Happy Friday...Oh...Nevermind.

Nothing is more annoying than waking in the morning, and being so excited that it is Friday...only to realize it is only Thursday!  That would be me today.

Now that I don't have kids here every single day, I don't pay too close attention to what day it is.  My days just run together.  As a result, I completely forgot about writing up my posts yesterday evening like I usually do.  Instead, I sat outside with my kids and watched them play.  And I enjoyed every second of it!  It makes my heart so happy to see them out riding their bikes, totally carefree.  I love when Flower rides her bike up to me, says "Hey Mom I love you!" then turns around and keeps on riding.  I love how Little Man refuses to use the pedals on his bike, even though he knows how, because he can go much faster by Fred Flinstoning it down the sidewalk.  Once the sun had gone down a bit and it cooled off, Barb Wire Man came out to join us and smoked a cigar.  We stayed out until it was just dark, and soaked up everything the day had to offer.

As a result, I have to spend a lot of time today writing!  Oh well....it was worth it!

Tomorrow, I am going to do another Etsy showcase of some neat shops I have found and like.  Only tomorrow, it will be shops that are from here in Texas!  (Because really, the only thing better than buying hand-/homemade is  buying local!)  There will be some really neat things, so stay tuned!

Be blessed today!

Regarding Blog Hops...

I'm thinking about hosting a blog hop for all of my fellow bloggers.  I know there are a lot out there, but I had considered doing it once a week, and having an organized topic that we would all write about.  I think some days it would really help encourage us, and will also help give us ideas for writing when we all get in those writing funks.

My question is, what day would you like to see a hop on?  What works best for your schedule?  Would you enjoy having several blogs to read to get different perspectives on the same issue?  Would you be interested if we all had giveaway days?

I'm trying to feel out the participation I would get.  I'm not sure when we will start this, but I am hoping in the near future!  So please, please, please leave a comment and let me know!  Thanks!!

Christmas in July - Part 2

Last week, I featured a few Etsy shops who had some great Christmas in July Sales, and today, I have even more for you!  Be sure to click on the pictures, too!  It will take you directly to their shop, where you can look around for yourself.  These are just small samplings of the things these shops offer.  I couldn't begin to list all they have!  I have said it before, but it is worth repeating.  Those of us who have Etsy shops oftentimes depend on the sales we make.  Sure, you could get something similar from a gift shop or boutique...but we pour our hearts and talents into the things we make.  Buying something from a handmade business goes directly to helping a family!

Ebi Emporium
Ebi Emporium is based in Vancouver.  I fell in love with this painting:

Credit: EbiEmporium 

I reminds me of Texas Bluebonnets!  Ebi Emporium is offering free shipping on all art during July!  The thing I love the most about this shop are the post cards!  I'm one of those people who just doesn't decorate.  Why?  I don't know, but really, its the last thing on my mind.  I'm lucky I have picture of my kids hanging up!  But you can get this exact painting on postcards!  Take a look around...Ebi Emporium has beautiful floral and abstract paintings!

Perpetual Posy
I have what my dad and Barb Wire Man refer to as a gangrene thumb.  Don't give me a plant unless you want it to die in record time.  I have killed even the so-called un-killable plants. So the floral arrangements in Perpetual Posy are exactly what I need!  I love this one..

Credit: Perpetual Posy 

I'm a fall person.  I love the colors of autumn!  But, Perpetual Posy has flowers for all seasons, including some Christmas items.  Plus, throughout the month of July, you can get any item at Perpetual Posy for 25% off!  Just use the coupon code "CIJ4PP" during checkout!

Smiling Green Apples
Now if this doesn't make you want to hang laundry out to dry, I don't know what does.

