Farm Chicks or BUST!!

Just one more week and Tammy and I are going to the Farm Chicks Show for the first time! I love the story of the two gals, Terri and Serena, and how it all got started. It gives me hope that I can someday have my own little business on the East Coast. I'm very interested to see how the whole thing works. I mean, a girl can dream, right?

Lots of bloggers out there are attending, and have been designing their own badges. Tammy has graciously made one for each of us. I'll post it as soon as I can find the file...LOL.

At this point in time, I'm still clueless about what to take, what to wear.... I can't even imagine what it's going to be like! We'll have 2 days and plenty of time to take it all in. We'll be sure to take lots of pictures. hugs, Lee

Gadgets Gone Bad

Lately it seems a lot of things have been going wrong for a lot of people, including myself. I wonder if it's the moon in the wrong phase- or some such thing like that! I should have my horoscope read...

My 17 year old Hoover vacuum is on it's last legs- just when I need to be able to vacuum everyday to keep the house nice. The new Hoover I want is almost $400. The Miele I would love to have is about $800. OUCH.

My Hoover Floormate has a crack in it. I'm not sure how old it is, because I bought it off eBay. It's on a seam, so I think it's just the plastic getting old. A new cannister is $36. I paid $43 for it. Go figure. I'm going to break out the silicone caulk!

My Hoover- again- Steamvac had a hose that ripped. I busted out the duct tape and it's as good as new.

I lost my cell phone yesterday. WAHHHHHHHHH. For me, who really doesn't use it much and often leaves it in the car, I still feel very "phoneless." Imagine the person who uses it all of the time?? I caled work, I think I dropped it in the parking lot. If the lost and found doesn't have it, I'm going to buy a new one TODAY. LOL.

What's new with you?

Getting Involved

I hopped over to see Angela's blog, and promptly went to see Rosalyn Sue's Little Bluebird Diaries. Her post on missing her husband, killed in war, was heart wrenching. Utterly heart wrenching. I can't imagine not having Chris, my husband, in my life. Her son is gorgeous, and the photo of him running amongst the "stones" is timeless. It really hit home because her son is not much younger than my littlest.



Chris is an ex-Marine (if there really is such a thing!). When the war heated up, he wanted to re-enlist. I was pregnant at the time. I don't know how serious he was, but I said no. Does that sound selfish? I don't know. I just know I didn't want to be without him.

Fast forward to this past Christmas. I wanted to send a care package overseas, but just couldn't seem to find the right organization. But Rosalyn Sue's blog pointed me to another organization, Operation Stars & Stripes. I signed up to send care packages. It seems like a small way to give a little back to my fellow countrymen and women, who are stading up for freedom. Go see the site. Sign up.



hugs- Lee

Remember

Thank you to all of the soldiers out there, past and present, who have protected this great country of ours. God Bless.

Into the Dark Black Night

This is my second layout on Tammy's round robin book. Her book is based on the lyrics from Blackbird, by the Beatles. Enjoy.











Hugs, Lee

Twilight, too?

When I went to Georgia the other week, I bought Twilight at the airport to read on the plane. I had resisted up to that point, thinking I'd "save" it as a reward after we moved. But after hearing how good the series was from Tammy and my sister, I decided to jump in.

Now, let me just say that my first degree is in Engish Literature. That being said, I think it's OK for me to say (and not sacriligious!) that the series is OK. Yeah, just OK. I've read better. A LOT better. Anne Rice kicks her butt.

Stephanie Meyer's books are like popcorn- airy, easy, not a whole lot of substance. The first book took me the plane ride and a few hours at Tammy's to read. Had I not heard raves about it, I honestly wouldn't have bothered to read the rest. But, I felt like I had to keep plowing through to see what happened!

I read New Moon on the way home. Not a strong book, by any means. I read the other two shortly after.

Now, I'm sure there are fans out there who will argue that this was series was written for teens, which should for some reason make the lack of depth acceptable. Was it really written for that audience? Or is that just an assumption? Anyway, the fourth book was, by far, the best. There were a few plot twists that I didn't anticipate. That's a good thing.

The movie? ICK. The first part was awful. Poorly acted and more importantly, poorly directed and edited. If I hadn't have read the book, I wouldn't have been able to figure out the whole madly in love thing. Bella's motives weren't all that clear, and I think it could have been significantly improved with better editing. The second half of the movie was much better. Edward's passion is much more evident.

Whew. I'm sure I'm going to get hate mail for that opinion... But I can see the draw of the novels. Easy to read, not racy, not scary. The love between Edward and Bella, the strong family ties with the Cullens, the strong ties with Jacob and his tribe- they are attractive in this day and age of high divorce rates and computer dating. It wasn't all fluff. I did enjoy parts of the series. I just like tons of details and depth, and a certain thickness that comes with some authors (like Stephen King).

