Christmas in July! (kind of)

I wrote this last week, just waiting for pics, hence the name.

So . . . ya'll know I'm a planner, right?

OK, OK, I know. I'm a liar. Let's try this again.

Ya'll know I WANT to be a planner, right? I LOVE to make lists and piles. I even have lists of the lists I need to make! Do they ever get completed? No. Not ever.

I'm also pretty good at biting off more than I can chew. I have these grand ideas of the way things should be, but they never quite stack up. This is especially true at Christmas. Well, this year is going to be different!! (Hey, no snickering. It really is!) I have decided on a "Hand-made Christmas"! Everyone will have something hand-made. I wanted EVERYTHING to be hand-made, but I'm at least a little realistic! So, to ensure my vision of the PERFECT Christmas, I am starting now. Actually, I started a few weeks ago, but haven't made much head-way. My list is growing, my crafty supplies are growing, and my mental state is deteriorating! J/K (for now!). So I may not be able to show you much of what I am making, since I'm not really sure who reads my blog and who doesn't. I don't much like surprises, but I at least like others to be surprised.

But I need your help! I stink at thinking up presents, especially for boys! Guys are hard to shop for, much less MAKE for! So, I have a few ideas, but I am DEFINITELY open for more! I have a father, a father-in-law, a brother, a brother-in-law, a grandfather and THE HUBBY! Just a little reference, the grandfather got a scarf last year, and the hubby is getting one before Thanksgiving (I hope!!!). Ideas? Thoughts? Prescriptions to make the Christmas voices go away?

Any-who. Here is something I can show you.

It's my HAPPY QUILT! So named by S. My color choices tend to be a little darker, a little drabber, so I decided that I needed something brighter! I was totally inspired by Posie. All her stuff (house, bed, pillows, ect) are so cheerful! So I got together all my brightest, happiest fabrics. There are NONE LEFT! My favorite part of the quilt is the back. (It's also a block or two on the front.)

It's a REAL LIVE vintage sheet! It's been my sheet for a long time. It's the first one I remember, and my favorite because it's been used so much and so often that it's worn down to the perfect softness level. I don't use it any more, as I've lost the fitted sheet and the pillow cases, but the flat sheet I still have. After showing my mom, she laughed and told me it was older than I thought. She got it for her wedding in 1976! Woo hoo! My first vintage sheet! Anyway, it's really soft, and perfect for me to snuggle up on the couch with. I'm totally in love. So the points aren't "pointy" and the binding is a little wonky, it's ALL MINE! (Mua-ha-ha)!

See ya!

Let's Play!

I found this on Happy Zombie's blog. I couldn't resist!

“Let’s Play”
Let’s Play rules: IT’S HARDER THAN IT LOOKS! COPY, ERASE MY ANSWERS, ENTER YOURS, POST IT ON YOUR BLOG, FACEBOOK, ETC. USE THE 1ST LETTER OF YOUR LAST NAME TO ANSWER EACH OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. THEY HAVE TO BE REAL PLACES, NAMES, AND THINGS. NOTHING MADE UP! TRY TO USE DIFFERENT ANSWERS IF THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU HAD THE SAME 1ST INITIAL.

Have Fun!!

1. What is your last name? LAMB
2. A 4 Letter Word? LIFE
3. A Boy’s Name? LAURENCE (as in Little Women)
4. A Girl’s name? LAURA
5. An Occupation? LEMON FARMER
6. A Color? LAVENDER
7. Something you wear? LACY UNDERTHINGS (what, this is hard!)
8. A Beverage? LEMON DROP (oh yeah!)
9. A Food? LIVER
10. Something found in the bathroom? LIPSTICK (ok, stretching it, but it's in my bathroom!)
11. A place? LIVERPOOL
12. A Reason for being late? LAZY
13. Things you shout? LIFE SUCKS! LAY-OFF! LOSER! LEMONY SNICKET! LOBSTER BISQUE! (yadda yadda yadda)

Tag. You’re it.

Fam-Damn-Tastic!

Here is the pic of the whole family I've been promising you!

Good looking family, no? YES! :)

Also, here are the baby gifts I've been promising you, too. This little guy (I'm sure) needed new stuff . . . because, honestly, everybody needs new TINY stuff!

I made 2 bibs (one with that awesome owl fabric) and 2 bags. I obviously don't know what a mom needs in her diaper bag, but, in my head, these bags can be used for an extra bottle and extra diapers. I hope Little Carter likes them. It was kind of fun to make such tiny things.

Anyway, it was a LONG week, and all this rain is making my head hurt, so this will just be a short post.

See ya!

Home again, home again,

Jiggity Jig!

We had a BLAST on vacation. We went to Beaver's Bend State Park in Broken Bow, OK with my parents and my brother and his wife. The park is gorgeous and the small town is so cute! I didn't catch any fish, but S caught 4, and I think that's awesome! Here he is with his last one!

Sweet little rainbow trout!

I'll post pics of the family later this week, my mom and SIL got the best ones, so I'll show you those when I get them. For now, I'll show you the view from our bedroom. Each bedroom in the cabin had it's own personal balcony, and ours looked out into beautiful woods. It rained Sunday and Monday, but only after we had gotten in for the evening, so that was OK . . . in fact, it made for a really lovely evening cuddling on the couch!
We went on a FABULOUS canoe trip (OK, so I didn't like this one as much as last year, but it was fun.) The company that took us has several trips, a 10 mile (all day), a 6 mile (half day), and a 4 mile (3 hours). Last year we did the leisurely 6 mile, with mostly calm waters and little paddling or maneuvering. THIS year we did the 4 mile with rapids and a small waterfall. It was quite stressful for an inexperienced paddler (ME)! Poor S had to calm me down, maneuver, get out and push, maneuver some more, push again, and make small talk with in-laws. He is SUCH a sport! So with all the fast movement, getting stuck, flipping the canoe over, and stress, I didn't get many pics. But I did snap a pic of the van that picked us up. The company is GREAT! We love them so much, we vow to use them every year!
Finally, S and I stopped in a little antique shop in Broken Bow on our way out of town, and I bought a quilt. I want SO BADLY to start an antique quilt collection! Have I told you this? I have 5 generations of family quilts, 2 of which need repairs and restoration. Well, I have vowed that anytime I see an old quilt for a good price, I'm going to pick it up. I saw an old quilt for$35 in the shop and SNAPPED IT UP, without checking it out first.

Now, I knew I should look at it. I looked at the other 3 in the ship, but for $200 a pop, I couldn't afford them (but they were gorgeous). This quilt is UGLY! (In case you couldn't tell). I really don't like it! It's a Double T, a temperance pattern from the 20s, but I'm PRETTY sure it's from the 80's as there are some hot pink and navy blue patterns mixed in (bottom left corner sashing). But the way I look at it, I have an ugly, not so antique, quilt that is worn down. I can use it to practice repairs and restoration on until I'm good enough to mess with the valuable quilts. So anyway, wish me luck!

I'll be back with more pics and some crafty stuff soon, I promise!

See ya!

Preparations

We're going on vacation on FRIDAY! WOO HOO!!!!! We will be in Oklahoma fishing with the fam! We went last year, and had a blast! Can't wait for a little R&R!

With that in mind, we are preparing for the vacation (hence the title) . . . have you noticed it's more work to get ready for vacation and return from vacation than it is on a normal week? I'm so frazzled!

Last weekend we went to El Campo for a buddies' wedding. It was a lot of fun and good to see everyone. We stayed with our good friends and got to see this little man.

Isn't he a heart-breaker? We expected to see several more buddies, including the friends who are suppose to receive the gift I previewed last week, but since they couldn't make it, I guess you'll have to wait another week until the post office can get it to them!

While we were getting ready for the trip Friday night (you know, laundry in the washer and dryer and pie in the oven) our electricity went out for an hour and a half! Basically ruined the pie! It came back on around 9:30 PM, and we had to leave at 7:30 AM, so we came home to a wreck. But for an hour and a half, that wreck looked pretty good . . . see?

So now I'm trying to clean up the house from last week. My mother-in-law is sweet enough to come take care of Ralphie while we're gone . . . but I hate to have her see the house messy. She is one of those women who ALWAYS has a perfectly clean house, no matter what. I don't know how she does it, but I have YET to find a spec of dust in that house! One day, I'm going to learn how to do it, but I just can't seem to crack it. My mom is the same way, and I'm totally jealous!

Finally, I'm gathering things for OK and putting them places I hope I won't forget them. I mean, I love my family and all, but I'm going to need some entertainment! In this pile, you will see 2 small quilts I need to bind, an embroidery project, and a knitting project (some are in bags). I also have 3 books and fishing equipment . . . I mean to relax the H*** outta this weekend!

See ya!

P.S. My best friend is moving back to Texas from Hawaii in November. Screams of excitement are emanating from Richardson . . . can you hear them? Whoop for all the "Monday Night Craft Night" gals being back in the same state :)

Catching up + guild!

Well, since I have been away so long, I have a little stuff to catch up on. Not much (as I'm pretty boring) but some stuff.

First, the two helpers at craft night. My Ralphie, and my SIL's "puppy" Kate!

Next, a sneak peak at a gift I'm making. More about it next week!
Now, on the the Garland Quilt Guild! First of all, I had a BLAST! These ladies were so much fun! Actually, it wasn't all ladies, I saw 2 men there. How cool is that? Also, the show and tell was GREAT! Such a great diversity of styles! I definitely have a lot to learn from them! I'm a little shy, so I sat WAAAAAAYYYYYYY in the back. But I sat next to a lovely lady named Mary who talked to me and explained things during the meeting. She was SO NICE! She was also sewing on binding the whole time . . . it was great! She is a long arm quilter, and her quilting was amazing! Near us was a lady named Maria (if I have these names wrong, I'm sorry. I'm so bad with names) and she made this quilt.

Here's a close up.
A Geico Gecko T-shirt quilt! Evidently she works for them, and it was SO CUTE! I love it!

Finally, the program was wonderful. This lady, Joan Howes, gave a wonderful speech on the History of Quilting in the US; something I'm very interested in.
Here is a close up of her oldest quilt, an applique from around 1850.All of her quilts were amazing; I wish I had sat closer. All in all, I loved it, and I'm very glad I joined. Maybe next month I'll find a small group to join. I'm still pretty pumped!!!!

Sorry it's such a long post, but I'm pretty excited! (if you couldn't tell). I leave you with a picture of the Mighty Hunter, camouflaged in her environment.

"You can't see me, but I can see you . . ."

See ya!

Tag with Red!

Rebekah tagged me with the following game . . . I've never done one before, so here goes nothing!

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Oklahoma Vaca with the fam!
2. Catching another fish in OK!
3. Canoing down the river!
4. SLEEPING on VACA!
5. Finishing the UFO that has plagued me for a while! Should be done this week!
6. August quilt guild meeting
7. Carlos Ruiz Zafon's new book
8. Quitting time! Woo hoo!

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. went to work
2. commuted WAY too much!
3. ate Jack in the Crack (and got sick, of course)
4. complained about needing a nap
5. blogged (for the first time in a long time)
6. lusted over these pillows
7. Went to my first Garland Quilt Guild Meeting
8. Joined the Garland Quilt Guild! Woo hoo!

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. start my own business/work from home
2. QUIT!
3. create crafty projects instead of copying them
4. see Red, Mary, and Fi more! :( I miss Monday Night Craft Night!
5. buy a TON of fabric, no budget worries
6. clean the house in under an hour (and have it stay clean)
7. lose 30 pounds
8. be more punctual (especially with gifts, I'm bad at late gifts)

8 Shows I enjoy:
1. Top Chef
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. Pushing Daisies (it's cancelled, boo!)
4. Life (it's cancelled too, NBC sucks!)
5. Masterpiece Theater (specifically, Ms. Marple and Poirot)
6. Psych
7. Burn Notice
8. Real Housewives of New Jersey (yes, I know it's a trainwreck, I can't help but watch!)

8 Friends I'm Tagging:
1. Beth
2. That's all I know! I need more friends, too!
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

More about the guild later, when I can upload pics.

See ya!

New adventures . . . dirty house!

I know, I know, I've been neglecting the blog (and no, the house is not clean yet) but I'm reaching that lovely state of not caring anymore. I've also been behind in crafting, I'm so un-inspired lately. But I have a few things to show you, but it'll have to wait until after this weekend as they are gifts. But I am going out tonight! Now, now, don't get too excited, I'm just trying out the Garland Quilt Guild, to see if it works for me. Maybe I'll have some exciting stuff tomorrow. I've gotta run!

See ya!