You Like Me, You Really Really Like Me!!!

I've been really busy this past week, and haven't been able to finish a single craft project, although I did start a few. I hate having half finished projects all over the place, but I'm still waiting for my stupid bobbins for my sewing machine to come in the mail, so things have been a little held up. I've kinda been feeling in a funk because I have so many things I want to get done, and not a lot of time to do any of it. I was about to give myself the following award: 

source

 

Then I received an e-mail from the lovely Tracy at The 2010's Housewife. She awarded me the One  Lovely Blog Award!!! 

 

So, to fulfill my obligation for accepting this award I need to do the following:

THANK YOU, TRACY!!!

I was having a seriously crummy day and was in desperate need of a mood lifter when I got the wonderful email telling me that you thought I was lovely. It seriously made my day! 

 

(check!) 

Next I'm supposed to write 7 facts about myself that nobody knows... that's gonna be kinda hard since I'm a pretty open book (and because a few of my friends are loyal readers) but here I go: 

1.

I LOVE shoes, but I hate my feet. I don't like people looking at them and I can't stand anyone touching them. Don't invite me along for pedicures, because I absolutely will not go. 

2

. I was ready to get married about 7 years ago, Amazing Boyfriend wasn't... guess who won that round? 

3.

I was such a goodie-goodie when I graduated high school. I was a virgin, never drank or tried any drugs. My graduating class on the other hand...

4.

I hate the color white. I hate white walls, white clothes and white cars. I feel like the world is meant to be colorful and that white is boring. 

5.

If I could live anywhere in the world, I would move to Ireland. I've never been there, but pictures I've seen of the country are beautiful and the people I've met from there are charming. 

6.

 My favorite holiday is the 4th of July.

7.

I've never been present when any of my nieces or nephew were born. I've always been at school, or work, or otherwise busy and gone to see them later. I still love each of them to pieces though!!!

(check!!) 

And to fulfill the final part of accepting the One Lovely Blog award...

I'm awarding the One Lovely Blog award to the following bloggers. Please check out these awesome and amazing blogs. 

Uncertain Inevitablities 
Brandy Jeanne
Day & Age Designs
Dragonfliez Creationz
Frou-FruGal
Southern Lovely
My Girlish Whims
West Furniture Revivals
Project Purple
Messy Mimi
Tiaras & Bowties
Life of the Cocktail Party
The Junky Vagabond
The Victorian Rabbit
Blue Babes Create


(check!!!) 


I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all my followers! You guys are seriously awesome, and I don't want any of you to think that I love you any less because I didn't give you an award. If it were up to me, everyone would get awards because I think every one of my followers are awesome and amazing. At least you all make me feel like I am. So thank you!!!!!


And to add just a little more cuteness to everyone's day...


My nephew, Jackson was born Tuesday, June 21st!!! 

Welcome to the family, Jackson!!! It's a pretty good one to be born into, if I do say so myself!

You Might Be A Redneck If...

The other day I went over to a good friend's house and laughed as I was walking up to the front door because her husband had gotten somewhere a wind chime like contraption made of beer cans hung from a sign that read: Redneck Windchime. It totally made me think of my Dad. 
 

Then I took Amazing Boyfriend out to his Dad's house, and in his shop he had a very similar sign just with different beer cans. Again, this made me laugh and think of my Dad. 
 

Then I decided that I had to make one. 
 

(For my Dad, of course!)

Wanna see how I did it? 

Supplies:
 3 empty beer cans 
 small piece of wood
paint (or vinyl) 
fishing line or twine
drill

I started off by making the main sign, which is what you'll be hanging the beer cans off of. I bought a piece of wood at Michael's for $1.49 because I liked the zig zag edges on the ends.
 
Amazing Boyfriend said that he could wood burn the letters for me, but kept procrastinating about it. So I got sick of waiting for him and decided to paint the letters instead. You could just as easily use vinyl to cut out the words and stick them on, but I like to paint. When you make your sign just make sure that you leave plenty of room along the bottom of the sign to drill the holes.

 Once you have your sign made it's time to drill your holes. Using your drill make 3 holes along the bottom of your sign. These are where you're going to hang your cans. At the top of the sign you're going to drill holes to hang it. I decided to drill holes at each end to hang it long ways, but you could drill just one hole and make a looped hanger. ABF was nice enough to drill the holes for me, but only because he didn't want me touching his brand new drill.

