The post with borrowed photos and a giveaway

I got fun things in the mail yesterday. I ordered these adorable squirrels for the S-2 shop for my husband (I always get to find the things for weddings/births) . We've had three babies born and no happy baby present given yet...I've been slacking. What really blows..there are three more babies that will be born in the next eight months....argh. I've got it covered....she is working on more squirrels. I wanted something more than the usual baby clothes/diapers. I wanted something special that the families could hold on to from duty station to duty station. I got these (and the photo) from http://www.mykobocek.etsy.com/ She makes the sweetest animals. She is so easy to work with as well. The other two pictures (I borrowed from Michelle of Fairie Dust Dreams and my sister). The first photo is what I made for the "Things with Wings" Charm Swap....I forgot to get pictures before I mailed them off and she took pictures as things came in. She is a great hostess. Well, she mailed everyone their charms last week....I got mine yesterday. They are similiar to what Wendy has in her photo...there are slight differences. Well, there were two dropouts, so we got our two extra charms back. So I am having an impromptu giveaway. Just leave a comment on this post if you'd like a chance to win one. The bird/flower combos on the extra charms are as follows: green bird/blue flower and purple bird/red flower. I will pick two winners on the 7th of August (that is the first day of school here.....a happy day to celebrate and it is also the day I opened my Etsy shop a year ago). Good luck!

P.S. I dropped the prices on a bunch of stuff in the shop.

Oh, Insomnia....

joy of my youth. Not really...college tended to suck at times when you couldn't sleep. :) Well, the weekend went by rawther (ode to Eloise) quickly. Jr was a doll and watched Billy for me yesterday. I had to go to the post office and commissary and I just didn't feel like dealing with Billy. That worked out....the candy lady was taking some time off (Wendy the postwoman) . It was a tad lonely at the commissary, but I got things done a lot quicker. The cable was off all morning and part of the afternoon.....perfect reading time. I finished Julia's book....my she did quite a bit and what it took to get that first cookbook published...oy. I have two copies of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".....I plan on sending one to Wendy. I found one at a thrift store and the other at an Estate Sale. I, also, managed to find Simone Beck's cookbook. I plan on going through it....maybe try my hand at something...Clark will be home soon. A small miracle to me. Oy...this has been a rough month. I'm hoping things will go smoother once summer vacation is over.....a little under two weeks....happy, happy. That list for the eighth graders is down right scary. Those lists of supplies just get longer and longer every year. Billy just needs some new clothes. :) He has worn (and dirtied all his tshirts) and needs some more jeans (the only pants he'll wear). He wears jeans non-stop and freaks when you have to change them...the life of an autistic child. Quirks, quirks, quirks....he did have two taco shells of cheddar cheese for dinner. Someday, he'll maybe try the meat. He did come into the kitchen and saw the lettuce and had some "Cookie Monster-style"...it was too funny. That public broadcasting. We watched a show about the honeybees and Miss Marple tonight.....he fell asleep before the murderer was revealed (he missed the murderer last week, too). I washed dishes and cleaned up the livingroom before putting him to bed....he was quiet and in one place....I took advantage of it. Now....I am paying the price....stiff back and insomnia. Good thing there is no school tomorrow....I can sleep in. :)

Happy Days of '47!!!

Not really.....I may be from Utah, but that isn't my holiday. What that should have said was "Happy Anniversary, Wendy and Tom". I still can't believe she picked that day to get married...it just sets her up for ridicule from family every year. I love you, Wendy. I got my swap package from Jenny in England....it was so nice. I'm not quite done with mine....I wanted to make her one more thing....I just have not had as productive of a month as I had hoped....argh. I have one week left to mail her box. I was going to take pictures of what I got, but I'm having problems with the camera my brother sent me...I got it to work for a few minutes, but all I got was pictures of Billy and then it died again. I think the battery positioning is wonky at times. Blah. If it isn't bad enough that this whole digital age scares the hebby jeebies out of me (I'm so a film camera girl), but I finally get one and it hates me. I don't want to buy one if I can figure out what to do with this one. I am so cheap....it is sad. :) Clark should be home in a few weeks...than I can use his camera....I'm so funny....I can have him take my pictures for me. :) Have a great weekend!! Mom and Dad.....I know you got the day off anyway, but I hope your Days of '47 was spectacular!

