Cruisin' in the Gulf...

We had a fabulous time on our cruise, and we will definitely go on another one. We went on Carnival Ecstasy, and it is a beautiful, well-maintained ship. The staff was wonderful and treated everyone like royalty. I thought it was so interesting that the staff comes from 56 different countries and speaks 27 different languages. 
 The weather was beautiful the whole time except when we came back into Galveston, a heavy fog came in, and they wouldn't let us come into the port. We were delayed 4 hours, but they did a good job trying to keep everyone fed and happy! 
  I wanted to share a few pics today, and will post some more later. The water at Cozumel was the deepest blue I have ever seen.

We didn't get off at Progresso, and that's when I took these pics of the decks. It was so peaceful, and we enjoyed having the hot tub all to ourselves. There were over 2600 people on the boat.

Easter Sunday...

We got back so late on Saturday there was just no way we could cook on Easter as we had planned. Our son came to the rescue and had Easter at his house. Our daughter and her family also came down so we all got to be together. I sure hated the thought of missing Easter with the grandbabies. My son and daughter-in-law hid some plastic eggs with money in them. We used to do that for the kids, and everyone loved it.

Let me explain about Cayden's shirt. That boy didn't want to look "cute" for Easter, he wanted to look "awesome." In his eyes, awesome means something on his shirts, and usually it is superheroes, etc. So Mommy took pics, and then made a paper "A" and taped it on the front of his shirt. The "A" stands for Alvin. He wore it all day. We never know what he is thinking. I didn't make Shelby's dress. This was bought, but oh well, I can't do it all. I'm still working on the birthday outfit.  You can see Cayden enjoyed the things we brought from Mexico.

We love these little foam hats, and so did they. LOL
  This is the little dress I bought Shelby. She thought she was pretty prissy wearing this.

 We also brought some tee shirts from Del Sol that change colors in the sun. So cool! I will post some pics of the cruise next time.

Another giveaway....

Worth checking out.
http://www.unexpectedbliss.com/2010/04/01/trying-to-give-back/comment-page-8/#comment-25562 

A Sad Tribute...

 I came home from a wonderful cruise only to find out that a former student of mine had been murdered at the hands of a registered child molester. (I will write about my trips another day.)

  I taught Justin Bloxum 2 years ago in 5th grade. He was only 12 years old. This makes me so sick to my stomach that someone could be so cruel.
 Justin went to spend the night with a friend, and he evidently had this planned to meet who he thought was a girl in his grade. The man was posing at his step-daughter, and lured Justin to come and meet him telling him a taxi was picking him up. It was a taxi, but the "girl" was the man who killed him. 
  Justin left the friend's house some time early in the morning on Mar. 30.
 The man, Brian Horn, drove a taxi for the city of Shreveport, but he lived in our parish about 15 mi. from here, and Justin lived and went to school in Stonewall, LA.  Different people saw the taxi around the area that day, and even saw the guy coming from the woods where he dumped the body. He left him in the woods near a major highway. They say he smothered to death.
  I know this is graphic to a point, but maybe some of you will also help to alert your kids and others about predators like this. 
 It's so easy these days for kids to be lured into thinking they are safe. Kids have so much access to computers and cell phones now, and so many parents don't have a clue who they are talking to, and this girl that Justin thought he was talking to wasn't a stranger on the internet. She was someone he thought he knew even though he had no business going off like he did. He thought he was meeting a girl he liked!
  Kids are kids, and they do stupid things, but that doesn't give people like Brian Horn the right to kill them! 
  I will stop for now. I am so upset and irritated with our judicial system. This man had at least 14 prior arrests, and spent time in prison for sexual crimes.
  Please say a prayer for the family, Justin's friends, and for the step-daughter because only God knows what this monster has probably done to her.

I'm SEW excited!!!!

I will be leaving early in the morning to meet my sewing friend, Jerry, so we can travel to Springdale, AR for our sewing class with Carol Ahles. If you sew, and you don't have her book, you need to buy it. I've been reading it at night, and believe me I wish I had bought this book years ago.

 I wrote on here a few weeks ago about this trip. Well, the time has finally come! I am packing up my sewing stuff, and gosh, there's so much to remember.
 I know we will have a fabulous time. I met Jerry on the sewing forums when our first grandbabies were close to a year old. We think so much alike that I sometimes think we are sewing sisters from another mother. LOL
  We will be back on Sunday, and then Clay and I leave on our cruise on Monday. More fun!! I can't wait!
  I see my blog folllowers are increasing in numbers. I will have a giveaway when I get to 25.
 It's not time for sunflowers yet, but I just thought I'd tease you with this one from last year. 

