Friday Song...

I'll be in the mountains this weekend celebrating my mom's birthday with her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!!!



So, there probably won't be many post until the first-middle of next week due to there being no internet at my grandmother's house. I know that you all will feel so neglected, but know that you will be in my heart! ;-)

But before I go, I want to leave you with a wonderful Friday afternoon song. I refused to download it for a long time because it was just too popular, and since I hadn't really heard it that much, I didn't know what the fuss was over. But this afternoon I broke down and got it off iTunes. It's been on repeat ever since. And since you guys aren't here to enjoy hearing it played over and over and over and over.... again, I figured I'd post it here for you all to enjoy.

So often we get caught up in things that don't matter, and lose sight of the things that are vitally important. I have to admit, that if I made a list of all the simple things that make me happy it would be very similar to Zac Brown's... Fried Chicken (boneless and dipped in honey mustard, please), A pair of jeans that fit just right, the look Jay gets in his eyes when I walk through the door, the love of my family, the love i have for my child(ren) who aren't even here yet, the men and women making sure I'm free.

Anyway, watch the video, read the lyrics, and make a list of your own (feel free to share it with us in the comments), and I'll be back with some post about the weekend and my trip to the mountains next week.

Happy Friday everyone and have a great weekend!

bonnie




You know I like my chicken fried
Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up
Well I`ve seen the sunrise
See the love in my woman`s eyes
Feel the touch of a precious child
And know a mother`s love


Well I was raised up beneath the shade of a Georgia pine
And that`s home you know Sweet tea pecan pie and homemade wine
Where the peaches grow
And my house it`s not much to talk about
But it`s filled with love that`s grown in southern ground

And a little bit of chicken fried
Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up
Well I`ve seen the sunrise
See the love in my woman`s eyes
Feel the touch of a precious child
And know a mother`s love


And its funny how it`s the simple things in life that mean the most
Not where you live or what you drive or the price tag on your clothes
There`s no dollar sign on a piece of mind this I`ve come to know
So if you agree have a drink with me
Raise you glasses for a toast



To a little bit of chicken fried
Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up
Well I`ve seen the sunrise
See the love in my woman`s eyes
Feel the touch of a precious child
And know a mother`s love


I thank God for my life
And for the stars and stripes
May freedom forever fly, let it ring.
Salute the ones who died
The ones that give their lives so we don`t have to sacrifice
All the things we love



Like our chicken fried
Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up
Well I`ve seen the sunrise
See the love in my woman`s eyes
Feel the touch of a precious child
And know a mother`s love

Poor Jay

Yes, poor Jay never knows what to expect when he comes home from work on Wednesdays (which is usually my extra day off). For instance, yesterday he opens the door to the hum of my ancient, dusty sewing machine that hasn't seen the light of day in almost a year, since the wedding.

You know I can't post one of these without telling the whole story so here goes...

While trying to catch up on our pathetically, embarrassingly neglecticed laundry situation yesterday, I got this burr under my saddle about redecorating my table for valentines day. Now if you have read some of my recent posts, you'll know that I'm not a cheesy kind of decorating person. I have to come up with something creative and beautiful without resorting to cliches.

So, once a load had been put in the drier, and one in the washer, and I knew I had at least an hour before I could do anything, I put on a ball cap (because I'm surely not going to get dressed up to go to Target on my day off), and hit the road. I started at my old staple Target, but had remarkably little luck, although looking at my receipt you'd hardly get that impression. I swear I can't get out of that store for less than $60! I bought a beautiful night gown which I'll wear on valentines day to serve dinner (and no I'm not worried about spoiling the surprise because I know Jay doesn't read this, but noone better tell him!), some X and O cookie cutters, some heart shaped ice cube trays (LOVE me some shaped ice cube trays), and some new pillows since Jay has been complaining for a while. Plus I knew the pillows would justify my trip without tipping him off that I was planning something.

Unfortunately, they didn't have any type of tablecloth or runner that I liked. Everything was either not valentine-y at all or totally cartoon-y hearts and crap! So, while walking around, I got the idea that I might be able to make something. I knew I didn't want anything fancy. My simplistic, minimalistic design style really helps out when it comes to the pocket book, so I decided to head to walmart to look at fabric.

