Look What I Got Today!

Roses

Originally uploaded by Praiz777

1 dozen pinkish red roses from some friends at work, Skeeter & Diane. (Skeeter is one of my agents.) They are just the sweetest couple. From the moment I met each of them, I knew they were Christians, you can just tell in the way they act. The first time I met her she was bringing in a payment on his bill that he had forgotten at home. She said she just wanted to bring it in to help him out. I thought, “Awww, what a help-meet she is to him.” I know that doesn’t sound like much, but it was just the way she acted about it. I liked her right off. I’ve only been able to talk with her a few times, she doesn’t always come in with her hubby, but she has been such an encouragement to me. I also found out she has beat cancer more than once, well, she hasn’t God has healed her. She is an amazing lady, they are both just wonderful. They came in, she handed them to me and said, “Happy Friday!” There was a note attached saying how they appreciated what I do (work wise) and that my friendship was a blessing to them. I teared up. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me! Not because it’s a dozen roses, it would have been the same had it been a hand picked bouquet of wildflowers. I am so blessed to have such sweet and thoughtful new friends and to work with people that make me feel so appreciated. They are so good to me at work that it embarrasses me a lot of the time. I try to do my job the best I can and help as much as I can. I really don’t feel that I deserve all the affirmation that they give me, but it’s nice. I know I should do my job as unto the Lord without any praise, but I also think God uses people to bless us with a bit encouragement now and again too. I want to be that type of person in return too. I want to strive to be the type of person that makes those around me feel appreciated. I really need God’s help with this, I’m a very selfish person and have to get my eyes off of myself.

I’ve Been Tagged!

I’ve been tagged by Kayla, so here goes.

7 Random Facts About Me

~ I met my hubby of 7 (wonderful) years on the internet

~ I have one sibling, a younger brother

~ I am a very unorganized pack rat – working on changing this

~ I have only been out of the country twice, Mission trip to Honduras & a couple trips over the border into Canada.

~ I love cookbooks but don’t use the recipes a lot – trying to do this more.

~ I  don’t really do seasonal decorating, but want to.

~ Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons (Fall probably ranks just a little higher)

There you have it, 7 Random Fact About Me.   )

Popcorn Candle

Popcorn Candle

Originally uploaded by Praiz777
Ok, this picture isn’t the best, but I love this idea!!!! The inspiration comes from Monica at Homespun Heart, here is the one she did.  I couldn’t find the little cups shaped like flower pots, after looking at 2 places I settled for this one that kinda fits down in the jar.  The jar is just a mayonnaise jar or something, I’m not sure what it had in it actually.

Empty Nest?

Cool Neck Ties for the Troops

Originally uploaded by Praiz777

I really didn’t think it would happen this soon, even though the idea was lightly tossed around. We may soon be empty nester’s! I’m too young for this! Heather asked her daddy last night if she could move in with a friend closer to school. Right now it’s a 30 minute drive for her which is a lot of gas. Her friend is planning to buy the house, Heather & another friend will pay “rent”. I really don’t think she realizes how much money she will need and how much she will be giving up……….that’s why I think it will be good for her. I’m not sure she’s ready for it, but I’m afraid I will never think she is. I remember when I went off to live in a dorm, it really made me grow up. She’s 18 and we can’t stop her, but she has enough respect to ask her daddy. I don’t see him saying no. It is going to be so hard on him, but he’s really trying to let her grow up. It’s really just too weird to think about. Two of my favorite agents at work have just started handling that area (they are a team) and I was talking to them about it today. One asked who their agent was, I told her I was trying to get them to call her. I know they will be good to them, they are a couple of great Christian ladies. They are also mothers, so they can sympathize too. )

Today my mother-in-law was supposed to go on a date with a guy she has never met. Her hair dresser gave the gentleman her number and he called her last week. Heather & I were given permission to go “spy” on them. My MIL said that we could come to the table and talk to them and meet him, but couldn’t sit with them. She wanted us to go, her sister-in-law and a friend were going to casually show up too. She was just a bit nervous about it, she has really had some strange encounters with men since her husband passed away. There are several people that she and I know that say he is a really nice guy. I work with 2 ladies that know him (one is her hair dresser) and my late father-in-law’s brother goes to church with him. The date had to be resceduled because her cumadin levels were too high when she went to the doctor today. It should be a two point something and it was a four point something. If she hurt herself and bled, she could easily bleed to death. They are planning to re-schedule and we can go spy then. *hee-hee*