Today was brought to you by the letter "T"

As in toaster, tantrums, and tired. It all started with the tired actually.....I was cleaning up my room again (an ongoing process that will last until we move). I got all my magazines pulled out, so that I can go through them. I cannot save magazines like a lot of you.....weight allowance. :) So I figured now is as good a time as any to drop some weight. :) I need to start reading my stockpile of books as well....so that I can send them to my sister. I started "French Women For All Seasons" this weekend and just couldn't finish it. I didn't mind the first book, but she just digs into America in this one. There is nothing wrong with Hershey Kisses (disclaimer...I own like two shares of Hershey stock..I, also, own a few shares of Nestle and Cadbury....had to cover all the public chocolate companies)....yes, European chocolate is good, too. I love France and most things French...just not her. So I will pass this book onto Wendy (so she can read it after she reads the first one.....I sent her that on years ago). I am now reading a delightful book about France, "My Life in France" by Julia Child. It is pretty good so far. I've had this one for awhile and had never read it...with "Julie & Julia" coming out soon...I figured why not?? I did read "Julie & Julia" (and sent it to Wendy...I'm using this blog post as a reminder to Wendy to check out her bookshelf for things to read).....it was okay...Julie got a tad annoying at times. I annoy easily. The food parts were much more interesting then her bitching and moaning. Back to today.....worked in the room. I was hungry and tried to toast some bread....my beloved toaster is dead. :( My sister bought me that back in college (92 to be exact) when we lived in a suite together. It has served us well and I had to by a new one pronto....autism boy doesn't understand "broken toaster" just "want waffles now". So I had the bright idea of going to the thrift store to see if they had one. Oy....not good....Billy did not enjoy that. Then we went to the PX.....a few more tantrums in the store and outside....argh....not a happy mommy. Very frustrating. I did manage to work on goody bag things for about 30 minutes. Some progress is better than no progress (which is where I've been for almost a week). It worked out that he went and hung out in his room today when we got back...okay, with the help of a new DVD (Word World). He did sit down and watch "101 Dalmatians" with me last night...two and half times. At first he didn't want to watch it at all...his beloved GPB was on. He woke up this morning and wanted "doggies"....so that was cool..he even yipped a little. We just got back from our walk....where he only pitched a fit at the beginning...he was trying to go into someone's carport and I wouldn't let him....I got a nice headbutt for that. He was good for the rest of the walk. Well, the boys have been fed and I get to eat...woohoo. Hopefully, I can knock out a few more things tonight. It all depends on how fast I can eat.....I think I shall snarf down my food in honor of Mirelle Guiliano. :)