Credit: Smiling Green Apples

But, I'll be honest with you.  You can't have these.  Because they are mine.  HAHA!  I do have good news, however.  Smiling Green Apples has a ton of these adorable clothes pins!  And, unlike many of the others you can find, these are sealed so that you can actually use them outside for your laundry!  They aren't purely decorative!  Everything at Smiling Green Apples is 10% off for Christmas in July.  And, I have even better news.  Coming up soon, I will have a giveaway of some of Smiling Green Apples' clothespins!  I'm not going to tell you exactly when, so you need to be paying attention!  And just a heads up...if you want to win some of these, and you are not a follower of my blog, you need to go ahead, look over on the side, and hit "follow".  Just go on and do it now.  I will wait.....

OK.  Back to Christmas in July...

Designs By Velvet
Oh sweet angel of knitting.  Designs By Velvet sells my heroin   yarn that I can't wait to get my hands on. And roving....which is what a person uses to spin their own yarn.  Seriously...wouldn't this make the most gorgeous yarn e.v.e.r.??

Credit: Designs By Velvet

Truly, Designs By Velvet has so much more than yarn and roving.  Beautiful shawls, jackets, fingerless gloves and more.  But, I was so sidetracked by that beautiful roving...
Anyhow, Designs By Velvet is offering 40% off everything when you use the coupon code "julyspecial".  Unfortunately, I think if I order any more yarn, Barb Wire Man might leave me.  Then again, I check the mail...so maybe he won't notice....

Shop handmade as much as possible this year!  Stop by these shops and look around today.  Seriously!  You will be surprised some of the beautiful things you can find while digging around!  Be blessed today!

Flower, Canyons, and Recovery!

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early. Actually, I woke up so early there was no bright about it...it was still pitch dark outside. I filled up my coffee cup, and set out to the Palo Duro Canyon to meet Flower and her step mom! I was so excited! I had to set my cruise control to keep from speeding to get there. I had a two hour drive in front of me to get to the Canyon, and I was alone. I turned on some praise music and turned it up pretty loudly.  I stopped on the side of the road to take this picture, right before it started to rain.

I left my window rolled down, could smell the wonderful fragrance of the rain, and was admiring the beautiful West Texas sunrise.  The beauty of the Canyon was just coming into sight.  I was singing along to the worship music, and knew I was about to see the biggest blessing God has ever given me.  I was simply overwhelmed by the awesomeness of God.

I reached the starting line of the Palo Duro Hot Dog Race, and was there just a little bit before my sweet girl got there.  When she did, we both ran over to each other.  That was the best hug I have had in a long time!  Honestly, I immediately started crying!  I was so excited to see my baby's face I couldn't help it!

Flower and I helped transport the racers to and from where they needed to be, and cheered her step-mom on as she ran the second leg of the relay (you can run the whole race, but they also have relay teams).  Then, we went up to the top of the hill known as "The Lookout" and waited at the finished line with Flower's step-mom and step-sister.  I was so amazed at how quickly some of the runners were able to finish the race.  They made it look so easy!

The hardest part of the race is the final hill to the finish point.  In that picture, we are at the finish line....don't the runner look small?  It is a pretty big hill!

Flower and I left, and went to visit my parents.  Flower is incredibly close to them, and she wanted to go see them.  We went to lunch, then killed time.  I had a surprise party planned for Flower, so we couldn't be home until 6:30!

I'm so thankful for Barb Wire Man, our bestest of friends, and my parents.  While we were out wasting time, they were at my house decorating, and setting out food for the party.  When we pulled into the driveway of our house, and she saw the "welcome home" sign, she was shocked!  She had no idea, and could hardly believe it!

Once she saw Barb Wire Man, we could hardly pry her off of him!  Then, she saw Little Man, and her best friend.  Little Man wouldn't let her out of his sight!  I think he was happier than anyone that she was home!