The picture above is of 2 neck ties I made. They’re not the most beautiful things, but they’re functional. I’m not very experienced with my sewing machine, hopefully they will get better. The one in the baggies shows how I am packaging them, with care instructions printed out and a hand written note. The other is the one that I soaked in water to test and see if the amount of crystals was right. I soaked it too long so it got really fat. I started putting a little less in them after that. I still need to stitch the ends closed, but that is pretty much how it will look. My uncle, who is a Vietnam Vet, will be putting these in the packages that his is sending overseas to our troops. I want to try to get a bunch more done for him with the fabric I bought. If you are interested in making some of these as a help and encouragement to our troops, check out this website for instructions and a place to send them (I don’t know anything about this person, it’s just one of the sites that came up when I Googled cool neck ties) : www.packagesfromhome.org/CoolTieInstructions.htm
This is the best instructions I have found and I love the idea of the Easter egg on the PVS pipe for a funnel and to help turn them wrong side out. I got the pipe and the dowel rod, now I just need a plastic egg. A funnel works fine though.

Washer Full of Fabric

Washer Full of Fabric

Originally uploaded by Praiz777

4.75 Yards of Fabric – 3.5 is for Cool Neck Ties.
For some reason this just struck me as wonderful, seeing the washer full of fabric, so I had to snap a picture. I don’t sew much, so usually I wash a small piece at a time with other clothes. A washer full of fabric isn’t a normal sight in our house. I was all ready to get started measuring and cutting when I remembered that I needed to wash my fabric, something I’m really bad about. I’m on my way though and I’m really excited to get started.

What a Weekend!!!!

Last weekend was so wonderful! Saturday I went to the New Salem Mountain Festival up on the mountain. My friend Rachel, who is a photographer, had a booth up there selling pictures. I went to hang out with her and of course to see all of the goodies that the festival had to offer. I think next year I am going to try to get a booth and sell some stitchery. I bought some goat milk soap that is truly wonderful. I even got a bar of shampoo, I have only used it twice, and my hair is less weighted down, I love it! I didn’t get to talk with Rachel as much as I would have liked to, but I expected that, she was there to sell her photos after all. Besides that, she knew most of the people that were there because she is from that area. ) It was a good time.

Sunday, I got a call from my uncle that lives in Indiana. That was unusual enough, then he said, “How would you like for your uncle to take you out to lunch?” He was on his way to Florida. He took us to Cracker Barrel and we had a wonderful visit. He and some fellow veterans (he is a Vietnam vet) have gotten together and are sending packages to soldiers overseas. I forget how many he said they have sent, I think forty-something. He is coming back through the first of the week and I am trying to get some cooling scarves made for him to take back for the packages. He said that is something that they need a lot of and get none. It seems to really mean a lot to him. It’s not much, but it’s something I can do to pitch in. I think what he is doing is wonderful and it has been really good for him too.