Happy Spring Everyone!

A New Blog Giveaway...

I get so excited every time I see those magic words "giveaway".
Go on over to Little Miss Thing and read all the ways you can be entered to win.

Waiting for the snow and some past Easter pics...

It has been snowing all around us today, but so far none here. I went back and looked at my photos, and it snowed on April 7, 2007. Our azaleas had started to bloom. You can see them behind the grill.
  I was also looking at some Easter pics of Cayden and Shelby, and realized that Shelby's first Easter was in 2008 as she was born April 18, 2007.
  These are from Cayden's first Easter in 2005. I made him a one piece bubble, and did some shadow work applique on the collar from Southern Stitches. I love this little outfit, and he was so sweet wearing it. 

I love this pic below. My daughter was and is always trying to make neat and different photos.

 The next ones are from Shelby's first Easter in 2008. These were made a few weeks before I had my tongue/cancer surgery, and these pics were very special to me. When I was in the hospital for 12 days, my daughter brought a few of them and taped them to the wall so I could look at my sweet babies everyday. 

                                     

Have a good week everyone! I am packing for my sewing trip to the Ozarks, and I'm so excited. Then my cruise will be as soon as I get home. Gosh, it will be a rushed and busy time!

Another Great Blog Giveaway...

Blog giveaways are always so much fun. It's sort of like having a chance to win a Christmas present during the year. Check out Laurie's blog for chances to win. Yes, I said "chances".

  Remember - I will be having a giveaway when I get to 25 followers. I'm going to look for something neat to give away when we go on our cruise.

The Reason this Blog was Started...

Two years ago today I went in for a biopsy on my tongue. Deep down inside I think I sort of knew it would be bad news because when my doctor had checked it the week before, he immediately said he needed to do a deeper biopsy. Before this, he had always done them in his office.
  I will NEVER forget the look on my husband, my daughter, and my son's faces when I woke up. I finally asked if everything was ok, and everyone burst into tears. If you've ever been told you have cancer, you very well know the feeling. They started reassuring me that the doctor said he could get it all, and it would be ok.
  I cried most of the way home sipping on a coke float from Sonic.
  They scheduled me to have my surgery in May. That was as soon as they could get me in, but they knew what I had was not an aggressive cancer. I went back and taught school for the six weeks before the surgery. I had to take off school two weeks early so I had a lot to prepare for a sub also.
 The surgery part is the beginning of this blog in the Archives of 08. It was very traumatic, and when I look back, I sometimes wonder how I ever tolerated any of it. I've always been pretty tough when it came to pain, and it wasn't so much the pain as the whole ordeal. 
  I made it, and I know it has made me a stronger person in the end. May will be my two year mark, and when I get my tests results, you will hear me shouting from the tree tops. I know it will be good. I haven't had any flare ups, and I don't intend to. You can't live worrying about what might happen. 
 I have lived these past 2 years enjoying life, my family, and my friends as much as I can. I know you already knew that because of how I brag about my grandkids.
 Please keep me in your prayers for a good report in May. I want to be in the 10% that does NOT have a recurrence of mouth cancer within 2 years!!

Making Memories...

This past Saturday my husband and I met Emily, Cayden, and Shelby in Bossier City at the Boardwalk. If you aren't familiar with the area, the Boardwalk is a shopping area next to Bass Pro Shop right on the Red River. It is a wonderful and clean place to enjoy walking, shopping, and eating. 
 We first went to lunch, and then we took the kids to Build a Bear. I had been before when we took them last year on my birthday, but my DH hadn't been. He really did enjoy it, and of course the kids had a ball. Cayden picked out a monkey and a Buzz Lightyear costume. It is so cute. I will have to add pictures of him when I get some.
 Shelby picked out a panda bear, and she didn't take a minute to decide on the little top with the Princesses on it. She got some darling denim shorts with bling, and of course, some hot pink shoes!

  Shelby named her bear Cinderella Lou. She also got a blow up bed, and her mom snapped these pics that evening of Shelby putting her bear to bed. She pretended the box was a TV, and she made the bear take her shoes off to go to bed. lol

Then yesterday I met them again for lunch. We took the kids to the duck pond and play area in Shreveport. They had a lot of fun. It was another beautiful spring day. While we were there, my DD snapped this pic of us. I love making memories with my grandbabies because they grow up so fast, and right now going to the playground with Mimi and Mommy is "fun" for them too!

