our flowers are growing just great!!

Yesterday was a very nice day. The boys had counseling, so we went to Sprague Brook Park and had a picnic supper and the boys played on the playground. We discovered that they have three different fishing ponds there, so we are going to plan another picnic and take their fishing poles.

Yesterday was evidently a great selling day also. I got a call from our groomer to say she had sold the “Doggie Travel Bag” I had on display in her shop, and she sold a dog collar. Last night when we got home I saw that I had sold one of the “Twilight” bags to a customer in England. I am so thankful for the sales and hope they continue. :o)

This is the bag that sold yesterday!!

Dinner at Red Robin

2009-07-22T10:37:00.001-04:00

Nick had a certificate from Red Robin for a free meal for his birthday. Since our twins have their birthday on Monday, the 27th, Rachel also had a certificate for a free meal. Naturally we went to Red Robin for dinner and it was fantastic as usual. Nick and Brad always get the chicken fingers and fries kids meal. Rachel gets the bacon cheeseburger, and Steve and I get the mushroom swiss burger. They have the best ranch dressing in the world, and they will give you as side of it to dip your fries (which are also fantastic, and I am not a big fan of french fries). “Red Robin” herself was there and Rachel got a pic of her with Nick. Bradly flat out refused LOL. When the waitress brought Nick and Rachel their free birthday sundae, she brought some other waitresses along and quite loudly sang Happy Birthday to Nick and Rachel. Rachel’s face turned so red..LOL We also went to Target while we were there and got some great bargains. :o)

Nick with “Red Robin”

Haircuts

2009-07-20T21:09:00.001-04:00

I gave my hubby and Bradly each a haircut today. It was unbelievable how much hair I took off Bradly’s head. His hair tends to get bushy rather than long, so he needs about half as many haircuts as Steve and Nick. I left most of the length and layered and thinned it. They both look quite handsome, plus we saved the $20 we would have spent at Fantastic Sams..

Last night we watched “Drop Dead Diva” on the Lifetime channel for the second time. It is such a good show, plus from what we have read, it got the highest ratings ever for a new show on this channel. I wonder if anyone else saw this entertaining show and what they thought of it.

Nick has a birthday coupon for a free meal at “Red Robin”. He is chomping at the bit to go and get some of their big french fries. Rachel has a coupon also because her and Reid have a birthday on the 27th, so her and Nick are going to go for dinner tomorrow night. We may go too, we will see what tomorrow brings. :o)

2009-07-18T16:17:00.001-04:00

Blueberry Pancakes

2009-07-18T13:26:00.001-04:00

Mmmm…what a way to start the day!! My sweet hubby made scratch buttermilk pancakes with fresh blueberries for breakfast this morning. Now, I am sure some of you are wondering if those pancakes fit on my diet plan, and I would have to say, “NO WAY”, but boy were they delicious. LOL

Nick’s birthday went great…no meltdowns. Rachel took cupcakes and drink boxes in for his party at summer school which went wonderful. I had my parents here at 3:00 so as soon as Nick got off his bus, we could start the party. It worked great!! First he opened gifts and then we had “birthday cake”, which was actually banana splits as was his choice. They looked really authentic as Rachel’s boss at the ice cream shop she works at, gave us the boats for serving the banana splits. By 4:30 he was sound asleep and slept until bedtime. I figured he would sleep like that which is why we partied earlier than normal. He did sleep right through his birthday supper which was spaghetti and meatballs (his favorite).

Nick’s birthday #8

Nick loves his new sleeping bag

I shipped out the green and plaid laptop sleeve/bag with removable strap to a customer in Virginia today. I am always so exited every time I sell something because I am still amazed that people want to buy something I make. I hope I never take these sales for granted, because they are a blessing from God!! :o)