Rainy Day Reading

 Passed this book along to a friend this weekend

Yesterday's Nook book.

Want a couple of good easy read books?

 I finished "The Dirty Life" a week or so back. It's a really cute book based on the authors experience when she left the big city to move and work at  her BF's farm where they eventually married. While living on a farm may sound like the life many of us want reading this book makes me happy I only have a small garden to tend to! Ha.

Yesterday Mason and I hung out watching the rain reading all day. I do mean all day, I didn't even take a shower!!! Just what the Dr. ordered a day off.

 I finished "Mrs. Kennedy And Me" I had downloaded on my nook to read during our upcoming beach vacation, oops, need to download a few more books now! HA

I really enjoyed this book written by Mrs. Kennedy's body guard during her White House years. If you are a Jackie fan you will really like this one.

Not sure what Mason and I will be up to today. I am going into the day with no plan at all, a rare thing for me to do. I did work a little on transferring $$ around in or bank accounts this morning. We have so overspent from what I had planned on various projects in the yard and garden this spring with a little more spending planed. Thank goodness the big ticket items are done with but I want a few more raised beds to garden in that cost $$ to build and add soil too. Also put a little extra into our Christmas/Vacation account, with our beach trip coming up that account will be taking a hit. 

Maybe a little clean up work in the scrap/sewing room would be a good place to start. I also need to get some cards made that I have been putting off for way to long!! It's not like there aren't 101 things that could be done around here. I will find something short and sweet to do by the end of the day I am sure!!

Weekend Wrap Up

 Our weekend wasn't all sadness. We had Kara for the day Saturday, lots of errands, Tyler's ball game and some hot tub fun at the end of the day.

 A sweet young couple came by Saturday to share some time with their 2 little girls, wish we could have spent the day with them!! Thanks so much for the homemade strawberry jam Teresa, your family is so sweet, we are blessed to have a small part of you all in our lives!!!!!

 Hubby tried a new pork rib recipe, it was pretty good but not a favorite.

 We had our ribs while setting on the deck watching the clouds of tropical storm Beryl overhead Sunday.

The biggest deal of all was we finally finished the shed!! The last loads went to goodwill and the dump yesterday. I have to wait at least 30 days to paint the new doors and trim (I am thinking this fall) Getting all the excess stuff out of this shed is a wonderful feeling. Next big to do is working on the garage, maybe next time hubby is home.

After a weekend of hard work, running the roads, baby setting the grands, cookout with the kiddo's and losing a friend I am having a day off. Well sort of a day off, Mason man is here today but he seems to be in the same mood as I am, we are both worn out. I have lots of leftovers from the weekend to keep me out of the kitchen for a day or two, a couple of good books downloaded on the Nook I would like to read. The phone is off the hook so we don't get any telemarketing calls all is lined up for a good afternoon nap for us both.

Hubby is on his way to Al for our friends service then on to MI for a quick check on the project he is working on. I DO NOT plan on any major projects for the week!! There is plenty I could do, there always is but I need to get my battery recharged before the little girls are back Thursday - Saturday. One thing I do need to get started is our schedule for June, things are piling up with short trips, vacations, visitors, and of course the garden if it decides to grow this year. Only 2 1/2 more weeks before school is out, this year is flying by!!!

A Day of Remembrance

 Hubby and I received word yesterday that a dear friend had been killed in a motorcycle accident on his way to breakfast club with friends in his home town in Al. Such a tragic death caused by a careless driver took the life of a wonderful man. After our own breakfast with our buddies this morning I worked on cutting some lavender and working them up in bundles to dry. Lavender seems to calm me. 

 In the afternoon Hubby went on his first ride with the Patriot Guard for a WWII hero who had passed. He travels so much that he hasn't been able to ride before today. He was so moved by the entire experience, looking forward to may more rides with them.

NOT MY PHOTO

This is an example of what the Patriot Riders do for families of  fallen soldier's. So proud to be a part of this group although today I didn't have the heart to ride :(  Check out the link below to see what this organization is all about

http://www.patriotguardks.org/index.htm

Other than hubby's ride this afternoon we have had a very quiet day. Being so far away when a friend has passed is hard. If we were closer a meal would have already been delivered, hugs and tears would have been shared, stories of growing up and the fun we had would have had us laughing at the good memories.....

