4th of July Swap is here!

Late this afternoon while I was sitting in the theater watching ECLIPSE (will post on that later) my red, white and blue swap package arrived from Shawn.

My oldest son Luke and I dug into it!  

Look and see what we got.....

Everything was wrapped tight!

We got paper plates, napkins and cupcake liners to use at our party!!!

Candles to set on the outside end tables.....

Icing, cake mix and sprinkles to make cupcakes for the kiddos.....

And an adorable apron with my initial on it!!!! Too cute! Thanks Shawn :)
Thanks Mamarazzi for hosting my very first swap:)

Hummus and Ruffled Flowers

 As I sat here last evening with my sick kiddos, I decided to make some ruffled flowers.  I love making these flowers and they are so easy! 

 This morning I decided to make some hummus.  I made a batch for my family.  They usually devour it!  They devour everything though!

 I love the Barefoot Contessa and have always used her hummus recipe.

 Having my food processor makes everything easier!

 I made a special batch for one of my boys best buddies Jake. Jake broke his leg this weekend.  I hope he likes the hummus.  He is such a sweet boy and is now stuck on the couch for the rest of the summer:(

These are the days.....

When we got back from our vacation, I had a beautiful box from my blog friend Teresa at Maggie Grace Creates waiting on my table.   Inside the box was a journal, laces (I heart laces), beads, post cards, and her own crocheted pieces!  It is all so beautiful and I love love love it!  Thank you Teresa:)

After a lazy Saturday afternoon of napping, Ryan and Miss. M woke up to watch some World cup and color. I love my little family.  It is so nice when we have no where to be.  I made a big dinner and strawberry shortcake.  

I love the rare occasion of getting to sit around the table and visit with our kiddos.  Later we sat on the front porch to watch the kids do a "dance party" to the Black Eyed Peas.  Ryan videoed it all! 

 Later, the kids and dad went into the basement to watch a movie.  He let them eat popcorn and that was the end of all the fun!  They all get terribly sick when they eat it.  So, our wonderful family night turned into midnight puking.  Everyone made pallets on the floor in our room to sleep by their trash cans!  We didn't mean to poison our kids with popcorn! lol  What is it about popcorn that makes them so sick?!?!?  My poor babies!  Oh these are the days!:)

The Vacationing Embroidery Tin

When I saw that Amy Powers was working on a stitching kit, I got super excited!  She announced the day before that they were going to go on sale  the next morning and I was one of the first to jump on it!  I received it in no time, and showed it off to anyone that would look!  It was like getting  a treasure in the mail:)  It was hard but I waited to start it on  our way to California last Friday. 

On the tray in the airplane and working while

flying to San Diego.....

On the beach at the "Del" on Coronado Island......

Then we made it up to Laguna Beach and I dug it out again.

I know the beaches look the same but I promise they are different!

In our hotel room.....

Getting ready to fly out in the Orange County airport........

I finished up on the airplane on the way to Houston.  The flight attendant took my bag so I wasn't able to get my camera to get a picture finishing up!

In the Houston airport and eating some BBQ

It was soooo fun and I really feel like I barely worked on it! I loved having something to do in all our "down time." My bluebird in the bottom left hand corner looks more like a blue turkey!  lol!  Hoping that there will be another one to do in the future!!! Hint Hint Amy!!!!;)
BTW-those worried about me taking my needles and tiny scissors on the plane not to worry.  I had it checked out with the security lady and they were the correct travel size for the plane.  I was not that sneaky and am not a rule breaker. ;)

My chance to go to Paper Tales!!!!! ...and other adventures at the Del

We are having such an amazing time here at the Del in San Diego!!  This resort is so beautiful here on Coronado Island.  We can't believe that 10 years have gone by so fast.  We are loving just laying on the beach!

I got to go to Paper Tales and meet up with a couple of friends!!!  When I walked into the store, I saw that it  had everything that makes my creative heart pound out of my chest!  My blog friend, Karin, works at this fantasy store.  I was so excited to get to meet her!

Karin and I hit it off from the very second I stepped through the door!  She is hilarious, sweet, witty, pretty and super creative!  I hated having to leave but had to get back to the beach:)

Karin and I 

I took a picture of all the loot I got while there! (I got it all out to look at and threw it on the bed while Ryan was in the shower)  I didn't need his heart stopping too! lol!  Hey I only get by here once every 36 years so I had to make the most of it!!! lol

 We later got back and laid our on the beach for ours in rented cabana for hours.  I loved that!  

We then went to a wonderful Seafood Restaurant Peohe's.  We sat on the water with a view of the San Diego skyline.  So beautiful:) We had a great bottle of Conundrum. 

Ryan got fried while he went deep sea fishing in the morning.

The food was amazing!!!

Not a good pic of me but you can see what the view was like.  We definitely were not in OKC! LOL

I want to end with this t-shirt I saw at breakfast.  So stinkin cute!!!!!!!

Swapping

Ok I am just now stepping out into the swapping world!!  This one was right up my alley because it is all about the red, the white and the blue!  I am not ever a happy camper at Christmas time!!  It is so much work to please everyone!!!  However, I always love the 4th of July and already had some goodies made and  thought that is the swap for me!  Little did I know that Ms. Mamarazzi has a lot of rules and I had to go through a little blog boot camp to get in!!! lol!  Which is a great idea for her, since she has had people flake out on her!  I like the way she operates!!  Come and join the fun!  If you are my partner expect to be blown away!!! ;)

Getting on through crafting....

Today is a better day for many reasons.  

