Failed Plot

See that shinny blue thing in the driveway, yep that would be a new car folks, Not a new to me new car but a brand spankin new car.

Hubby came out of the bathroom after spending some time enjoying the air freshener and told me my little trick didn't work :( Yesterday we loaded Kara up for a field trip to look at cars, after hours of talking, rolling of eyes, pulling my hair out, you get the picture I gave up lets go home. After Kara went down for her nap and hubby was relaxing in the air conditioner I went out on my own. Hubby is just not into dealing, he always feels bad that we are (me) being to aggressive with the salesmen.

 4 hours later the best deal I could come up with other than walking away was on a new car. None of the dealers would come off the price on the used cars. The starting price on the new car was $42,900.00 after rebates, a discount from hubbies company and a little more standing my ground on the price I called hubby. I was OK with the price at that point but wanted him to come over and check it out. By this time DD#3 had picked Kara up for the day, after we walked around a bit in the 103 degree heat we agreed it was time to write the check, gulp.

I have saved and saved preparing to make this someday purchase but man alive was it hard to write the check, $32,000.00. After taking position of the keys I got cold feet once again, called our credit Union to transfer the funds, while at it I checked on financing we can get %.1 interest on a loan. What to do, what to do. I went with the loan. 

Hubby is over the moon happy that the grands and I will be secure in a reliable car when he is out of town. We are both happy that we stuck with an American company even though the price of American made cars are higher. We have NEVER bought anything other than American and are thankful that we are in a position to continue that practice.

Funny how differently we feel about the new car. He sees, shiny new paint, chrome, and more gadgets than you can shake a stick at. He was in his special place last night reading the manual cover to cover. I see a whole wad of cash setting in the driveway going down in value. Even if I took the time to read the manual I know I will never learn what all the buttons do.

Thinking Outside The Box

 Quilt top is complete, only I know the huge mistake I made while piecing it together! Even with the mistake that's still there by the way it turned out nice. The next one I make using the 50% off fabric I will remember to read the directions, it should have a whole new look about it. HA

 This is our master bathroom potty, notice anything odd?

If you look very closley you can see the handle has a "New Car" air freshener attached.

I didn't think about looking over the directions for the quilt I finished today until after it was finished. Why doesn't it look like the picture on the pattern I wondered. DUHHHH, I put it together wrong. For the life of me I don't know why I can't follow directions, I always end up just doing my own thing. Next week I will be making another one USING the directions!

Now what to do about the new car fever hubby has. Even with the cash in the bank after today's Supreme Court ruling and the beating the stock market took I am in NO mood to be laying down any big cash at least until we know what our new tax rate will be. So I was thinking maybe it's the New Car smell that has hubby all giddy, after all he has his own truck and Harley that he loves, why mess with my old car other than the fact he got a whiff of fresh leather. He never drives my car other than family vacations or outings so why should he care.

I got the brilliant idea that maybe an air freshener place strategically in our home would quinch his thirst. Off  to the auto store where the single fresheners were $1.95, the value pack was $4.95 for 6. I went with the value pack, we are talking a $47,000.00 car here folks I think springing for $4.95 was worth the expence.

Hubby does his reading, thinking and contemplating in the bathroom. ( I hear this is normal behavior) I figured this would be the best spot to place the air freshener. Maybe after smelling it for hours (yes he stays that long) he will be so sick of the smell he won't want to go near another car lot for at least a year.

If this experiment works like I hope it will just think of the money I could make. A few marketing tools a case of air fresheners, I could be a millionaire. Women around the world singing my praises!!! I could be the new Oprah, empowering woman to hang on to the cash they have on hand

I should know by tonight once the Oreo's and milk kick in. 

I opened a can of worms!!

Got a pretty good start on a new "Quilt of Valor" top yesterday, hopefully more will get done today.

Hubby and I picked my car up yesterday afternoon after having the repairs made to the airconditioner that had been replaced last Aug.grr  the repairs were still under warranty so we did get a little break in the cost but still it didn't seem right to me. While hubby was settling up the bill I wondered around the showroom looking at what I think I will want for my next new used car for me. My car is 9 years old with over 200,000 miles on it. I know the time is coming it will have to be replaced, if up to hubby it would have already been done.