Hubby will be taking off Tuesday to attend the services, I will be staying back with the grands. Times like this is when being the caregiver for the little ones can be a real challenge but my heart will be with hubby and our friends, they know that!

Hubby and I have had a little RAK challenge going on this month, today I got in a win!! Go Me 

It started early this month while at breakfast club I saw a fella with a Vietnam Veteran ball cap on. I ask the waitress to give me his bill and tell him thanks for his service but keep it secret. Not to be outdone hubby called a week or so later to tell me he picked up dinner for a group of active forces young men while he was at dinner. Durn he was ahead!! I have picked up the bill a few times since then for veterans but I am still behind in my spending by $26.00. We will go out again in the morning to our local favorite place, you can bet I will be doing my best to scan the place for Veterans, I need to at least go down with a tie!!!!!!

How are you celebrating this Memorial Day?? Hopefully everyone has found some little way to thank the hero's of our country who are willing to lay down their lives so we can enjoy a long weekend with family and friends. We will finish up our weekend with a cookout with our kiddo's and grands tomorrow, so PROUD to be an AMERICAN!!!

Summer Shopping

 After Kara and I got our kitchens cleaned up we headed to Gymboree for some summer shopping.

 We loaded up two bags full of really cute (handsome for the boys) things for our upcoming beach trip.

In the afternoon it was hot tub and bird watching time.

Kara is the only grand I can take shopping, she is sweet as can be, never tries to climb out of the stroller and is too young to ask for things (yet) Gymboree was running a 30% off sale on everything in the store, you could also earn Gymbucks this week so off we went.

We came home with 17 items of clothing for the grands with a retail value of $366.00. Total out of pocket was $168.00 that's a savings of $198.00!! In addition to the money we saved I also received $75.00 in Gymboree bucks for July. I clothes shop for the grands 3 or 4 times a year, Easter, Summer, Christmas and sometimes again at the Winter sale. For the most part I give the Gymboree bucks to the Mommies so they can purchase any other things the grands might need. Every single thing I purchased today was already on clearance with the additional 30% off. I will never understand why people pay full price for clothes, seems crazy to me!!

Early to bed for me again tonight, we have Kara for the day tomorrow as well as Tyler's Tee Ball game. I also need to get the wash caught back up, do some cleaning and yard/garden work. It will be a full day :(

Silly Rabbits

 Finally got a picture of one of the pesky but oh so cute bunnies that are munching away in the garden.

Finished the binding on the table topper this morning before the grands arrived. Gotta get my fun in when I can.

It has been a long day around the house. Hubby came home from work early....I had just gotten the grands down for their afternoon nap. I think the little buggers can smell fresh meat willing to play as soon as someone comes in the house. No afternoon nap today :(   Instead we played with the water table until boredom set in then it was on to the hot tub (really a warm tub) By the time SIL did his pick up the grands could hardly hold their heads up, it will be early to bed for them both tonight.

We did a little walk around the gardens this evening. Things are looking pretty bad. I put out 85 corn seeds, 2 have come up...I will be replanting them. brussel sprouts.. not a one made it, more replanting. The durn Zinnia seeds didn't even make it!! Our weekend will be jam packed with garden work, trying to save what is left and starting over on other things. The wet weather has done a job on everything, what the weather hasn't taken the bunnies are munching to their heart desire. So much for having AJ the beagle, she is too busy accepting snacks from the grands to do any hunting.

So thankful for a hubby that will eat just about anything!! Supper tonight was taco's, that was all I had the energy to do besides the fact we needed to use up the leftover lettuce and tomatoes from last nights salad. I will be down to Kara only for the next 2 days. Sometimes having just one is great other times the little girls miss each other so much that all they do is look around the house for the other one asking "where baby is" sweet, sweet kiddo's

Leftovers

 Making lasagna is messy business.

 New table topper waiting for the binding.

Kara enjoying the hydrangeas.

