"The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline." Lamentations 3:25-27

"Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act." Psalms 37:7

Teacher Appreciation Gift

Hello everyone! I'm back. I have been a very bad blog friend, and haven't posted in quite a while. And here is one of the reasons why I have been so busy . . . baseball. Looks to me like all the running around is worth it.

May and the first half of June are very busy for me. We started with an annual business trip at the beginning of May, then lots and lots of baseball, gardening before the heat sets in, and finish it up with end of school activities. Whewww! To be honest, when things get busy for me, the wheels come off the wagon really fast. So I bugged out of blogging to keep up with our lives (not really an intentional choice, just kinda happened). Case in point, my house is a total pit right now and what am I doing? Blogging. This morning I choose to ignore the mess, or at least tackle it in baby steps.

The last day of school was this week, and I delivered teacher gifts to the classrooms. I like to get something for teachers that they can use for themselves, not the classroom, and I had been thinking about some type of gift with summer items (flip flops, beach towel, etc.). Then I saw Heidi Swapp's blog and she did the same type of gift for teacher appreciation day. So what did I do? I totally, completely copied her cute idea (btw, Heidi is one of the most adorable people on earth!). And here is the final outcome:

I was very pleased that after I bought a hot pink towel, I went to get O Magazine, and it had lime green on the cover. *Perfect.* Since I am chronically self-doubting myself, I wasn't sure if the gifts were good enough for the fabulous teachers my kids had this year. That was totally unnecessary because the teachers went absolutely nuts about their gifts. I mean, they really went nuts. It was cool, because I really wanted to give something they liked.

I peaked in O before I wrapped it up, and there was an article on Sarah Jessica Parker's new clothing line. I apparently missed the Oprah show on it. Anyway, the clothes are really cute, and everything is under $20 or something crazy like that. The nearest store to me that sells the line is about 30 minutes away, but I think I might go down there and check it out. I like you Sarah Jessica Parker! Thanks for cute clothes that moms-who-are-putting-3-kids-through-college-in-the-near-future can afford. Oh, and thanks for clothing that doesn't make me look like an old fart or a 19-year old!!! I'm 36 . . . not dead yet!!! (that was a shout out to all department stores and any other store to whom the statement applies).

Alright, now the towel gift reminds me of something else I have needed to do. I was tagged by two lovely friends: Elizabeth Hill Cottage and Notes From A Cottage Industry to tell some random/quirky things about myself. I was actually tagged a long, long, long time ago (actually last month), but better late than never. One tag was for 7 "things" and one was for "10", so let's see how many I can come up with.

1. I *love* reality tv. Don't know why. Survivor started it and I am still a die-hard Survivor watcher. I also love Top Chef, and Rockstar (INXS and Supernova) and my new absolute favorite reality tv show, just discovered it and I can't believe I missed the first 2 seasons, is . . . So You Think You Can Dance (You know what I'm talking about Martha. Wow! Those kids can dance. Sooooo much better than Dancing With the Stars. One of my other favorite shows is Jon and Kate Plus 8. I wish I was as organized as Kate. There are other shows, but I won't go into the entire list.

2. I *love* the smell of Baby Magic and Dreft. It beams me back in time to when my kiddos were babies. Sometimes I have a hard time letting all that go, so I just get a little fix with baby soap.

3. I gave birth to Baby Bunyan. He wasn't the biggest baby in the world, and I don't have anything on women who have twins (or more), but my middle child was 10 pounds 14 ounces. I kept telling the doctors he was big, but I knew they finally believed me when the doctors and nurses were all hanging around *after* their shifts just to see how big he really was. He was a tank.

4. Ok, here's a yucky one. If I push my shoulders back, my shoulder blades pop out so much that I can actually put my fingers under the blades. I love to gross my kids out with this one.

5. I really, truly hate the sound of eating. Not just smacking out loud, but if I can hear a person chewing food at all, even if they are being polite and quiet, I can't stand it!

6. I am very, very happy when the carpet is vacuumed. I just love it. It makes my house look so neat. I am really a neat-freak at heart, but there is some kind of defect in my brain that keeps me from being as neat as I would like.

7. I am anal-retentive about how my towels are folded. Lengthwise, I fold in each side, then I fold them in half, and roll from the edges in. I'm sure that doesn't make any sense, but if I fold it wrong I have to start over. It even drives me nuts. ocd????

8. I could spend an entire week in a book store or a library.

9. The beach is my favorite place in the world. I don't really care for swimming in the ocean. Just standing on the beach is good for me.

10. I am the most scatter-brained person I know. I forget everything (everything!), lose everything, and half the time, I can't even remember the words in the sentence I'm saying. My kids have learned to fill in the blanks. (Good thing they help me out, because I think being a mother is what killed some of my brain cells.)

There you have it. I'm going to tag just 1 of my beautiful blog friends. Trish at Harmony Hill Music.