As he walks over with a grin from ear to ear I knew what was coming.
HIM - Is this the one you want.
ME - ya, I think this is it. However I don't want all the bells and whistles this one has and it has to be used.
HIM -  This is a great car for you, then he starts rattling off all the stuff I could care less about. Somebody has been doing their homework!
ME -  It needs to be at least a year old with low milage.
HIM - As long as you like to keep a car lets just buy new, we can find one without all the extra's and it would be cheaper. Drull is now running down his mouth
ME - Nope it has to be used or it's no deal.
HIM - lets find a sales rep and see what they have used.
Lot Lizzard arrives
Me - I like this make and modle but I will only buy used and I don't want all the extra's
Lot Lizzard - We have a few used ones but I can get you a better deal on the new ones
Me -  No, used will be fine
Lot Lizzard - With intrest rates as low as they are right now on new cars you will be saving money and I can get the payments where you need them to be.
Me - We will be paying cash, I want a used car with low milage
Lot Lizzard - We have some on the lot, you are welcome to look around. Here is my card if you find what you want. You can also check our website to see what we get in then give me a call.

Lot Lizzard then walks away.
Me - Hubby, I do believe he just lost a sale.
Hubby - I can't believe he just walked away
Me - Lets see what they have but he won't be getting the sale
Hubby - Can't contain his excitment, he has had a whiff of new car smell

So we look around but the prices are MUCH higher than I expected.
Me - Lets go home, dinner is ready, I'm hungry
Hubby - Don't you like any of the colors?
Me- The colors are fine, the price is to high, I'm hungry
Hubby - Gives me the sad puppy dog eye's

After supper hubby is on the PC diligently looking for a new car, his fingers are flying over the keys, the man is on a mission. I should never have opened that can of worms.

Meet My New Friend Lily

 We got a nice bunch of tomatoes from the garden this morning along with cucumbers, radishes, squash, zucchini, garlic and tons of lettuce. Canning season is close at hand. After I knocked out hubby's errands (and a little stop for me) It was home to knock out some sewing.

 This months quilt square is complete, it is my least favorite so far but for $1.00 it will do.

 I picked up this dress while we were at the beach last week for AJ's surrogate Mommy, it is sooo her and it was on sale!! She will be headed to the beach for her family vacation in a couple of weeks, I am building her gift around a beach theme. Lots of beach necessities, a zippy wallet that almost mathches her new dress with a GC inclosed for a pedi as well as a cell phone case. All I need to finish up her gift is to embroider her name on a beach bag in the morning then it's done, yepee.  AJ is so lucky to have such a wonderful surrogate Mommy who loves her like she was her own!

 Delivered this gift bag today to our neighbor who brought in our mail last week. A cute zippy wallet with a GC for a pedi.

 I found this bag marked down to $3.50 at the chain fabric store today. Picked up 2 of them for gift giving in the future. I will add a sturdy plexiglass bottom along with some monagraming it will make a great frugal gift. I so love my gift closet and drawers.

 The little stop for me this morning was to the chain fabric store that was running a 50% off sale on all of their 4th of July fabrics. What a deal!!! I picked up 2 yards of each fabric, it will be made up into "Quilts of Valor" for our wounded hero's. I just left the scrap/sewing room after cutting out a new quilt using some of this bargian fabric. So exciting!!

Last but not least meet my new friend Lily. I was to tired to put  her in a nice spot in the scrap/sewing room tonight so she isn't looking her best. I am still fond of Pearl but the girl not only has a small chest her hips are ridiculously tiny, really she has no hips to speak of  but I still love her. Lily on the other hand has nice wide hips, we call them birthin hips here in the south it was love at first sight when I saw her abundant rear end. Lily's waist is not what I would consider normal but we all have our little flaws so I forgive her for that. Lily wasn't figured in my spending plan this week but with the garden cranking out veggies and the freezer full of food I will still be on track to stay within our spending budget. I think a girl can never have to many friends no matter what their shape or size.

Play it Forward Handmade

 Remember back a few month's ago when several bloggers got in on this fun idea?

 My Handmade item from Carla was waiting for me when we returned home from vacation!!!

 A checkbook cover/coupon holder and a zippy wallet. I used both yesterday while I was doing my running around. LOVE them both. Thank you so much Carla.

 Along with the gift she included one of her Handmade cards, beautiful! Check out Carla's blog, she has a tab for her sewing creations at really GREAT prices.

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

 My Play it Forward buddy Ms Thrifty has also been on vacation. I got word that she too received the handmade gift I sent to her.

 I whipped up a Sassy apron in what I think are her favorite colors (I hope)

The back....