Another shirt post! I have been on my feet lugging around a baby or toddler on my hip since 7:00AM, I need my bed!!!!!!!!

Today was leftover day. We had some leftover spaghetti sauce I didn't want to go to waste, with an additional jar of sauce it was just enough to make a pan of lasagna. DD#3 her hubby and Kara dropped in right at supper time. I was so glad I had enough for all of us and still 2 meals went in the freezer for a night off from cooking. Good deal!

The table topper I made today is from the leftovers of the quilt top I finished over the weekend. When I was cutting it out I hung on to the end pieces thinking they might be good for something. Leftovers are a wonderful thing! Ha I am going to count this project as a UFO since if I had moved it into the sewing room that's exactly what it would have been. Once I get the binding on it well be headed to the gift closet.

We had an additional 3 inches of rain last night, will it ever end. Our poor garden is a soggy mess. I'm not sure the plants are going to make it with all the rain we have been having, everything is beginning to turn yellow on the bottom. I so don't want to have to start all over :(

Off to bed with a good book, maybe I can read a page, then again maybe not, soooo tired

Baking Fool

 Blueberry muffins ready for the freezer.

 Chocolate chip muffins cooling down for the freezer, well most of them. I haven't meet a chocolate chip I don't like.

 Peanut butter and white chocolate chip cookies.

 Cherry Cheese cake for desert tonight.

 Crock pot chicken and wild rice..

ruffle panties for Kara's dress, another UFO hits the dust!!

Mason mans newest trick, he can now set up even with that bottle belly.

We have yet another big storm rolling in so I will make this a really quick post. Mason and I kicked bootie in the kitchen today. Lots of baking going on but never got around to the English muffins, tomorrow is another day Scarlett. I also finished an additional UFO, Kara's ruffle panties that match the dress I made awhile back is finally done. Nap time is a wonderful time. Ha

The crock pot chicken and rice turned out pretty good and oh so easy!! The one thing I didn't like was the chicken, looked to pale for our taste so I ran it under the broiler for a few minutes to brown it up, much better! (recipe at the end of this post) We finished off the pickled asparagus from last night for our veggie tonight along with some dill pickles and peaches. I need to use up more of our home canned foods to make room for more.

Now head over to Carla's to get in on her blog giveaway, so cute!!!!

http://halfdozendaily.typepad.com/my-half-dozen-daily/2012/05/a-checkbook-coupon-keeper-giveaway.html

Crock pot chicken and rice

2 cups hot water

2 chicken bullion cubes

Chicken (we like breast but any parts will do)

1 Box Uncle Ben's wild rice

Cook for 4 hours

Mix the hot water, bullion and season mix from the rice together until well blended.

Add the rice when it's mixed up well

Place chicken in bottom of crock pot then pour the rest over it, cover and cook 4 hours.

How stinkin easy is that!!!

 The lilies are in bloom but our garden is a sorry straggly mess.

 Since the weather man is calling for rain thought I would bring a little sunshine into the family room.

 It's hard to see the Dragon flies etched on this vase. DD#1 and I made the vases for her bridesmaids to put their bouquets in at her Wedding reception 8 years ago. My how time flies. Dragon flies are DD#1 signature bug. Ha

The freezer was getting low on breakfast food, Karsyn and I made a triple batch of waffles yesterday to replenish our quick breakfast supply.

Mason and I are headed out on a few errands this morning in hopes of missing the race crowd that will be in for the long race week as well as Memorial Day weekend. Then it's back home to work some magic in the kitchen. We need a few more quick breakfast items for the freezer, sweet muffins and English muffins are on our to do list for the day. As well as a desert or two, a new supper recipe is in the crock pot.

We hope to hit the scrap/sewing room this afternoon to start working on the next UFO, there are soooo many to pick from! Ha I am doing my best to have a little self control and not begin anything new until I clear the decks a bit. It is going to take weeks I am sure but it needs to be done.

Hubby is working diligently on his shed remodel, by the weekend he should be ready to move JUST whats needed back in. I feel 100 pounds lighter with all that excess stuff out of our way. I am still in a bit of shock that he decided to take on this project he is quite the pack rat!!!

