Where has the time gone?

I am still new to this whole blog thing but that is no excuse for being lazy about posting. It has been more than a little crazy for me the last couple of months. A group from our church is going on a mission trip in 6 weeks and we have been working like crazy on fundraising. It seems that every week there is something new that "has" to be done right away. My husband works with the younger boys in our RA (Royal Ambassadors) program and May 13th is the last session until the fall. Yippeee!!!!! Our youngest son will be celebrating his (gulp) 16th Birthday in a month. You can imagine how much effort has to go into the party, the gift, etc. I wonder what his present will be?

I recently had the pleasure of having a Girls' Night with a good friend. Our husbands and kids were all gone on a camping trip. We were able to go out and have a great dinner, do lots of window shopping, and then stayed up way too late. It was sorely needed. As women, I think we all get so caught up in taking care of and spoiling our families, that we forget to take care of ourselves. It is amazing that a simple night out without hearing "Mom, I need..." or "Honey, where is the..." or "Since you are up, would you mind...", can do for you. It is like Mental Fuel! Can I have a second helping, please?

Shoe Shopping and Broken Needles

I have many girlfriends that would think that "Shoe Shopping" should be considered either A) an Olympic Sport or B) well deserved therapy. I disagree. I need therapy after the day I have had. My 15 year old son has dragged me through 3, yes THREE, shoe stores today. He "had to have" the perfect football cleats. At the first store, we found a style that he was happy with and a price that I was happy with. Win, win, right? WRONG!! They only had it in a size 15 wide. He wears a 10, of course. On to store #2...they had ZIP!! Then on to the third (and final for me) store. We spent a good 30 minutes looking at football cleats. I mean, give me a break, there are only so many differences in these shoes. Finally, I told him to just pick a pair. Luckily, he didn't go for the $100 pair. That would have been ugly. My husband thought it was hilarious that our UBER-male, testosterone driven son would spend that much time looking at shoes. The only other thing he spends that much time looking at is girls.

Well, after all of that, I came home to my sewing studio for some much needed therapy. I have cut out a size 9 month bishop dress and a size 8 dropped yoke dress. I was so happy with my progress until I went to get my pleater out of the closet. The yoke dress will have a smocked to the shoulder front which means it will take between 20 and 24 rows of pleating. No problem, I have a 24 row pleater. What I don't have are 24 needles! AARGGHHHH!!! My plan was to pleat the drop yoke dress first and then do the bishop. I am going to go ahead and start on the bishop and get it knocked out. The drop yoke will have to wait until Monday when I can go and get some more needles. That means a trip to Mobile which is about 45 minutes away. One way. What makes this the most aggravating is that I was in Mobile today. I didn't even think about those darned needles. Murphy is at work in my life!!

Oh well, tomorrow is Sunday and that means church, lunch, nap, committee meeting, church, dinner, bed.

Football is over - Now it is Sewing Season!

Well, the much anticipated Sugar Bowl has come and gone. Congrats to Utah, they flat outplayed us. John Parker's line had holes in it the size of...well, Utah players! This didn't even look like the same team that has played all year. I would hate to have been one of the players , after the game, in the locker room with Coach Saban.

Football season is now officially over at my house. Now it is time to sew. I have several projects that I want to accomplish this year. Here is a partial list:

Light green cardigan set
Knit tops
More skirts
Dresses - lots and lots of dresses!

I have the patterns and most of the fabric, now I just have to make the time. With the economy in the shape that it is, there will be only the most necessary fabric and notion purchases made. Time to attack the stash and get creative. I tend to be pretty conservative with my fabric pairings and I want to venture "outside of the box". I will be posting pics (even of the disasters) and hopefully will get a few remarks to help with the process.

There is something inherently wrong with going back to work on Friday. I mean, really, I was off on Wednesday and Thursday and then back to work today. It makes Friday lose all of the wonderful aspects and gain all the Monday--isms.

Tonight I have big plans...watching the Sugar Bowl. I know, I know, all of you ladies are groaning and thinking "Poor thing, having to watch football because hubby won't leave the recliner" Well ladies, I have to come clean...

My honey went to the video store and rented him some movies so that I could enjoy the ball game. He is not a sports nut. I AM!!!! Every Saturday (except one) this season I made him go with me to his sister's house so that me and my BIL could watch the wonderful Alabama Crimson Tide have a fantastic season. The only game that I was not at their house for was the Mississippi State game. We were in Denver for a conference. I watched from the hotel and called my BIL. My honey and my SIL both think I'm nuts... OH WELL.

Gotta go for now, the pregame show is about to start.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!

New Year's Eve - Eve

Wow, what a day!! Today was my last work day before New Year's Day. Thank Goodness. What is it about a holiday that brings out the crazy in otherwise normal people?

Tonight will be a nice quiet night at home. Our son is spending the night with a friend, my honey is making sure that his recliner and remote don't disappear and I am going to do...? I refuse to do housework, TV is full of reruns, no new books to read; I could work on a cross-stitch project or finish that dress that is not turning out the way I wanted it to or I could just go take a nice hot bath and go to bed...

Bath and Bed wins, see you tomorrow!!!!

Hey Y'all!

As you might have guessed from the title, I am Southern. Southern as dirt. I live in south Alabama and have my entire life. I am most at home in either my sewing studio or in the back country of the Great Smoky Mountains. I love to travel. My husband and I are notorious for going on road trips. Our vacations usually consist of packing a bag, jumping in the car and heading North. If we see something that looks interesting, we stop. Very seldom do we "plan" a vacation. Two years ago, our son wanted to go on a family vacation for his 13th birthday in June. He wanted to visit our nation's capital, Washington DC. Of course that took a lot of planning but it was worth it. He celebrated his 13th birthday with a once-in-a-lifetime trip. We spent a week exploring museums and visiting all of the monuments. It was awesome.

For the most part, we stay pretty close to home and spend a lot of time on activities with our church. We are part of the Mission's Team and have traveled to Maine to assist a church. We will be going back again this summer. Our group is in the midst of our fundraising efforts for the trip. Given the current economic outlook, it is quite difficult to raise money. Even though it is tough, we have faith and Our Lord will make a way. I was blessed to be able to go to the Atlanta processing facility this month to help with Operation Christmas Child (OCC). OCC is a project of Samaritan's Purse. If you ever get the chance to be involved, please participate. It is a wonderful ministry.

Whenever I can get a few free moments, I head to my sewing studio. My DH converted the sun room of our home into my dream space. I have my Babylock EMP6 Embroidery machine, Elna 6005 Heirloom Edition sewing machine, and my ancient Singer 4 thread serger set up and ready to go at all times. I also have a Thompson Mini Walker industrial machine, a Kenmore 19001 embroidery machine, a Necchi sewing machine, and a vintage straight stitch only Singer. I think I need a few more machines. What do y'all think?

I am new to blogging and as soon as I figure all of this stuff out, I will post some pics.