When you got your holes drilled into the wood, it's time to tie everything together. If it's going to be hung outside, make sure to double knot your knots to prevent things from coming untied.

And once it's all tied together, you're done. Now you can hang it off your front porch for all the world to see... (or not)

Come on, that's funny!!!

My Dad is going to love it! It's going to be the perfect addition to his garage decor. I'm so happy that I decided to paint the sign, I think it makes it look really redneck. Surprisingly enough, it actually makes a cool sound when the cans clink together.

And I must add a special thank you to my buddy, Brad, for the donation of the beer cans. So happy that I didn't have to drink the beer myself to do this project. 


I'm sharing this project at the following link parties: 

Knit-a-thon

Since my Mom is an oncology nurse, through her work she is involved in a lot of different fund-raising events for cancer charities, such as the Relay for Life and Race for a Cure. 

She is also an avid knitter, and several years ago decided to start a knitting cancer support group. Last year during the Relay for Life event, her work held it's first ever knit-a-thon during the event. Unfortunately, because of life events, she wasn't able to be as actively involved in it as she would have liked.

This year, however, she's planned a little more carefully, and asked me if I wanted to join in the fun. My answer was: of course!! 

Unlike years past, when I've participated in these events, this time it's a little more personal after Amazing Boyfriend's cancer diagnoses. But I wasn't about to not participate because I would be a little more emotional about doing it then before.

Our Handmade Items Sale!!!

Getting untangled...

Rebellious Midnight Knitters!

  
I made the signs for the booth as well as the sign for the table. We sold handmade items such as quilts, pillowcases, knit hats, scarves and blankets. I also donated a hat to the cause. 

I also signed up for the 10 PM - 2 AM slot at the booth. Which was kind of fun because not only did I get to learn how to knit cables (insert happy dance here) but I got to be there for some of the evening activities. The Native American Blessing and Dance, which was really neat. (Sorry, for the grainy photos, I couldn't get any good pics)

And the 1 am,  Miss Relay contest! OMG, I wish I had gotten pictures but my camera batteries died! Various team booths dress guys up in drag and they have to use their "womanly" wiles on participants to collect as much cash in their purses as they can in a certain amount of time. So they go around begging, dancing, taking pictures with and being ridiculous to raise cash for the cause. They were so hilarious. I'm super bummed that I didn't get any pictures of them. 

 And the luminaries. I always love the luminaries that people light up, not only in memory of loved ones that have lost the battle with cancer, but the ones that are beacons of hope to those that are fighting the battle. They are beautiful, and sad at the same time. Again, no pictures because my camera batteries died. 

I'm so glad that I got to participate! I like it when I get to be involved in good causes, especially against something as meaningful as the fight against cancer. Sadly these days it touches almost everyone's life in some way. But hopefully, some day, we can find a cure.   

 

I HEART my FAMILY!!!

Seriously... 

Most people I know what to kill their family most of the time, and don't get me wrong, I have my moments where I picture doing awful things to members of my family (mostly my brothers), but I truly love my family. 

 

Today would have been my Granny's 100th birthday. Sadly, she passed away in December 2008 at the ripe age of 97 years, six months and 1 day old. But even though she's gone, the legacy that she has left behind is so strong that I feel like she will always be with us. I hear other members of my family saying things that she ALWAYS said, such as "heavenly day" or "whatchamacalit" or "sugar". Every time I hear it, it makes me smile. 

My Granny was the strongest person that I've ever known. She survived two husbands, four sons, one gentlemen friend and most of her many siblings. She made family a priority, and taught me that family should come first. She taught her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren by her example. She worked hard, enjoyed her family and friends and loved to cook. 

When Amazing Boyfriend was first diagnosed with cancer, my brother David gave me one of my favorite compliments that I've ever received. He came with my Mom to help me pack up our house, and on their way home, he told my Mom (because I was never meant to hear this) that he didn't know how I was holding it all together. He said that I had "Granny strength",  which to anyone who didn't know my family might not sound like a compliment, but to me it was nice to hear. I loved my Granny with all my heart, and to be compared to her is such a nice compliment.

For those of you that don't know me, I'm one of 6 children. Yup, I did say 6. I don't think I appreciated it so much when I was growing up, but I truly love coming from such a large family. My siblings are some of my best friends and it's nice knowing that no matter what, they will always have my back. Just like I will always have theirs. It was how I was raised, and I'm truly blessed to have that in my life. 