Now, I must say that Walmart is like my least favorite place in the entire world, and I do my best to avoid it. Target is by far my preference so that's why I started there. I could have gone to Hancock fabrics but that was all the way in Matthews and I had to get back to the laundry. So, I guess, just like I'm always yelling about, I sacrificed my ideals on the alter of low prices and convenience. Oh well, no one's perfect. :-)

ANYWAY! After picking up some candy hearts (totally off the subject but I love those darn candy hearts! I know they have to be so bad for you, and if nuclear holucast were to happen the only things left would be cockroaches, those scary easter bunny shaped peeps, and valentines candy hearts, but I still love them.) ANYWAY! ... candy hearts and dark read taper candles, I headed to the fabric section.

I really wasn't holding my breath because, really, this is walmart. But there it was, the holy grail! The most beautiful toile print fabric I'd ever seen, and at $5.50 a yard I couldn't pass it up. So, I grabbed 2 1/2 yards just to be safe and headed home to hide the secret stuff and get started playing with my fabric. I'd already summised that I could probably just fold the fabric in half and sew it together, but wasn't sure exactly how I was going to make it work. I looked at patterns, but they were all too ruffely, fuffy, duffy, for me. I just wanted something simple so I figured I could figure it out for myself.

Once I got home and hid the surprise stuff under the bed, yes, I'm not a very imaginative hider, I cleaned off the table which was a mess as usual. One of these days I'm going to have a crafting room where I can have everything layed out, but for now our dining table has to multiple duty as crafting space (when I'm not working in the middle of the living room floor), table for company (we eat on the couch in front of the tv), and general crap catcher! Once it was cleaned up, I layed out the fabric to see what I was looking at, and realized that not only did I have enough fabric for a runner, but I had enough for an entire table cloth.

So, I measured off the amount I wanted to hang off the ends, and trimmed it up straight. Then I ironed and pinned down a half inch hem and sewed it down. Thankfully, I remembered how to use the machine. I tend to forget how to thread it and get this really funky rats nest on the underside, but after just two tries I figured it out again.

So just $14 and an hour later, we had...



Not the best picture, I know. But there's only so much I can do when its dark when I get home.



I love it so much. It's perfect and exactly what I was looking for. Then this morning when I was trying to explain what toile looked like to a friend of mine, I came across this...



This was on William and Sonoma for $95!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woohoo!!!!! Talk about Thriving on less. Plus, I like my pattern better. :-)

Hoping to Make a Little Boys Day

This morning I put the pictures from my trip to April's on Facebook. She commented right away and said that Elliott loved this one and was so proud of his Jedi pose.



All day, I kept thinking... I can do better than that. So, I did a quick google search and apparently I'm not the only one who has tried to make a Jedi Lightsaber in photoshop.

So, here we have Jedi Elliot!

A Very Girlie Weekend

This past weekend was wonderful! It was chocked full of laughing, shopping, catching up, and lots of girl talk.

It started out with Jess and her friend Molly coming up Saturday for what we thought would be a very productive wedding planning day. Molly was legally married right before her husband deployed, but they are planning a large ceremony and reception after his return. The WE channel was hosting a bridal expo downtown. We figured with Jess and Molly planning Molly's wedding, and me helping Aimie plan her's it would be an awesome time. Unfortunately... not so much. The show was SO small. There were probably 20 venders there total.

We stayed long enough to watch the bridal dress runway show. Well... when I say watch, I really mean critique. With Jess and I being former dancers, we're all about stage production and management, which this show was seriously lacking. Oh well, it at least produced some laughs and entertainment, even if it wasn't the kind they were hoping for. :-)

So, after sitting in traffic for, I kid you not, a half an hour trying to get out of the parking deck, we decided to head over to SouthPark mall for some lunch and light shopping. With the girls living in Fayetteville, they were very excited to see a full size, nonmilitary town mall.

First things first... lunch.

*click to enlarge*

Then it was on to the shopping. There was one store that was hands down everyone's favorite! I was excited to introduce the girls to it as they had never experienced the awesomeness that is Anthropologie. I could literally outfit myself and my entire home in their products if everything wasn't so dern expensive. I mean, $70-80 for a top and $30 for a candle might not be unheard of for some people, but for a die hard Target girl, that's a freaking lot of money.

But we did take advantage for the wonderful things for a photo session.


*click to enlarge*

Then it was off to my favorite place in the world, Paper Source. Were we decided to have another photo session.


*click to enlarge* Note: all pictures taken by Jess as this ding bat forgot her camera


That was such a fun trip! We got lots and lots of ideas, plus picked up some awesome things, plus had so much fun showing each other our favorite finds.

But, my dear Cinderella, it was getting late, and the girls had a 3 hour drive ahead of them. So it was back to my house before they headed off for the teaming metropolis of Fayetteville. (Sense the sarcasim).

But this was only the first half of the girly weekend!

Saturday morning, after dragging Dan and Shannon out of bed for an extremely early breakfast at 11am, ;-), I headed out to the Monroe area to see a very dear friend. April and I were literally BFF's until the age of 9 or so. We lived across the street growing up and if I wasn't at my house, I was at hers and visa versa. She, and her family, are a staple in our family photo album, from birthday parties, to dress up parties, to simply hanging out or torturing my under brother (and trust me we did that!)

But unfortunatly, with many tears, her family moved an hour away when we were about 9 years old. Now it doesn't seem very far, but at 9 when you have no control over where you go, when and how, then it's very hard to stay in touch. We talked on the phone for a while but it just wasn't the same. Eventually we lost touch. My mom attended April's wedding in 1998 while I was living in Jacksonville, FL dancing. Other than that and the rare sighting every once in a while, there was no contact.

Until about two weeks ago when we found each other on Facebook. And after 20 years, we met up yesterday afternoon at her house. Since there were 5 of them (She has 4 kids and a husband which makes 6 but he was out of town yesterday), and only 1 of me, we figured that was the easist thing.

She truly has a beautiful, charming, and welcoming home.


*click to enlarge*



And beautiful children, who (all but one) were not at all camera shy and let me take lost of pictures of them.




*click to enlarge*



April and I had such a wonderful time catching up, and trust me there was lots to catch up on. She is also a homeschool graduate and is now homeschooling her children as I will, so there was lots to talk about that. We spent about 3 hours together, and could have spent many, many more. I am looking forward to renewing this relationship and it once again becoming very important in my life.

Since I had Jay's camera with me, and it's hard to take myspace style self portraits with it, we only got one picture of the two of us and it was with my crappy cell phone. (But I can tell you that my mom was very excited to get a real time picture of the two of us hanging out). But I will leave you with these images.

Cheers to the past, hopef for the future!

I'm Officially a Hooker... hehe!

I've been meaning to take some cool pictures of my first crochet project, but it's freaking dark every night by the time I get home from work and my photos suck when I have to use the flash. So, I broke down and decided to just take a few pictures with my cell phone at the office. Can you tell I'm a little bored. Don't get me wrong. I have stuff to do, it's just been a crazy busy week and I'm tired and don't feel like doing anything right now.

So here it is...





A simple scarf made from one skeen of Simply Soft Eco yarn which is made from 80% synthetic fibers and 20% recycled plastic bottles. I can attest to the fact that this yarn is very, very soft and I love the recycled aspect of it. Plus it's available in many colors, reasonably priced, and easily found since it's carried by Walmart.





I usually like my scarfs to be a little longer, but was too excited about it that when I finished the once skeen, I decided to just stop and celebrate for a while. The next one I might make a little wider and a little longer.



I'm actually pretty proud of it if I do say so myself. I've been trying to get this figured out for weeks! For the longest time, the practice stuff that I would do would come out looking all lopsided and jaggedy. I knew I was either dropping a stich or adding a stich somewhere, but just couldn't figure it out. After working with it for a while, getting a book, and talking to a couple of crocheters, I finally figured out what I was doing wrong and it started working perfectly.

I've totally enjoyed wearing my scarf, and have already had a request from a friend for one. I'm going to Walmart tonight to get some more yard so that I can start on that next one, plus have some awesome patterns I've found that I'll be starting on soon!

I don't know what it is about this that I like so much. Maybe it's the history. Being a third generation crocheter is an awesome feeling and knowing that I could pass it on to a fourth generation feels even better. I love feeling connecting to the women in my family.

I also enjoy the focus that it gives me in the evenings. It's hard to watch tv, crochet, and have a million worries run through your head all at the same time. Also, in reading about children who have experienced trauma I've learned that rhythm is very important and very healing to the brain, and I do really love the rhythm that one gets into while crocheting.

It could also be my love of a finished product. I love having accomplished something, and having something to show for my work. I also am really looking forward to having something handmade that I can give to those who are closest to me.

So, anyway. I'll be starting a couple of new projects soon, and I'll be sure to keep you all updated. I'd love to see other's projects. Feel free to link to your blog in the comments if you want to show something off!

bonnie

p.s. for those none crocheters, knitters use knitting needles, crocheters use crochet hooks, which is where the hooker comment comes from. :-)

No Wallowing Wednesday!