Pearl my sewing friend doesn't do clothing the justice they deserve sometimes. Pearl is lacking in the Ta Ta department so things just don't hang right on her but it's better than nothing when taking photo's

Yesterday I left the house bright and early to knock out a few errands, I didn't return home until 3:00, grrrrr. It was not a stellar day. I overspent at the quilt store, HATE the grocery store that is close to home now that mine has closed its doors, the air conditioner went out in my car that we had replaced last summer, it was 93 degree's and AJ the beagle left me 2 surprises in my sewing room. AJ always gets back at us in some way even if we only go on an overnight trip. Typical girl, they tend to hold a grudge.

I told hubby last night I am staying home today to sew. Don't call unless it is an emergency. I need to finish up a gift for AJ's surrogate Mommy, get my block of the month finished, and loads of other things lurking in the scrap/sewing room. He agreed that a day off to play was a good idea, that is until this morning before he left for work.

HIM - Hey if your out today could you hit the drug store for my meds?

SHE - Sure no problem

HIM - I also have this package that needs to go in the mail, mind doing that or should we wait until the weekend?

SHE - OK, I will drop it off on the way home.

HIM - Can we eat early tonight, I am meeting the guys at the shooting range

SHE - Yep

HIM - Don't forget to pick the tomato's before the squirrels get them

SHE - I love you, now leave before I change my mind on the whole love you bit.

Home Sweet Home

 We had Kara and DD#3 along for the ride home from vacation today. SIL#2 had to leave the beach early this year to get back to work. The car was packed FULL with all of our things, Kara's, and DD#3. I was so happy that we had no room to stop for 2 bushels of peaches!!! I am not ready to begin canning yet! HA.

 As soon as I finished unpacking I got busy in the garden, so many things went to waste :( However we still have all summer to catch up, tonight might be a salad all fresh from the garden but a chocolate bar might win out.

 So many of the flowers on the deck are in really bad shape. Hopefully a little water and some TLC this week will have them perky again in a few days.

This guy might be a lost cause :(

The car has been unloaded, bedsheets just came off the clothesline, suitcases are unpacked, odds and ends are back where they should be. Vacation is officially over. It's good to be home!!!

Tomorrow will be all about the garden, banking and resting in between.

The weather has been HOT, HOT, HOT, here at home while we were gone. We have some hit or miss showers around this evening that we hope will hit our house, if not the sprinklers will be going full blast in the AM. Then it's on to weeding, tie up tomatoes, peppers and lots of other to do's in the dirt. I had to pitch so many things today that had gone bad while we were gone, zucchini as big as watermelon, yellow squash, over ripe tomatoes, cracked radishes, lettuce, durn. We did have a friend come by and pick at mid week but things grow so fast right now it is a daily job.

I need to do a check up on our bank accounts and pay some bills in the morning, then check the CC to see how we did on our spending. I tried something new this year by using a CC for almost everything we spent, the little cash we did take is more than I need to see us through next week. I think we did pretty well with our budget but hubby has a bad habit of not playing fair!!HA  The CC will be paid in full first thing in the AM, so hope we are UNDER budget!! That will put us a little closer to our goal for the Christmas fund.

We received sad news on the way home that a dear friend passed away Friday. Dan was only 60 years old but had fought heart problems and suffered major strokes in the past 20 years. Hubby will find out the details in the morning when he gets to the office. The family is originally from KS so we figure the services will be back in his home town. So sad... he leaves behind a wife, 2 DD's a Son and a slew of grands. We have traveled around the country with his family on different job sites when we wives were still able to move our kiddo's from pillar to post before settling down when they hit high school. Hubby and I NEED to get our own arrangements made soon. We don't want to leave our kiddo's with the burden of figuring it all out. Our will, insurance and such is all in order but there are so many other detail we need to think about and work out. We have lost far too many friends recently.

Last Full Day Of Sand In My Pants

 The seagulls will have to make do without our goldfish and teddy graham snacks

 Someone else will take our place looking for shells.

 One last time in the waves

 The beach chairs are now washed and ready to load.

 Kara agrees that this was the best week ever.

She sealed her happiness with a kiss for her Papaw.

Surfin USA

Only 2 days left of vacation, I think we might make it!! Looking forward to getting back in our own bed in a QUITE house!!!!

Day 3

 Tonight was our go out to eat night, chicken with lots of ranch dip for the little girls.

 And crab legs for most of the rest of us! We hit the place at 5:00 to get in on the happy hour special. $16.00 a pound for crab legs, I won't say how many pounds we ate. This is just my plate (pan)

 We then walked across the street to the original North Myrtle Beach pavilion.

 Hubby, DD#1 and DD#2 manning the strollers so Tyler could do some riding

 Ty and his Daddy, Dad is 6 foot 5 ins, hard to get his long legs in the bumper cars.