Weird Birthday Evening

Yesterday was my sweet hubby’s birthday.  You know how he spent it?  First he took Heather to the orthodontist, then we went out for dinner to Logan’s with Heather & Matt, the guy she is “going out with”, meeting Matt officially for the first time (we tried to set something up before and it didn’t work out).  The thing is, Heather and Matt have been friends and have been going out on dates, but they have not been “going out”, now they are.  For those that are not up on the latest terms, as I am not, “going out” defines the status of your relationship, not what you are doing.  “Going out” is like “going together”, “going steady”, etc.  That confused me for awhile.  My brother-in-law was talking about his 11 year old son “going out” with this girl, he said, “They never go anywhere, how can they be “going out”?”  Ya gotta be up with the lingo.  At first I thought Heather was just trying to make it seem like they were only friends when we knew there was interest there.  The problem was me, I didn’t understand the terminology.  Anyhoo………..I couldn’t believe that Byron wanted to invite him to go out with us for the first time for his birthday dinner.  For those that don’t know my husband, he is very shy and doesn’t do well around people he doesn’t know.   That pared  with the  fact that  he is not really comfortable with any guy that is interested in his little girl, that’s a recipe for an awkward evening.  Bless his heart, Heather had him completely terrified of her daddy………that’s a good thing.  heee, heee.  You could tell he was very nervous, but he was extremely polite.  He shook Byron’s hand and greeted us when we got to the table (they were already there).  I think the evening went really well.  When Heather talked to him later, he said that her dad was funny, that he didn’t expect that and he was glad that I talked so much.  It was kinda hard, but I tried to keep the conversation going because the silence was kinda awkward.  The evening was weird though, it’s like we were just on the other side of that situation with Byron meeting my family.  It’s just too weird for us to be the family that the guy is meeting.  He seems like a really nice guy.  Of course he is a guy, so that makes dad a little uncomfortable, but he is handling the whole thing quite well – I’m proud of him.

Sister’s Shoebox Swap “Cozy”

I am so excited! I haven’t done a swap in quite awhile, and this is my first swap from a blog. I’ve seen several on the blogs I read and almost signed up. This one is from two sisters (hence the title) that are absolutely beautiful and inspirational. Their blogs have been quite a challenge and encouragement to me spiritually and stirred my creative juices.

Monica at Homespun Heart was the sister I discovered first. Then I found her sister Carrie’s blog too at with all that I’ve been given. Just their blog titles are wonderful!

I am so looking forward to getting to know my Aussie swap partner Jane, and deciding what “cozy” treasures to send her.

Footnote: I am so excited about tomorrow, the high temperature is supposed to be under 70!!!! I sure hope it is, it’s about time we get some autumn temperatures. This is my favorite time of year, because of the temperatures…….when it’s hot it kinda spoils it. )

I couldn’t resist………

I found this quiz at Kayla’s Blog

You Belong in 1955

You’re fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

A Trip to the Hospital

Mountain City Mercantile

Originally uploaded by Praiz777

Weekend before last we spent at the hospital with my mother-in-law. On that Thursday she was walking her dog, Sadie got away from her so she stepped on the leash to stop her. Well, it didn’t stop her, she just pulled my MIL off her feet! She landed on her right hip, they said it almost split in two. That was Thursday morning, she was not able to have surgery until Saturday morning because they had to regulate her Coumadin (blood thinner) first. Then the morning of the surgery, they woke her up at 5:30am to start prepping her. They had to give her some plasma to further thicken her blood. Well, they didn’t actually start giving it to her until 8:00am, which is when the surgery was scheduled. So then the nurses are being pressured to get the plasma going. Well, my MIL has had some bad experiences when it comes to surgery, she almost died from a colonoscopy because they punctured her intestine, which is really bad when you are on a blood thinner. The nurse was really nice, but she was not thinking. They were thinking out loud, something that you really shouldn’t do when you are rushing around a nervous patient about to go into surgery. One comment she made was, “I wonder how fast we can shove this in.” Not exactly a comforting thing to hear. There is nothing wrong with what she said, she just shouldn’t have done it in front of my MIL. So then my MIL is getting more nervous and starts having chest pains. The nurse seemed more occupied with getting the plasma in than the chest pains. They ended up doing a couple of EKG’s and they were fine, she was having a panic attack. It was such a mess. They finally got all the plasma “shoved” into her and took her back for surgery. Everything went great. They had her up out of bed on Sunday, started physical therapy on Tuesday, and she was home this past Monday. The dat they were going to let her go, I thought she was going to walk out of that hospital without being released. They said she would probably be released before Noon, because they would have to charge her for another day if not. Well, she didn’t get home until 8pm. Her doctor was having a really rough day and couldn’t get up to check her before officially releasing her. Boy was she mad!!! All is well now, she is home and doing well. Don’t get me wrong, I think doctors and nurses and the such have very difficult jobs. Like the nurse before surgery, she seemed really nice, I just don’t think she was thinking about how her words would affect her patient. People in the medical field definitely have my respect.