Well, I'm super tired today. Jay took yesterday off to help his mom move. Because of deadlines at work I was unable to get time off too. So, after work, I headed to the creative movement class that I teach at Alexander Youth Network. When I finished there at 7pm, I called Jay. Guess what? They were still moving!!! And not close to being done either. I could hear the frustration in his voice, so I said, "Ok, I'll be right over!" I swung by the drug store and picked up a bunch of Gatoraids for the guys (note: I thought they had just changed the packaging, but infact, I got the "low calorie" ones. They suuuuuuuucked! So consider yourself warned!), and meet the guys at the new apartment.

Anyway, long story... longer... it was 9:30pm before we finished up and left the new apartment. Then the dolly and blankets had to be transfered into Dan's car for return and the truck dropped off. Then pizza was ordered and we started watching the last few episodes of 24. I ended up falling asleep on the couch (on Dan's shoulder, funny enough, because I was sitting on the couch with Dan and Shannon and Jay was in the chair by himself). It was after midnight when Dan and Shannon left.

So, needless to say, I'm freaking exhausted today. And when I'm exhausted, I get... cranky (oh happy, happy, joy, joy)! I seriously feel like punching my boss in the nose... who is only being his usual self, a self that can be annoying, certainly, but I can usually get along with just fine. But not today!

Soooooooooo, instead of wallowing in my exhaustion and self pity, I'm going to make a list of all the things I'm thankful for.

• I have a wonderful husband who loves me more than life it's self, just as I him.
• I have reconnected with a very old, very dear friend whom I will hopefully get to see very soon, and be able to enjoy many grown up tea parties (i.e. Starbucks!) just like when we were little.
• I truly believe that the winds of change have come to our government and feel hopeful and excited about the direction our nation is taking for once in my life!
• I have iTunes on my computer at work and can spend the entire day listening to wonderful music while I work.
• My co-worker brought me back a Dr. Pepper when she went out to lunch which will get me through the rest of the work day!
• My DVR and it's ability to easily record my favorite shows so I can watch them when it's convenient for me brings me endless joy. (I'm easily ammused, I know!)
• We got P.F. Changs take out on Monday night and I have my leftovers that simply need to be warmed up for dinner this evening. MMMmmmmmm......
• LOST comes on tonight! Jay just jumped into the series last year, so he keeps asking me questions about stuff thinking I know more since I've watched since the beginning. I keep having to turn to him and go, "I have ABSOLUTELY NO idea! That's the brilliance of the show; it makes you want to kill. your. self.!" Hehe.
• My BFF is coming up this weekend with a friend of hers and we get to go to a bridal show! Yay!
• Hopefully we'll get to see Bride Wars while she's up here too, since Jay refuses to go with me on the grounds that his thingy might fall off if he goes! ;-)

Ok, see I feel better already! Back to the grind. See y'all later!

bonnie

Really Dude?...Really?

I'll admit. I had no idea who Govenor Rod Blagojevich was until he hit the news this winter. And I didn't really like him them. All I needed to hear was the tapes of him using profanity and implying that he was willing to trade or sell Barak Obama's senate seat. The way I see it, the feds had to have some reason to tap his phone in the first place because you can't just tap a US citizen's phone without a judge's approval. So, they had enough reason to think he was up to no good to convence a judge, then they catch him making a statement about the senate seat like, "[it's] a [bleeping] valuable thing. You just don't give it away. ... I've got this thing, and it's [bleeping] golden."



Ok, even if you were joking, that's like joking with the TSA agent at airport security about the explosives you have in your bag. You will be taken seariously and you should be punished even if you are joking! Not to mention, I have three little brothers. I can smell bull sh*t from a mile away! And this guy is acting more like a 3 year old who's gotten caught red handed, then an adult. Denial, misdirection, plees of "unfairness", and then sulking in the corner.



Up until now, this has just been an annoyance... antics to laugh at on the drive home. Until that is... last night! On my drive home last night, I heard the All Things Considered story of his interview with the Today Show's Amy Robach where he stated that upon being arrested he first thought of his family, then of Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and Mahatma Gandhi.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME, DUDE???

You are going to put your name in the same sentence as three of the most influential human rights activists in modern history, and three of the people who I most admire. Now I'm pissed! These guys helped to free entire swaths of humanity; they underwent torture, years of imprisonment, and even death for their ideals. What have you done?

Really dude??? Really???