The little girls were able to ride for the first time this year on a few things. As you can see they had a great time!!!

Day 3 is in the books, all the grands are feed, bathed and in the bed, lots of little snores coming from them all.

I hung out at the house today with Mason, even with the sun tents and sun screen we still get sun. We don't want to take a chance on our little guy getting to much sun and it was my day to cook. Fixing breakfast, lunch and snacks with all the clean up takes most of the day. Tonight was dinner out on us then the evening at the amusement park. We love this park, very low key, family friendly, lots of Nanny and Papaws trying to keep up with their Angels.

While the rest of the big kids are watching something very funny on TV from the sound of it, I am hiding out in my room with some chocolate and a book.  Such sweet times with our family but having a little me time is pretty sweet as well!! 

Day 2

 Karsyn our little daredevil was quite the Diva this morning at the beach. Poor girl didn't get enough sleep the night before so a pacifier was badly needed most of the day.

 Tyler was in high gear all day then hit the sack early tonight.

 Kara loves every single thing about the beach.

Sharing snacks with Aunt Ame is another highlight of the day.

What a beautiful day today, temps in the low 80's with a cool breeze and lots of sunshine. So far no sunburns, we are all using 80 SPF sunscreen. Nothing is worst than getting burned on the first day at the beach!!

DD and her hubby had kitchen duty today, breakfast, lunch and dinner, no cooking for me!! However....Hubby and I might have stopped for a little fast food on the way home from the grocery tonight, I'm just saying!!

Day 1

 Karsyn loves everything except the sand, yucky!!

 Tyler hit the water first thing, we had to drag him in for supper.

 Mason enjoyed napping in the sea breeze.

 Kara is in Heaven!!

As much fun as she was having in the water there is always time for a goldfish snack.

We are all settled in for the night after a pleasant drive to the coast, the grands all napped on the way in their parents cars!! Nanny and Papaw had our car with no little ones, NICE.

As soon as the cars were unloaded we hit the beach, the grands went totally wild. Kara stopped once for a goldfish snack then was right back at it. How did we survive way back when before digital camera's were around. I took 92 photo's in the short time we were on the beach!!

Off to bed so I can help greet the gang when they hit the floor in the morning, 5:30 comes early

Beach Vacation Sewing

 The big boys cell phone cases are done, so ugly to me but they will like them.

 I have been wanting to try a Grandmothers Flower Garden quilt, however the idea of cutting out paper pieces in addition to cutting all the fabric didn't appeal to me. I went on a search to my local quilt store and found this nifty little deal. The first block turned out pretty easy and relaxing to work on at night, however the store was out of the plastic templates.

 So I went on line to purchase more. The quilt I had started used 2 inch quilt hexie's, they seemed a little large to me but what would I know, it's my first try. I ordered what the fella said I would need to work up a twin size quilt then ask him what was the most popular size. 1 inch seemed to be the big seller so I added that to my order as well.

 After making sure everything was packed and ready for vacation I got busy digging in my scraps to cut out 1 inch hexie's for a twin size quilt last night. I figure this should be plenty for me to work on in the evenings after the little ones are in bed, maybe even some sewing on the beach!!

Everything I need fits nicely in this free bag from Clinque. Perfect for some on the go sewing! Check out their site here   http://www.brandysquiltpatterns.com/ 

On the right side of the page there are video's showing how to use the hexie mylar templates.

The house is clean enough, the yard is mowed, garden is mostly weeded and watered, bills are paid, suite cases and food are loaded in the car the countdown begins. I just a few short hours we will be on the road for a week with the family in sunny Myrtle Beach, SC ahhhh vacation. I am mentally prepared for the crazy week ahead.......I think.

Having only one full day to organize, pack and pull it all together was a real pain. I am sure I will have forgotten something, lets just hope its nothing we can't do without, I am determined to keep from breaking the bank on this trip!!! Hubby is the hardest of all to keep in check, he forgets how VERY expensive it is to finance all the extras he likes to do with a family this size.

Off to take a shower and do the dreaded task of cleaning up my hairy body from the winter, my girls don't like the natural look on the beach. In my dreams I picture the family on a nice Alaskan Cruise, where everyone has to wear jeans, sensible shoes and a nice over sized sweater or jacket. No worries over who is eating sand, who has gone off too far in the surf, sand all over the floor, tub, beds and snacks, teens who decide to light fireworks at midnight waking up the babies, TV blaring 24-7. Humm....now that I think about it shaving is the least of our worries.

Have a great Fathers Day celebrating your special Father and or Hubby.