We had a great party, but that day was so...incredibly....long.  I ended up being awake for 21 hours.  On Sunday, Little Man woke us up around 7AM.  We came into the living room, and Flower and I fell back asleep on the couch!  Barb Wire Man came into the living room at some point, and fell back asleep on the floor!  Little Man was the only one who did not fall back asleep, so the kids ate a quick bite for lunch and he went to take a nap.  Flower and I went into my room to watch Mirror Mirror and guess what?  I fell back asleep, and so did Flower.  Barb Wire Man fell back asleep on the couch while watching Nascar!  (I'm telling you, we were all exhausted!  We woke up around 5PM, and ate supper.  By 9:00, both of the kids were already in bed, and fell asleep within minutes.  We weren't too far behind!  Our bodies apparently needed the rest!

I thank God that my baby girl is home, and my family is all together.  The sweetest thing was waking up, and being able to snuggle with both of my children on Sunday morning.  I have been blessed beyond belief.  I have an amazing family.  Nothing compares to that.  Period.

Be blessed today!

TGIF

This has been a long week!  The week started out rough, because last weekend was action-packed.  Despite laying around doing absolutely nothing last Sunday, we still were not fully recovered by Monday!

Monday and Tuesday I had my sweet daycare kiddos!  It made me so happy to have them here for those two days.  I love all of them, so it almost feels like my own children leave me for the summer.  But, I do forget how exhausting having that many little ones can be!

Our air conditioner decided to give up the ghost on Monday night.  Supper was cooking, the house was clean, Little Man was playing in the back yard, and Barb Wire Man was going to be home from work soon. I decided to seize the moment and sit and knit for a bit.  I sat down, the AC kicked on, and I noticed it sounded odd.  I didn't think too much about it until the house started filling with smoke! I flipped out, called Barb Wire Man and told him to come home!  Just turning the system off didn't work.  The fan kept running, and nasty electrical fire smell kept pouring into the house, and I finally had to switch the breakers to get it to turn off!  Thankfully, the weather this week has been cooler, so I was able to open the windows for fresh air.  Besides, I am the type of person who could totally live without an air conditioner and be just fine.  Barb Wire Man, on the other hand, is not.

Speaking of missing kids...this week has taken forever to end because I have something I'm so looking forward to tomorrow!  I get to see my Flower!!!  She has been out in South Carolina since the end of May, visiting her dad, step-mom, and sisters.  I know she has enjoyed it, but man, do I miss her!  I will be picking her up at the race I was supposed to run on Saturday morning.  I cannot wait!

The race I was supposed to run.  That makes me sad.  The Palo Duro Hot Dog is a 15K run that takes place in the Palo Duro Canyon, which is about 40 minutes or so from my house.  Erika, Mattie's step-mom and my friend, really encouraged me to start running.  So I did!  It was not something I ever thought I would really enjoy, but come to find out it was something I love to do.  I ended up hurting my ankle, and in my stubborn-ness refused to go to the doctor.  I didn't think it was a big deal, so I would just keep running each night, stopping only once my ankle was hurting so bad I wanted to cry.  I Barb Wire Man told me to go to the doctor and have it looked at.  I'm in an air cast now.  (See?  This is the reason I didn't want to go to the doctor.  I knew something was wrong with my foot.  I knew he would tell me I couldn't run, and that was unacceptable!  I asked if I could wear the cast up until a few days before the race, then take it off and go ahead and run on Saturday if I was really, really careful. The doctor's response was "Sure.  If you really really want to tear all the ligaments in your ankle, wind up having surgery, and be in pain for the rest of your life every time you run."

Well, now that you put it that way....

And so, I get to sit on the sidelines this year.  I'm so disappointed.  But, those closest to me know how hard I worked to get ready for this race.  I know that in October, when I am finally "allowed" to run again, I will come back with a vengeance and have even more time to prepare for next year's race.  And I will be at next year's race.

This year, I will be at the finish line, helping time the runners as they come in.  At least I can still participate some way, even though it isn't the way I had hoped.  Get ready, Hot Dog.  Next year, I will be there ready to go!

Be blessed, and have a wonderful weekend!!