 I will post Cayden's monkey another day and tell a little about some of his antics.

A PINK GIVEAWAY - FOLLOW ME....

Go on over to Southern Matriach and read what she's giving away. Everything pink!
  If you care anything about sewing, you need to read Martha's blog. She is always posting such beautiful things, and she also gives great tutorials.
 Thanks, Martha, for another great giveaway. I plan to have a giveaway when I get 25 followers.

Happy Sewing!
 

What a Day!

  First of all I had a doctor's appointment in Shreveport with my shoulder doctor. I had to wait a good while (nothing new). He did take a long time looking at my shoulder and trying to figure out again why it didn't do better after surgery. We decided to do another MRI in April to compare with the one done before the surgery. We also went through the pics made during the surgery. I really had less repairing than most people, and still not good results. He thinks it's all related to my radical neck dissection from 2008, but again, I asked "what could have happened?" I know other people who had the same surgery, and they didn't have problems with their shoulders. I went into the hospital with my shoulder being fine, and came out with a problem, but it took a while for me to figure this out as that side of my body was numb for a long time.
  I had a heavy feeling all day long yesterday, and I guess it was for a reason. There was a very bad wreck not far from where we live after I got home, and a young woman that works for the school board here in our parish was killed when a log truck hit her. My DH talked to her a lot as she handled the adult ed. GED testing. She has a 15 yr. old daughter so please say prayer for her family. The trucks in this area are out of control because of the gas well drilling. There are accidents nearly everyday. I am literally scared to go to the grocery store. Now this is a small town that was nearly dead 2 years ago. Money flow is good, but not when it causes so many fatalities and the law won't do anything about the trucks speeding around here.

  I've vented enough. I will leave you with a hint of spring that popped up in our backyard this week. One lonely iris.....

Third Birthday is coming for the Princess!!

  On April 18th, our little princess will be "3". I can't believe it has already been almost 3 years. Since Mimi is slow these days, I've started preparing to sew her special outfit. My daughter allows me this privilege every year, and it thrills me beyond words. 
  Shelby really loved Cinderella at this time, and she is having her party at a place where the kids can play so we want her outfit to be comfortable yet cute.
  These are the fabrics I'm going to use along with a pic of the applique that will go on the bodice made of the pink dots (Chez Ami). The skirt will be made of the Princess fabric, and I think I'm doing a pink dot ruffle around the bottom, and possibly a shorter one of the blue gingham on top of that. I will have to see how heavy it will be before I make the final decision. The capris will also be the dots, but I will embellish them somehow to tie in with the rest of the outfit.

 

 The darker blue is for Cinderella's dress along with the blue gingham.

  I bought the next piece because the yellow matched Cinderella's hair the best, but it has so many shades of other colors that I knew it would come in handy for appliques in the future.

 
The colors look distorted in this pic, but they are very pretty.  I'm not sure about the rick rack yet. I always wait until the sewing gets underway to make those choices.  The pattern will be McCall's 6019 - View A, which is the shorter version in pink on the envelope.

 

 Sometimes things don't always turn out the way I have them pictured in my mind so keep your fingers crossed that it turns out the way I have it envisioned.

  Now let me leave you with a couple of pics of the previous birthdays. Thanks for looking.

 

Pink and Brown Dots.....

  I wanted to get this made so Shelby would be able to wear it a few times before the weather gets too warm - if that ever happens! It is fairly lightweight so maybe she will get to wear it into summer. 
  The flash makes the colors a little distorted. I partially lined it with pink gingham. 

  The "S" is Lacey Girl's Font from www.fivestarfonts.com. I love the way it stitches. I almost didn't do any machine embroidery, but for lack of a better plan this is what I ended up with. Shelby loves anything that has her initial on it.

 

  Notice the price on these buttons that came from my mom's stash. I love being able to add some little touch of something cherished to Shelby's outfits. 

 

  Now I just need my little princess to model!

Simple Sewing for Shelby...

  Usually in between making Shelby a special "Mimi" outfit (to be posted at a later date), I like to do a few things that are simple and fast. 
 I found some cute stretch pants at WM for $2.00 a pair. I should have gotten more at the time because she can wear these to daycare, but I didn't, and I lost.
 I made a little peasant style top to go with the hot pink glittery pair and monogrammed her initial on it. It always takes me longer to decide what to do than it does to actually do it. The top came from the pattern "Sweet Innocence" by www.mytreasuredheirlooms.com. I got a free pattern because Annastasia chose the name I submitted to name this special pattern. I love this top as it is so easy to make.