Are you taking on any biggie projects for the spring/summer? I am thinking this might be the last for us until the fall. The heat will be too much soon to do any major outdoor work. I figure the garden ,if it well every take off and grow will be all I can handle on the big project side of things. I am setting the bar a little lower this year for myself, after close to 2 years with the youngest grands my battery is getting pretty low!!! That's and understatement for sure.

Here We Go, A New Week

 Hubby working hard to cut a bigger doorway in the shed.

 A UFO is finished!! It has now moved to the pile of needs to be quilted.

 Soft sweet fabric, I think this might be a Christmas gift....hummm, maybe

Karsyn decided today is hat day, what the heck it's only going to be in the high 80's!! Mason is right in there with her, lovin his hat.

Very short post today, I have Karsyn and Mason, DD #2 needed to take Kara to the Dr for her chest cold so I took over Karsyn for her today. The house is a rocking and won't calm down until 6:00PM tonight!!! There is a possibility they are both down for a nap, still here some singing coming from Karsyn's crib, oh please let them sleep!!

Hubby got the doorway enlarged on the shed and new doors built so he is well on his way with the remodeling. We loaded the truck up last night for a dump drop off on his way to work this morning. Slowly but surely the shed will be back in working order soon with what looks to be no more JUNK.

I finished the UFO quilt top yesterday along with my "Play it forward Handmade" gift. Now to make a card and get it all in the mail.  Pulled out my next UFO with hopes of getting it done and maybe an additional UFO this week. I have a new quilt pattern (been laying around awhile) I want to start but until I clean out a few more UFO's I won't let myself start it.

The singing has stopped, time for a quick shower then on to making lunch for the munchkins, have a great day!!

Spectacular Sunday

 This little guy means business when he hits the field. How can he be 5 years old :(

 During the ball game Papaw and Karsyn did a little flower picking. Dandelion's are a family favorite!!

 While ripping and running yesterday we hit the fabric store to pick up the needed fabric for the quilt top I want to finish along with just a few more goodies.

 In the afternoon I finished my purse with the leftover fabric from my "Secret Sisters" gift.

 Just the right amount of pockets for what I grab for the most.

Fabric covered buttons for the pleated sides and a fabric covered button for the closure I put in the middle.

I am taking a break from my to do list to enjoy a tall glass of water before I get back to the sewing machine finishing up projects. Hubby is out back remodeling his shed so the lawn tractor will fit in it. I was stunned this week when he said lets clean out the shed!!! Holy cow it's been on my wish/to do list for years. Yesterday morning after breakfast club we loaded up our of Teak furniture to give to goodwill. Somebody is going to score big time!!! Hubby shipped the furniture to me from Indonesia years ago, super nice stuff but I couldn't handle the maintenance of it anymore, we have been hanging on to it for years thinking the big kids might want it. No way no how, they have memories of me out cleaning, oiling and polishing it several times a year (smart girls!)

Then it was on to the Braves game to watch our ball player do his thing. If you want a really good time that cost nothing take in a tee ball game someday. The kids are so sweet to watch even if they aren't your own. Karsyn ran out of snacks before the end of the game (whats new), she then began her climbing tricks so Papaw took her on a walk to pick flowers, soooo cute. She loved giving out her little treasure's to Mom and I, even a few strangers in the stands. Can life be any sweeter? While we were on that end of the county we hit the fabric store to pick up some needed things to finish up a few UFO's, of course a little something extra worked it's way in the bag!!

Back home for more shed clean out this time to the county dump, a full truck load. I think hubby taking on this challenge has shown him how much excess crap we have been storing. It is crazy I tell you!!!! We will have an additional load to take to goodwill this afternoon. After a good nights sleep he has decided we really can let go of more stuff! Yepeeeee!!!!!

We packed a whole lot of living and doing in the day Saturday. Today is a little more relaxed thank goodness. Hubby is working on his construction changes to the shed, I am working on some UFO's, AJ the beagle is squirrel and rabbit hunting. Since we were together as a family for the big game yesterday there will be no family Sunday dinner unless the big girls wanted to take it on. Since nobody stepped up to the plate hubby and I will have a nice quite cookout and enjoy the deck this evening!!!