25 Ways You Know You Are From Texas

Next to my God and my children, my biggest source is pride is that I am a 9th generation Texan.  My children are 10th!  It isn't just where I'm from...it is who I am.  My great-great-great-great grandfather and beyond helped fight to make Texas Independent, so keeping the spirit and independence of Texas alive isn't just something I want to do.  It is something must do!  This blog is dedicated to my sweet friend, Lil Miss Texan, who is stuck in yankeeland....

How to Tell if You are From Texas

1.  You know apricot has a long "a", pecan has no long vowels, and you don't even have to think about how to say the word Gruene.

2.  You eat only two types of ice cream: homemade and Blue Bell.

3.  You know that the only thing more important than football on Friday night is church on Sunday morning.

4.  You know to ask someone what specific brand of coke they want.  "You want a Coke?"  "Sure."  What kind?" "Dr. Pepper."

5.  In one day, you wore a sweater in the morning and ended the day wearing a tank top.

6.  Only three colleges matter...A&M, Tech, and UT.  And two of them suck.

7.  Most of the country complains about 100+ degree days as a heat wave, but that is every summer day for you.

8.  You know exactly what to do anytime someone says "the stars at night...."

9.  There's only one drink better than sweet tea on a hot day.  Beer.

10.  When people ask what your family heritage is and the only answer you have is "Texan".

11.  Your man's idea of dressing nice is starching his pants and shirt and wearing "his good boots".

12.  Your first tattoo automatically must have a Texas flag on it.

13.  You can drive through three states in any direction in less time than you can drive from Amarillo to     Houston.

14.  You assume everyone carries a gun, and feel a little sad for them if they don't own one.

15.  You know real country music isn't sung by men in Hawaiin print shirts, flip flops and khaki shorts, but by men like Robert Earl Keen, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Kevin Fowler.  And you cried the day Stevie Ray Vaughn died.

16.  20 mile per hour winds is just a breeze.

17.  You know Texas is still attached to the mainland only because Oklahoma sucks.

18.  You'd sooner fly the Texas flag than the American flag.

19.  You know exactly what this is a picture of, without thinking:

20.  You'd rather drive a pick-up truck you have to use a step ladder to get into than a sports car.

21.  The smell of cow manure and crude make you think of money.

22.  You would drive back to Texas to have your children, just so they can say they are TENTH generation!

23.  You know why Six Flags is called Six Flags.

24.  Your children recite the Texas Pledge every morning before the American Pledge.

25.  You thought these were all funny, and nodded your head in agreement!

And, I'm certain that some of you don't get these.  Bless you hearts.  And some of you might even be offended by them, because you aren't from 'round these parts.  That's ok.  In the words of Davy Crockett:

"You may all go to hell.  I will go to Texas."

Be blessed!

***All photos from "You Know You're a Texan When..." 

Of All the Mommy Jobs I Hate...

In my years as a Mama (9 and counting with my own children, plus all my pseudo-kids at the daycare), I have had to clean up poop, pee, puke, and Lord knows what else.

Still, the "mommy-job" I hate the worst is folding laundry.  Seriously.  I hate folding laundry.  "Hate" is not nearly a strong enough word.  I don't mind washing it.  I actually enjoy carting it out to the backyard to hang it on the line and taking it down, because I get to be outside.  But folding it just....sucks.

I can't just turn the dryer back on, because I line-dry my clothes (except in the winter).  So they sit on my couch, waiting to be folded.  The clothes that I do dry, like, "unmentionables" sit in the dryer, lonely.  And in the meantime, the wrinkle so badly that its almost a good enough reason to re-wash them.  Which, frankly, is more pleasant than folding.

Last night, my poor Barb Wire Man opened his drawer and asked where all his underwear went.  I told him they were all still in the dryer.  He reminded me that they had been in the dryer for several days, and wondered if I was ever going to fold them.  I told him I would, and I did.  I folded the underwear from last week.  The ones I washed today are still in the damn dryer.  Come next week, when he is out of undies, the same scenario will unfold.  I think after 8 years he has learned that this is just something he will have to accept about me.

I hate folding laundry.  What is your least favorite household chore?

Be blessed!