I wish I had a picture with all my siblings, but here's one of me with my brothers

My parents are my rock. They have been happily married for over 30 years and have been through so much together. They have always been there when I've needed it, whether it's calling my Mom to ask a question because of her awesome nursing skills or needing my Dad to work on my car. They have been there when I've needed them and stepped back when I've needed space. I can only hope that if I ever am lucky enough to be a parent that I can be as awesome as the example that I had growing up. 

 

I've had a lot of things change in the past year. Life got really hard after Amazing Boyfriend was diagnosed with cancer. I feel so blessed that I have such an awesome family that surrounded both of us and wanted to help as much as possible. Being able to take comfort in your family is one of life's true blessings and one I'm lucky enough to have. 

Why Yes, Mason Jar, You Are Perfect...

On a trip to Goodwill to get mason jars for projects for my niece and for myself, this little guy found his way into my basket. 

 this jar is perfect... it even says so

It wasn't until I got home that I realized that it had designs all the way around it so I couldn't use it for the project for my niece. And it's not a wide mouth jar, so I couldn't use it for my project. 

So I had to come up with a completely different use for this "perfect" jar.  

 

I turned him into a soap dispenser! 

Amazing Boyfriend helped me drill the hole in the lid and cut the soap bottle so that I could glue it to the bottom of the mason jar lid. After much debate, and one failed attempt, ABF we decided that JB Weld was the best glue for this project. 

I'm so excited about this project. I'm sure that several people that I know are going to be asking me to make one for them. This one, however, is going to go live at my brother Jonathan's house. I know it will be perfectly appreciated there.  

Warning: Rant Post As Follows

Yup, this is a good old-fashioned rant post... you have been warned. 

I have a standing agreement with several of my close friends that if they buy the materials for a crafty project within my realm of crafting abilities, that I'll make it. I put it down as a project on my to-do list and write down a date by which this project HAS to be done. In other words, I schedule these projects in. I might be a procrastinator but I work really well if I have a deadline I have to meet. 

I have a friend who has been going through a rough time lately. She's pregnant and decided that the baby's father isn't going to be in their life. She asked me to make something to give to her Dad for Father's Day. She's really close to both of her parents and I understand that she really wants to give a meaningful gift to her Dad. She bought the supplies that I needed to make what she wanted. 

Unfortunately, we haven't been able to meet up so that she can get these supplies to me. I was trying today to figure out a way so that we could meet up, and she accused me of being too busy to make what she wanted me to make and that she would just buy something else and give it to him. I tried telling her that I could still make what she wanted, and that it would actually not take me very long at all. Of course, she wasn't interested in listening because I am too busy for her right now.

I know that I'm a busy person, but Father's Day is still a week away. Right now quite a few of my projects have been put on hold because I'm waiting for a part for my sewing machine to arrive so I have plenty of time for other projects that don't require sewing.

I guess my feelings are a little hurt because I'm getting the impression that she thinks I'm a bad friend. I know she's going through a lot of crap and I would love to be able to drop everything and be there for her whenever she needs me. 

But I have a lot of crap going on too. Taking care Amazing Boyfriend is my # 1 priority. This next weekend is also the local Relay for Life race, which I'm helping out at a knit-a-thon booth that my Mom is organizing. I have a job that I have to work around. I also have a ton of other projects that I'm working on for various other events coming up.

I like to think that I'm a good friend. I try to be there when my friends need me, because so many of them have been there for me when I've needed them. 

Maybe I'm just frustrated. Maybe I'm taking things way out of context or blowing things out of proportion. 

 

This is just how I feel...

 

End Rant

What I Found In No Man's Land...

No Man's Land was the phrase that Amazing Boyfriend named my sewing table not too long after we moved into the basement. Sadly, he was right. My sewing machine tucks into the table, so the top can be used as a desk. Not long after we moved in it became a catch all for mail, receipts, random crafting supplies, hair things, etc. 

 

I am here to tell you that my sewing table is No Man's Land no more! 
  

I cleaned off my desk so that I could un-bury my sewing machine because I had a few several projects that I needed it for. 

 

In the process of cleaning off my sewing table I found this. 

 

A little spray paint, a little vinyl and now it looks like this. 
 

Much better, don't you think?

I'm going to use it as a dish to put my hair pins in since right now they're hanging out in a little pile on my dresser, and my round twisty pins keep rolling off and falling on the floor. What a great solution!

  I'm sharing this project at the following link parties: