Busy Time of Year!




My Desk at Work...

Eucalyptys Shower Soothers



Stacks of Fabric!

Hanging Towels...

So it's that time of year again.  You know when the cold,  dreary weather weather forces everyone inside.  We have been keeping very busy with many projects and activities.  I have been busy working many sewing projects, among other things.  I made hanging towels for our kitchen, some eucalyptus shower soothers, and these crazy rice filled owls to warm on the microwave.  The owls were such a hit that I am now selling them in a local store with another store interested in having them. How exciting!


 

My Owls...Lots of Colorful Characters

Princess Pea and her buddy R at Dance!

Cookie has been working 2 jobs, trying to get his car fixed and figure out what he is going to do in life.  I so wish I could help him more and I wish I had guided him better as a young child.  But what's done is done and I can only go from here trying to guide him and give him advice as I can.  

 

Princess Pea is active as usual.  She finished up her volleyball season and headed straight into dance.  She is also busy with FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America)  and Forensics.  She is on the color guard squad and in choir and jazz choir.  She also plays flute in the concert band and saxophone in the jazz band.  Whew... I get tired trying to keep up with her.  

 

Making Beautiful Music



Smiles

Last night she played in the District Honors Band.  This organization takes a few musicians from several local schools, gives them music to learn and practice.  Then they pull all the students together for a day to play the music together under a guest conductor. After a full day's rehearsal, they perform a concert.  It is an incredible experience for the kids.
 

Emma!



Getting in on the Selfie Craze! LOL

One of Cookie's friends has an opportunity for a wonderful job within the state corrections department. I am so happy for him, but during his seven week training, he needed someone to watch his 3 month old golden retriever/german shepherd puppy. Yes, seven (7) weeks and yes 3 months old... Meet our house guest - Emma! She has the sweetest temperament and disposition. She is gentle and loving and playful. She does however think she is a lap dog and deserves ALL attention leaving sweet Luna to feel a bit jealous at times. Mostly they play well and we laugh at them. She is learning manners slowly and has found great fun in a game of fetch (as long as Luna also plays). I'm not sure what the two of them will do without each other when Emma goes home...

Enjoy a cuppa!

  

We are also planning for deer camp this weekend. Rifle season for deer opens on Saturday morning at day break. It's a tradition in our family that everyone gathers at my home on Friday night(since it was previously my parent's home) to swap stories and look at trail camera pictures and plan strategies. Some stay at our house, others go home, but they all wind up back at my place for breakfast around 5 AM on Saturday morning. This means up at 4 to start cooking! :) Then they all traipse off to the woods leaving a mess in the kitchen and me to start the chili and chicken noodle soup. And then I spend the day making cookies and treats as they filter in and out to warm up and eat. Some spend the night again on Saturday night and more of the same (minus a 5 AM breakfast) on Sunday! :) It is really a wonderful tradition that I truly look forward to every year. To me it starts the holiday season!  Check out this post about last year's Deer Camp to see just what I mean!

So tonight will be a night of planning, taking inventory of groceries, making more owls, and doing some laundry.  I hope you all have a wonderful day and I will check in with you later!

 

My Craft Table....

Hi There!! I am so glad to see you! A visit with friends always brightens my day! Grab a cup of tea and sit down for a visit! :)

So I am sitting here at work, drifting through several blogs, looking at several crafts that my friends and fellow bloggers have on their craft tables and in their sewing baskets and I long for the day when I can get back to my crafts. My quilting fabric is calling my name and my sewing machine nearly jumps out at me when I walk by, begging me to come and sit awhile and listen to the theraputic whir as I stitch together the blocks of a quilt, watching it come to life under my fingertips. I have been browsing the quilting magazines piling up on my dresser of fabric and contemplating a purge so I know exactly what I have in my stash!

My life is so hectic right now that some things have to give. Unfortunately for me, that is my crafting and quilting. I really do miss it and need to find a way to get back to it. It is my stress reliever and my therapy! A day at the quilt shop with my bestie is far cheaper and better therapy than any doctor or drug can be! I also know that now is the time to pass the skills I have on to my daughter. She is 9 and has inherited her great-grandmother's sewing machine. She begs to use it and to learn to sew. Now is the time I need to teach her. Not only that but wonderful bonding occurs at the crafting table!

Lord help me to find the time to pass these wonderful past-times on to her and let me find the time to get back to myself!

What therapy do you turn to when life starts to get to busy and threatens to overwhelm you? 

What I am Grateful for Today:
My awesome adorable kids!
Sunshine
Fabric and Quilt Shops
Family ties
That I have a job

Who/What I am Praying for today:
My dear friend and his family as they deal with his mother's diagnosis of cancer
That the speed bumps of a relationship can be worked through
That I make more time for me (through crafting/quilting/reading/whatever....)
Help working toward my dreams
My family and friends

An Introduction

Hello! Welcome to my Blog! As the first post in my blog, I shall attempt to introduce myself! My name is Sheila. I live in the upper Midwest with my two children, Matt and Hailey. Matt is 14 and in high school. There are days that being the parent of a teenagers is the most trying job in the world. Matt plays football and wants to join the golf team in the spring. He also plays the tenor saxaphone. He is in concert band, pep band, jazz band and marching band. Hailey is 9 and a complete diva already. She is almost as involved as her brother. She is in the girl scouts and also takes 3 different types of dance lessons, ballet, tap and jazz. They both have huge hearts and unfortunately have to deal with being the children of divorce.

I also live with my cat, Jynx. He is a funny fellow, with a personality that you can't help but love. His favorite things to do are to sleep and to try to get attention. He is a big fat lump of loving!

I have a wonderful boyfriend, Paul, whom I love very much. Unfortunately, he lives 2 hours away from me and much of our time together falls on the weekends, and then only the ones he doesn't work. He is a 22 year veteran of the military and still serves in the National Guard. I'm proud of who he is and what he does. There is just seeing him in uniform that makes my heart swell with pride.

I love to read, quilt/sew/craft, scrapbook and write. I like to try new recipe and redecorate my house. I am also a part-time student finishing my degree. I can't wait to have it over, but am having so much fun while I am doing it. Next semester I have Comp & Lit and The American West history class. I have a busy life, but I am doing my best to enjoy every minute.

There is always a lot going on in my life! I am always looking for new friends. Stop on by, share a cup of tea and let's chat for awhile!

What I am Thankful for Today:
- Having wonderful happy healthy kids
- Time with Paul
- Taking down the Christmas decorations for another year
- a working furnace (-26 below windchills tonight)
- family

Who I am Praying for Today:
- My kids
- Paul
- Soldiers over seas
- Friends as they return from deployment