Boys Night Out

Wohooo, Look whats beginning to bloom!!

Hubby is on a much deserved boy's night out on the bikes (Harley's) I was so close to taking a video of him mounting the bike after a full day of helping me with the grands then weed eating the entire yard after dinner, it was a wet your pants laughing moment!! The only thing holding me back was he just might figure out how to use the camera and turn it on me one day.

While hubby did the trimming in the yard I did the mowing, hey its a riding lawn tractor but still after a day of heavy lifting (the grands) it was a work out. It seems that overnight the Hydrangea bushes are beginning to bloom, I just love them!! I need to refresh the dried hydrangeas around the house this year, looks like I will have plenty to cut from.

A HUGE thank you for all your comments on yesterdays post. I really have no problem saying No to some people but afterwards I always end up losing sleep second guessing myself if I did the right thing. We do give a lot to charities that we feel are in line with our morals, ethics, and principles, never less than 10% of whatever money comes our way. Maybe the folks on the receiving end are no different than my family member, who knows, but I think the Lord knows where our heart is so we give gladly and hope it makes a difference in someones life.

I am off to bed with a book  I downloaded to my Nook that Sharon suggested, check out her review here   http://midlifemommusings.blogspot.com/  

Want to see some of the cute things ladies are receiving from their "Secret Sister's" That Carla hosted? Check them out at the following blogs, so fun!!

http://craftthriftandlove.blogspot.com/

http://halfdozendaily.typepad.com/my-half-dozen-daily/

Grow Up

I can't handle adult cry babies!!!

I had a terrible nights sleep last night due to the phone call received right before bedtime, not a good thing with two of the little ones showing up today :(  It has been a very long depressing day to be sure.

I am not very tolerant of irresponsible adults, now that I type that I guess I should revise it to say I have NO tolerance for irresponsible adults!!! I have such a member in my family that calls on a pretty regular bases always crying about money, poor pitiful me, I can't make it, but with X amount of dollars from you everything will be hunky dory again. Over the years I have counseled her on how to cut back, where to cut back, I have tried my best to wake her up to the reality that only she can make the changes in her life to become an adult that stands on her own two feet. When she had a minor child still living at home more often than not our wallet was always open. I couldn't stand to think her DD might go without.  I realized later she had been using  many of us within the family for financial help with the same song and dance, for a long time grrrr

In the past year we have been ask for a little help each month in the amount of $650.00. Let me make this clear, she expected us to send her a check each month forever I am thinking for that amount. Another time we were ask for $142,000.00. She couldn't afford her home but if we could just pay it off she would do fine, she was willing to add our name to the deed of the home, mighty nice of her don't you think. Oh me, oh my, the property taxes are due, I need $2,000.00 in 4 days or the tax man will be after me. I don't have any money for food, I have nothing in the house to eat, I don't know what to do, (OK that one got me, I sent a gift card to a local grocery store) The lists of emergencies she has had over the past year is to numerous to count.

I made up my mind some years ago that enough was enough. In a last ditch effort we offered to pay her DD tuition to college, the only stipulation was she would have to send us her mid term reports so we knew she was really working at her education. We got a call back a few days later that they were ready to jump on the offer however DD had a car payment of $500.00 a month so we needed to include that in the costs. ARE YOU CRAZY, sell the car today, we will purchase a good used car for cash that can get her to and from school. No deal, she loved her new car and Mom wanted her in a nice reliable car, not something like our own DD's had been driving.

She came into some money a few years back, I am talking 6 figures, it could have changed her life. I went for a visit of over a week to help her plan what to do with the money. Your lifestyle has to change, this money can help you make that change. Less than 2 years later the money was gone, the phone calls started again.....sad.

Last night I again said NO. She still goes to a tanning bed once a week, has her hair professionally done every 2 weeks (we wouldn't want the roots to show), can't do without the cell phone, the top of the line cable package is all the entertainment she has, she can't do without the lawn service, she works 5 days a week people. I could go on and on. I once again explained to her that her lifestyle was the problem, not the lack of money.

She doesn't think it is fair that hubby and I have leftover money each pay period to put into savings, we have a home that is oh so close to being paid off, and a retirement account to boot. How can you be so greedy? You give money to charity but you can't help me, how unfair is that? At 53 years old she will never change but I don't have to be apart of her crazy ways so I will continue to say NO and have a sleepless night every now and then.

It seems to me our country has more and more people just like my family member. I want what I want and I want it now. You should make sure I get it. We should all be equal in every way lifestyle and money included.

Sorry for the long winded post tonight.

Work in Progress

 The UFO quilt is not quite complete. I still have to add a double border to all sides, that is if I have the correct shade of red, may need to make a stop at the quilt shop this week.

Check out our rain gauge, this 3 inches is on top of the 3 inches we received Sunday and Monday. Everything is a muddy mess, hope we don't lose the garden to root rot!

Mason decided today he was going to pull a drive Nanny up the wall sort of day. He slept a total of 2 hours, UGH!!! His normal sleep pattern is 2 hours play time, 2 hours napping, today not so much. He was happy all day but it's like wrestling an alligator keeping him entertained. Days like today cause me to glace at the calender to do a little countdown till school is out and Mommy can take over. Ha  Tomorrow is Mason and Karsyn, never a dull moment with the two together.

I ended the day with a phone call from a family member that has me in the mood for a whole bag of Doves chocolate. Maybe after I sleep on it I will have more stamina to share, tonight it has drained the last bit of energy I have. Why oh why can't adults act like adults?

UFO's (Unfinished Objects)

 One of Hubby's UFO's 

The plumbing company, county inspector, and gas company all finally got around to finishing their jobs so we now have a working natural gas grill. We have been waiting on everyone to do their thing since hubby's Birthday  March 10th, it been a long wait!!  Hubby broke it in tonight with burgers for super. Yummm No more propane tanks to run out right in the middle of a cookout.

 Way back when I bought this bundle of fat eighths along with a pattern for a "Papillon" quilt

 As with anything I first buy I was excited to get started, cut the fabric up, sewed all the tubes, then nothing..... Since then I have been moving them from here to there waiting to get busy on this quilt someday.

 I felt so bad yesterday I didn't really want to do anything but hated to waste a day. I decided it was time to work on at least one UFO. All I accomplished was to use the "Strip Tube Ruler". It took all day but I did get it all cut out.

 This morning Mason and I got started pressing seams of 154 sets.

In the afternoon we got busy piecing the quilt, 8 rolls of 14 are done!!!

Do UFO's (unfinished objects) make you as crazy as they do me? I hate having half finished projects setting around, so why in the world do I have so many???? Yikes!! Some of the projects are so old that I'm not sure I even like them anymore, NOT GOOD for sure. I am determined to knock a few out while the garden is busy doing it's thing, once things get rocking in the garden I will have very little time for anything else so now is the time to purge some UFO's.

This quilt is first on the chopping block. I was sick of moving it around every time I went in the sewing/scrapbook room. If my luck holds out I should be able to finish the quilt top tomorrow. I am OK with stacking it up once it's pieced with all of the other quilt tops waiting to be quilted, for now I just want it done!!! I only have Mason tomorrow, the house is as clean as it needs to be, laundry is caught up, and the crock pot will be my best friend for supper tomorrow night.

I also contacted the fireplace folks for the umpteenth time to get them out to finish the fireplace, they were paid in full back in January. After a song and dance with the owner we agreed they would complete the work by Friday. We have been waiting since January with calls to them once or twice a month since them, no more!! If they can't get out by Friday I am calling the manufacturer to get them involved, this has gone on way to long. I know the squirrels are gearing up to build yet another nest in the fireplace. I am not willing to continue to build a fire every 3 days to keep them out. Hello we have the air conditioner on some days now, crazy people!!

The UFO's better watch out I am locked and loaded, ready to shoot them all down. (for today at least) How do you motivate yourself to get all the odds and ends done? I am pretty good until it comes to scrapbooking/sewing I start way to many things at once then run out of energy, time or steam.