Now I have one last thing to say. I am not a computer genius, nor am I a complete moron either. BUT, I have spent most of my time on this post messing around with stupid things that Blogger software is doing, eg, too many returns, not enough returns, difficulty getting pictures in the right spot, etc. Is it just me, or is this a frustrating editing software to use?

All They Need Is a Hose, Folks

Wisdom is a fountain of life to him who has it. - Proverbs 16:22

He will fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. - Job 8:21
I came that you may have and enjoy life and have

it in abundance, until it overflows. - John 10:10
Cast your cares upon the Lord, for he cares about you. - I Peter 5:7
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. - Psalms 119:105
The kingdom of God is within you. - Luke 17:21

A merry heart doeth good like medicine. - Proverbs 17:22

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy and peace. Galatians 5:22
Who refreshes others will be refreshed. -Proverbs 11:25

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Easy Project

I finished another project (really, I finished it a few weeks ago and never got around to posting this), and it was so easy I had to share it with you. I consider myself to be an intermediate seamstress, but I had never tried this project before. It is pillow covers with envelope backs (I avoid buttonholes and zippers like the plague).

Here is a picture of the back of the finished product. Remember when I found the custom order fabric samples for 25 cents each? Well, I was waiting for the perfect backing fabric that didn't cost too much. I found a chenille curtain panel for $5, and it was big enough to make the backs of all the pillows. I washed it first so it would pucker a little, and it is sooo soft.

So here is what I did. I already had the pillow forms -- I highly recommend feather pillows. I got mine at Ikea and they didn't cost that much. They were 20-inch squares, so I cut the fabric for the front of the cover in a 21 inch square (I use a 1/2 inch seam allowance, so that is 20" + 1/2" + 1/2+). I made a few pillow covers, so I took brown packing paper and made a pattern that I could use over and over.

For the fabric on the back, you need 2 pieces, and they need to overlap about 3 inches. So, the width of each piece will be half of the pillow size (10") + 3 inch overlap (3") + seam allowance on side hem (1/2") plus hem on other edge (1/2") = 14". The height of these pieces will be simply 21". To make it easier, cut it out as one big piece and then cut it in half, eg, cut a piece that is 28" wide and 21" high. Then cut it in half.

You need to hem one side of each of the backing pieces. Fold it under 1/4" and iron, then fold under another 1/4" and sew.

Next, pin the pieces together right sides together. First pin one of the backing pieces to the front, and then pin the other backing piece over that. Sew 1/2" around the entire pillow. Then to make the seam stronger, sew a zig zag stitch around the entire seam allowance. Clip the corners and turn inside-out. Done. Hope it made sense.

Oooops, I did it again ...

I had just finished up with one of the Kids' baseball picture appointments, and I spotted a garage sale out of the corner of my eye. The same family had a garage sale a month back, and I saw some furniture but didn't have time to stop. This time I had a few minutes. And my love seat was there waiting for me. I really don't need another project. But I had been thinking for a while that a love seat would be perfect in my living room. The price was right. I was still unsure. I was going to walk away and think about it. Then the man said "the cushion is down-filled", and that was all she wrote folks. Sold! I'm thinking about a little bit of gold paint, white paint, stain on the legs, and a slipcover on the top. I will have to visit this talented lady again and take some notes.

I finished a project, la la la la la la ~and~ Back from the Paris Fleamarket

I'm back from The Paris Fleamarket hosted by The Cottage Gals. They have a cute little shop in Leesburg, Virginia, and they invited vendors to set up in their backyard. Everyone was so nice, and the shop is really great. I only had 30 minutes, because I had to get to the bus stop by 11:00. Here's what I got:

Aren't their bags cute! I'm going to save mine and use it again.


I bought a little charm ... here's pictures of front and back.


At the top of my shopping list was a bird for my table and . . .

a blue creamer. They had a bag of little eggs, but I snoozed and someone else snatched them up. Why do I do things like that? I know better.



The latest issue of Romantic Homes was there too. It is a good one this month.

Wouldn't it be fun to go to a real paris fleamarket?

And all these neat little things will go perfectly with my little desk that I just finished. I was going to put it in the living room, but it looks much better in my garden room.

Please excuse all the pictures ... I'm just sooo proud ... that I finally finished a project. I'm good at starting, not so good at finishing.

Here's what it used to look like. I had a picture with the old knobs before I washed and sanded it, but lost it in the bad hard drive incident. You get the idea though.
High-maintenance child is calling ... got to go!



p.s. Does anyone else find this blogger editing to be difficult sometimes? grrrr

Paris Flea Market

Well, I do have 2 baseball games, baseball pictures times two, riding lessons and movie night at the elementary school to attend, but I will give it my best shot to go to the Paris Flea Market this weekend at the Cottage. I know something very special is waiting to go home with me, like these neat things.