1.  Not crying as much as yesterday (but still SO sad)

2. I am packing to go to San Diego and Laguna Beach with my  handsome husband for our ten year anniversary.

3. It is the last day of boot camp and I have not lost a pound!!!!! lol!

4. I finished my French General jewelry kit and am loving it all!

5. I get to take Jackie's 4th of July legs class tonight!

6.  I am so overwhelmed with the compassionate response I got about the passing of Jaycee.  Thank you and I am hugging all of you if I ever run into you!!!

Here are the things I have been working on since last weekend.  It is so nice to be able to sew and make jewelry through this time to keep my mind occupied.  

This is a cuff inspired by three of the people I am obsessed with right now.  The flower is a ruffle flower that I learned on an ezine from Cassandra.  The other parts of it was inspired from my new Ruth Rae book and Rebecca Sowers blog pics!!!  I want to make one of these after vacation for a give away if people like it.  :)

This is the jewelry I have made over the last couple of days (through the tears) from my French General kits.  I love them!!!!

This silk brooch is for a blog friend that I will get to meet in person when we get to San Diego!  (Hope she likes green)

Amazing the healing power of creating is for a hurt soul.

I want to thank all my blog friends, face book friends, tangible friends, and family for all the love and support during this tough time of losing our Jay girl.  Pets touch us in a way like no other and it was so comforting to hear from all of you in sympathy and empathy.  I love you all!!!!  It REALLY did help to hear each of your kind words.

I love you Ryan!!!! Happy anniversary my amazingly sweet and handsome best friend!!!

Free to Good Home (sad day at our home today)

I really don't expect anyone to read all of this. It is something I wanted to write out for myself and kids to remember my girl (dog) and this sad day of her passing.

I know that people have real problems and there are a lot more terrible things happening in the world but that does not lessen the pain I feel in my heart today.  Our Beautiful 10 year old Australian Shepherd JayCee was put down today.  She has been sick over the last month.  I took her last week and got her started on an antibiotic so she could get over a virus we thought.  Well, she was just worse this week so Ryan took her back to see our sweet veterinarian Barry to do blood work.  Barry called me last night telling me how awful the results came back and the it was probably cancer.  I feel to my knees crying and hugging her.


She was more comfortable standing and was having such a hard time breathing the last couple of days and mostly last night.  I took her to Barry, who was very gentle and quick, to put her down.  I have not quit crying.  We went out to my parents who have a beautiful area with a tree we burry our pets under.  Ryan and my daddy cried and dug a hole while all my parent's cows gathered right behind them to watch.  The kids were bawling, my folks were bawling, Ryan was crying behind his glasses (I have only seen him cry a handful of times in our lives)  and I was out of control trying to pull it together.  Everyone said something nice about Jay girl and asked Jesus to watch over her.


We got her in a "Free to Good Home" add in the paper 10 years ago after we were home only two days from our honeymoon.  She was in a pen and all muddy in someone's backyard. She was really skinny and dirty.  I told Ryan no and he (weird because I was the dog lover not him) said no I want her.  We brought her home and gave her a bath.  She was so beautiful, sweet, submissive, smart and later we would find out protective.


My heart has not ached like this in years.  It was so hard to watch her go.  She was the girl that slept by each of the baby's cribs at night, in their room when they were sick, by me after my heart attack as I recuperated, kept strangers soliciting at the door at bay, cleaned up the floor when the kids dropped food, playing outside with the kids (that made me feel safe), door bell dog, protected us at night when Ryan was out of town.......I can go on and on and on and on........


I don't care what you say but I think they are more like us than not.  Dogs love, protect, care and comfort us.  I am so glad she has been a part of our lives during my whole married life and my children's lives.  She is missed terribly and I pray the ache in my heart eventually wanes a little.  I told Ryan that it is weird not tripping over her in the kitchen while I worked,  telling her to go lay somewhere else because she always tooted in her sleep by my chair, or hearing the knock at the door today because she would always bark before anyone could knock.  We have a lot to get used to.    R.I.P  JayCee Louise Overholt  We LOVE YOU!

She loved playing in the snow!!!


You don't have to be a dog lover to understand, you just have to understand love.  
.........said my friend Jemellia

Plants + Heat = Love

It is already super hot and humid in OK and I know it is only going to get worse!!!  I cannot wait to get to go to California soon where there is a beach and not the crazy humidity.  
Anyway,  as much as I hate it my plants love it!  I love that my begonias are starting to take off as well as the elephant ears, crape mertles and knock out roses.  Yea!  

Here are some shots of my "We love the Heat" plants.

The kids made bags of ice water and put it on their heads when they finished riding their bikes lol!

4th of July corsages

4th of July corsages I made for a few of my friends:)  I made one out of silks and the other out of silks and denim and can't decide which I like the best!  I have been following my friend Cassandra's ezine class to learn to make these basic ones.  They look easy however,  I was really frustrated with the first few and feel better about them now!

After a crazy week of spider bites (son), hospital stays with viral meningits (sister) and headaches (me), my husbands 3 brothers and their wives all came down to our home this weekend to take family pics and have May, June and July birthdays.  It was nice to end on a fun note after all of that!

My mother in law got my niece Lily a new American girl doll and my Maranda got the American doll depression GLASS picnic set.  Maranda and her doll Rebecca and Lily and her new doll Pearly (LOL) had a picnic upstairs while their daddies and uncles all played Call of Duty in the basement!!  Check out the vintage hankie looking picnic blanket and napkins!

It was fun having all the family here.  Glad Eric and Dedra were able to come in from L.A. an bring our beautiful niece Rachel:)