After all that, I can say that I enjoyed looking a the cast- some seriously beautiful people! I will see the next movie, on DVD. And I will cross my fingers that it's a little better than the first movie.

hugs- Lee

Fly

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Black bird singing in the dead of night

Take these sunken eyes and learn to see

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly

Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly

Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise,

You were only waiting for this moment to arise,
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Happy Nurse's Week

I am a nurse.

I care for my patient's bodies, minds, and spirits. I lift them up. I calm them down. I make them laugh. I cry with them. I cry for them. I am happy to see them stay. I am happy to see them go.

I am a nurse.

Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter's or sculptor's work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God's spirit? It is one of the Fine Arts: I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts. ~Florence Nightingale

Happy Mother's Day

Mother:

Your mother is always with you.

She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street.

She's the smell of certain foods you remember, the flowers you buy and the perfume that she wore.

She's the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well, she's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day.

She's the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colours of a rainbow, she is Christmas morning.

Your mother lives inside your laughter. . . she is crystallised in every tear drop.

A mother knows every emotion . . . happiness, love, hate, anger, helplessness, excitement, joy and sorrow.

And all the while, hoping and praying you will only know the good things in life.

She's the place you came from, your first home and she's the map you follow with every step you take.

She's your first love, your first friend, and even your first enemy, but nothing on earth can separate you.

Not time, not space and not even death.

Happy Mother's Day.

Georgia On My Mind

And so the weekend continued...

After a good night sleep, we headed to Tammy's Blue Sky Studio. She had successfully kept us out of on Thursday. She has a large room to play in, and it's filled with art. Tammy had put some tables together, and each of us had a huge goody basket to dig into! We each sent something for it, and Tammy added her stuff as well. I can't even show you everything that was in the basket, because I don't have it here. Poor Tammy has the chore of boxing it up and putting it in the mail.

Dawn Edmonson came and taught a Plate Collage class. Dawn brought folders full of images, and trinkets and trims were supplied by her and Tammy. If I thought I could have gotten away with it, I'd have scooped it all into my goody baskets and brought it home!! As you can see, we all are wearing hand made aprons, made for us by Tammy.




You can shoot over to Tammy's blog and see all of the plates. I forgot to take pictures of them- can you believe it?

More later- Lee

These Are The Times To Remember

This past weekend found me and a bunch of gals in Gray, Georgia, hanging with my best friend Tammy.
Ruth, Natalea, Tammy
Luz and Judy

A few months ago, Tammy set the wheels in motion for a weekend Getaway in her home, complete with food, fun, and a crafty lesson from Dawn Edmonson. Tammy and I have known each other for years. We met Luz at a Scrapper's weekend on OBX. Judy is Tammy's sister-in-law, and I've had the pleasure of meeting her before. Ruth, Tammy's mom, has been like a second mom to me. Natalea and Angela are new blogging friends.

the gang- Ruth, Luz, Judy. Natalea, Tammy, me (Angela came later).

After arriving in the airport with Luz and Natalea, we headed back to Tammy's house. The ride was made easier with a wonderful packed lunch from Tammy. (The girl thinks of everything). We found our rooms, and then had a wonderfully, silly dinner by the pool, complete with gifts waiting for us.


champagne!

our gorgeous table- aren't the plates awesome?
lovely gift box, filled with handmade earrings from our hostess with the mostess!
If you hop on over to the other blogs, you'll see lots of pictures of us laughing and carrying on. What I wanted to show you here was Tammy's eye for detail. First, she is an amazing paper artist. As you saw before, her invitations were to die for. Second, her entire house had little flourishes here and there, inviting the eye to settle and enjoy. Third, the whole weekend had tons of other fun stuff, and SO Tammy, but you'll have to wait for that. LOL. And LAST, and very COOL, Tammy and her hubby Don ran into Anna Griffin at the airport! She chatted and got some autographs for us. Anna would be blessed to have Tammy on her staff, and so she's going to (!) take this opportunity to do some networking! You go girl! (and don't forget to send me goodies!)

the invitation, with Miss Deen overlooking it.

gorgeous welcome sign, complete with roses and a nest full of chocolate eggs.

our room markers
lovely flowers, adorning the steps to the house.



This is the time to remember
Cause it will not last forever.
These are the days to hold onto
Cause we won't although we'll want to.
This is the time, but time is going to change.
You've given me the best of you.
{Billy Joel}


And this is just the start...
hugs Lee