Oy and Vey

It was so cool.....Thursday night, Billy and I watched "Fiddler On The Roof" together. Okay, we watched 2 hours and 15 minutes of it...Billy was just too tired. If it had come on an hour earlier...he would have lasted the whole movie. His favorite parts were the musical numbers...whenever a song would end....he would turn to me and say "The End".....too cute. I've never seen the whole thing and will have to wait to see it. We stopped when the second eldest daughter was getting ready to ship off to Siberia to be with the man she loved. Oh, how romantic..cold as hell, but romantic. (insert a big sigh here) I was almost caught up on one part of the goody bag process and it all fell apart on Thursday.....I haven't worked on it since. It's good to take a break....recharge my batteries. I got a heavy box from my parents yesterday....I cut coupons for hours. I had to see if there were any I needed for the commissary trip we had to make last night. I only got two sandwich bags worth done...I try to leave my leftover coupons at the front of the commissary for others, but two workers were up front.....I only do it if no one is watching. We haven't done our walks the last two days...Thursday it was raining (which is fine to walk in if there is no thunder or lightening...the sky was ominous that night)...Billy played in his tree for a little bit. Yesterday, I was trying to get through those coupons for the shopping trip (I lost two and half hours talking to my parents and sister...oy) and made Jr take the dog for a quick walk. Our "walk" was the grocery shopping trip itself. Today looks beautiful, so we are all getting out of the house. I'd like to think it's making a difference, but my scale is jacked-up and so I can't tell if I've lost any weight. I'm horribly cheap and don't want to have to buy a new one. My sister and I made a pact to weigh ourselves every Monday morning for a few months.....trying to lose at least 25 lbs each. Since I can't weigh myself...I've been forgetting to ask her what she weighs. I really need to get back on that....she was actually starting to lose weight at last count. Well, I need coffee and want to read the paper. I hope you have a great weekend.....I'll be picking up paer scraps this afternoon (I'm a messy coupon cutter). :)

Happy Bastille Day!!

I needed to find a reason to blog....the French are as good a reason as any. :) I really enjoyed the few small trips I took to France while living in Germany. Maybe I'll dig out some of those pictures, scan them in and post them. Last week just sucked me dry. I didn't get a whole lot accomplished on the artsy craftsy side of things....so I've been buckling down this week. I started my mini art quilts, I worked on one set of two Saint tags I'm making (I couldn't decide between St. Michael and St. Mark), I've got ideas brewing for the second saint and year of tags swap (I'm Miss December), and I've worked on goody bag materials....I've got some things done....shocked myself. :) The real problem is the three swaps I'm hosting....I had ideas, but as I hear what others are planning....I've got to rethink mine. :) I did sign up for a ninth SB swap. So here is the rundown: Mini Art Quilt, Year of Tags, Saint Tags, Sugar 'n' Spice ATC, New Year's Resolution ATC, Playing from A-Z art thing (I chose the letter "J" for Jr and James- Billy's middle name), Circus FatBook, Sweet Treat Charm Swap, and a bee project. The last three are my swaps I'm hosting. I'm bushed right now though....we just got back from our daily jaunt. Food and rest are the only things on my agenda for tonight.

A Really Nifty Giveaway

You need to head over here to see the details, but it is fun and the prize is pretty cool. www.gardengoose.blogspot.com/2009/07/500th-post-giveaway-75-worth-of-awesome.html It's a generous giveaway. Tina is too cool....I met her through my very first giveaway here. :) Good luck...even though that means my chances are slimming.

Update

Baccus is home. I got him yesterday morning....after getting lost trying to find vet services on main post. I'm trying to forget all about it. I came home, ate and crashed on the couch for a good two hours. Mentally and physically exhausted...that was me. I'm still tired. We've been going on our walks every night. I hurt my thumb (on the right hand) so I couldn't get a lot acomplished today....argh. I've lost two days of list crossing off. :) Oh well. I plan on getting nothing accomplished tonight and hope against hope that Billy will let me change the tv station....I don't want to watch GPB tonight. :) Maybe I can enjoy my new Country Living that came in the mail today....not if Billy has anything to say about it (okay...or sign).

Our housing area may be clean...