 

  For the other pair of light pink, I used a simple little tee I had on hand, and embroidered a design from www.emblibrary.com. Shelby's dad says she is "too high maintainence". Well, she is, but she is our princess so this design fits her perfectly!

 

  I am so excited to see the number of my followers has been increasing. I hope to be doing a giveaway soon. I am trying to think of something everyone would like. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Sew Beautiful #129...

  I got my new issue of SB yesterday so when I went to bed I decided to read it. That is always the best uninterrupted time for me to read anything that I read.
  I was carefully reading every article, and I got to the one about "Eco Friendly Sewing", looked on the right hand side, and there was my tip I had submitted to Facebook a few weeks ago. I had even forgotten that I had replied. I told them about an old make-up tray that I use to store my embroidery thread in that slides inside my desk.
  I know this is nothing compared to having your handmade outfits published, (I can't even imagine the thrill that must bring), but it did make me feel good to be quoted in such a well read magazine.
 I'm posting a couple of pics of the tray I use for my embroidery thread. When my daughter was living at home, she cleaned out her room, and threw this in a garbage sack. I dug it out because I felt it was too good to throw away, and I was always needed storage containers in my sewing room.

 

 The next pic shows the little cubby hole in my desk that I slide the tray into. It is so handy and easy to reach. I keep my most used colors in it, and the others are kept in plastic threads boxes under my desk.

There is just enough room to have 2 of these. The other one is for sewing thread.

   I have 2 large desks from the Christopher Lowell collection, and they have some really neat storage places. One day I will have to post more pics of my sewing space.
Happy sewing!

Another great giveaway...

  In honor of National Smocking Month, a blogger friend of mine, Sara, is giving away a precious baby bonnet to be smocked.
  If you would like to know how to be eligible to win, go over and visit her blog to see. She is extremely talented, and you will enjoy looking at some of her creations as well.
  Happy Blogging!

http://saranorrisltd.blogspot.com/2010/02/heirloom-smocking-my-first-give-away.html 

Getting the most for your money!

 I know my husband doesn't believe this, but since I retired I do try to spend my money wisely on things that I know won't be wasted. I had made myself a promise that I wouldn't buy anymore fabric until I made a big dent in what I have. Well......I guess I didn't do too good on that, but I have a plan for everything I have bought.
  I made Shelby a little outfit in the fall of '08 from a pretty floral pique, and a hot pink micro check fabric. 

 

  It was from the pattern Bonnie Blue Lauren. I love this pattern, but it seems to run a little large. I also made bloomers to match. Shelby did wear it, and she wore it in the fall of '09 also, and guess what? She can still wear it as a top, so I made her a pair of capris that she can wear into late spring. (I made the size 2).

 

  Now I'm going to show you an old picture  of her wearing the outfit. She was so funny as she had to keep her "hankie" in her pocket (just like my mom used to do). A girl mustn't have a runny nose by any means!

  She has grown up SO much since these pics. I will have to update when I get a new one with her wearing the capris.  I paid full price for this material so I was really glad that she has got to wear it for 2 seasons. 

  If you have a blog, please add mine to your list of followers. I want to have a giveaway when I get more followers.

Everybody Love to Win!!

  I love to win - anything! Unfortunately, I very seldom win anything so when I do I get really excited. I guess even at my age we have those childlike instincts.
  I entered a blog giveaway over at http://southernmatriarch.blogspot.com/. Martha was giving away some darling padded hangers for a child. Notice the last one in the pic was one that she made herself. It is embroidered and piped in this lovely lacy piping. 

  I will use these for some very special outfits of Shelby's. I think her homecoming gown should be displayed on the one Martha made. Thank you, Martha.


  This has been a lucky month for me because I won something else when I went to my Babylock Club meeting at Shreveport Sewing Center. Melanie always has one or two door prizes, and I won this cute little sewing tool tote. It will really come in handy when I go to the sewing workshop in AR in March. I've already used it the other day when I went to Embroidery Club. (That will be another post.) Thank you, Melanie.

 Now if anyone wins anything, I hope you will post and tell me about it. When I get more blog followers, I want to have a giveaway of my own. Even my husband thought it was a good idea. 
  Happy Sewing!!