but that doesn't mean the people don't suck. We had a crappy weekend for the most part. Most of Friday was good, until 8 pm when we went out to get Baccus for our walk. Someone took off his collar and let him loose. I thought he had escaped his collar, but Jr told me after I called the MPs to see if he had been picked up that his collar was off him (unhooked). That person, also, took his name tag off the collar. We found it not far from his collar. The MPs did pick him up and took him to vet services, but we can't get him until morning. They were closed all weekend due to the holiday. We are going first thing in the morning to get him....but now I'm worried that whoever did that will do it again. Something always goes amiss when Clark goes to NTC....and it is always in the first week. Last time, when we were at Fort Hood and Jr was only three...I fell off the front stoop and sprained my ankle. We didn't do our walk Friday, but we've gone out the last two days....but not the route we take with Baccus. I miss him. I did get a bunch of stuff done....trying to keep my mind off of Baccus. Clark called last night and I had to tell him. I got all the trim ready for the goody bags and worked on two other parts of the bags. I painted a little this morning and actually re-read a Nancy Drew book last night. I think I might read another one tonight....there is a new Miss Marple on GPB tonight....A Pocketful of Rye. Billy has been on a public broadcasting kick this weekend. He'll watch anything...crazy kid. Well, speaking of kids....I need to feed them. Then I have to figure out how to get to vet services in the morning...I want my dog back.

They made it

Clark called around 0900 yesterday to let me know they made it to NTC. We've been slowly adjusting to one less person in the house. I made a command decision today and we went to the commissary two days early. Now we can stay home all weekend and relax. :) We needed milk and I wasn't sure if the commisssary would be open tomorrow (it will be..oy..oh well). I'm determined to actually make dinners for us while he's away....we usually eat like collge students. The last two nights, the three of us have gone for a walk with Baccus. It wears the two autistic ones down well (that would be Billy and the dog). We've decided it will be a standing date. :) We've been picking up all the aluminum cans we see (Jr has finally realized...they are worth something). Don't worry, Pops.....we grab any coke bottle tops we see as well. Our housing area is pretty clean though. That is a good thing. I made a master list of what I want to accomplish this month and started working on it. It's not a long list, but the amount that needs to be made is daunting. :) I figure if I break it down and do a little bit a day...I should be good. On the swap front, I signed up for yet another SB swap...glutton for punishment. That is seven at last count. Plus, the one blog one that is due at the end of the month. Unfortunately, there is another whole week of SB swaps opening next week...I hope for my sake they suck. :) They probably won't though. Well, it osunds as if Billy is about to do something very, very bad.

Busy, busy as a bee

We've been getting CLark ready for NTC all weekend. He was supposed to manifest last night amd we got there around 11:30 and found out his flight was cancelled and no one called him...argh. I was so pissed....poor Billy was so tired last night and we made him stay up. Argh...bastards. I actually got to clean up my office a little bit on Friday....I loaded up a big box of trims for my sister and her friend at work. I gave them a whole vintage suitcase worth, plus I cut some lace for my sister from the big boxes (the six boxes...three of fancy pants lingerie lace/three fancy pants non-boing boing) and from my personal stash of favorite trims. She will be set for life (or until I get another bug up my butt to destash). Don't worry about me.....I've still got plenty of trims. I've got the first set of cardstock cut (I had to buy a bigger trimmer) and if I can unearth the table I can start stamping on them....it's for the goody bags for SB. I'm hoping to knock out all the goody bag items while he's away and before school starts (early...the 7th of August). I'm planning on putting at least four different things in my goody bags and only one of the four items is ready to go. I've got parts of the second and third items done (200 is a big number and I have to do it in bits...plus, it's repetitive and boring at times). I do belive it is easier for those ladies whose shops sell the same things over and over again....they just count out said number of items and they are done. Since most of my items are vintage/thrifted...I don't always have 200 on hand and have to use what I have to make 200....does that make sense?? It will after I get back from SB..no sneak peeks. There is one thing they are getting that will be somewhat easy (just have to pick it out and decide on amount).....trims. My package to England made it okay....very happy about that and she liked what I sent...always a relief. I signed up for yet another SB Swap....oy...that is six now. :) There are still one more week of swaps next week as well.....oh, these Bellas are killing me. But it is so fun to try new things or different themes...okay, I can't bitch too much...three of those swaps are ones I'm hosting. I'm building up....practice in hosting....I really want to host one here someday. I think that is it for now...my brain is starting to slow down.....I think that calls for more caffeine. :) Have a great day!