It's been a long time

Lots of changes. Some good, some bad. Some happiness, a lot of sadness. Hoping to reconnect with wonderful blogger friends and get back into the groove of thrifting, crafting and creating!

Debbie Downer

Well folks, I've been quite the Debbie Downer lately, been in a huge funk, so I've stayed away from the blogs as to not spread my funkiness. I'm so frustrated about not being able to find a job. There's so very few things out there for me apply to in my field. When I do find something fitting, I apply. Then I receive the dreaded "thanks but no thanks" emails. I just don't get it. Some of these jobs I could do in my sleep. What's frustrating is that it seems 10+ years of experience and an education mean nothing these days. *sigh* The stress of it all is weighing so heavily on me. I'm having trouble sleeping. I feel like I'm losing my sanity. It's creating tension between the hubs and me. I feel desperate and, sometimes, hopeless.

But then reality hits. I realize that as bad as I feel like things are, it's really nothing compared to the struggles others are going through. A sweet blogger friend, Lindsay, is having to deal with some major health scares right now, and yet her attitude and faith shine. My friend Diana lost her sweet 10 year old daughter this year to brain cancer. And so on...there are so many folks struggling out there, struggling with things that I can't even imagine. That's when I need to step back and thank God for blessing us. Times are tough for a lot of people. Some people share, others don't.

I know God has a plan for all of us. Sometimes it's realized sooner than later. Sometimes it's not. What's important is to keep in mind that there is a plan, have faith, and keep a shining attitude. I'm thankful for the lessons I've learned from others who are struggling. That alone is a huge blessing.

Another year closer to 40

It's official: I'm closer to 40 than I am 30. *sigh*

I turned 36 on December 4. The night before, a group of my girlfriends and I went to one friend's house and hung out like we usually do. They surprised me with a great spread of food and a wonderful fruit tart cake. I love those girls! We had a great time sitting around, laughing, taking the stress off.

The celebrations continue though! Usually I'm alone on my birthday because hubs is playing a gig. And it gets depressing year after year. This year, my friends have gone above and beyond, and I'm so appreciative!

On the night of my birthday, a few friends and I went up to Winstar Casino (just across the Texas/Oklahoma state line) to see a favorite band. I'm not into casinos in general...they just aren't my thing. But that's where the band was playing, so that's where we headed. I did bring a few bucks to play the slots. Once I lost $3, I was done. Like I said, it's just not my thing.





The band was great though! That same night, Miranda Lambert was also playing at the casino. I love her, but my friends don't, so we didn't get to see her. But while we were hanging out, I saw Miranda and Aden (Miranda's bass player, he's the one with the mohawk) walk over to our area. They were talking with fans, taking pictures, etc. My hubs knows Aden since they were both in the same music program in college, so I went over and asked him to take a picture with me. I said "you and my hubs know each other!" haha





This weekend is the birthday celebration finale, and I'm so excited! A big group of friends and I are going to the Fort Worth Stockyards to one of my favorite places to see a band and dance. It's a true Texas honky tonk dance hall. I'm a true Texas girl, I love to two-step!

I'm so blessed to have such good friends!

13

Thirteen years.


1996






2009



Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

hodgepodge

Hello internets! Things have been crazy around here lately. Still no luck with the job search. It's been exactly one year since I was laid off. I'm trying to have patience and know that God has a plan, but I'm really starting to wonder what the heck it is and why it's taking so long. :( I'm beginning to get a bit worried here.

Last week my hubs and I went to Indiana (him: business, me: visit family). We stopped in St. Louis along the way and visited with my inlaws. Hubs was able to catch up with some friends from high school. It was a nice visit! But I'm glad to be home. Driving through 5 states in one day, from 8am to midnight is just not my thing.



Isn't my grandma so cute? I stayed with her while hubs was down in Indy for his convention. She lives in a small town of about 2,000-3,000 people, and I swear I'm related to every single one of them somehow. Every time I am there, I meet people I'm related to that I've never met before.

My grandma now lives one block off the courthouse square in town. I had forgotten my hair dryer (yipes!), so it was nice to be able to walk two blocks and get to a CVS. My hubs took off for Indy with my make-up bag in the truck, so I was stuck there with no make-up for the duration (yipes). Not a good look for me. ;)

If you know me, you know I love thrifting. So while there, I walked the one block up from my grandma's house to the square to a little thrift store run by a local church. I didn't think I'd find anything good since it's such a small town out in the middle of the corn fields, but believe it or not, I did find a few scores!

I found two 4-serving snack sets (each has four plates and four cups). One was a pattern I already have. This one came in the original box! And the best part was that it was priced at $3!!!





I also found this snack set. I don't have this pattern yet. It was only $2!





{LOVE!!}

My grandma has always made quilts, and I used to love wrapping up in them when I was a kid. I have a couple of them (one she made for me when I was in school, the other she made for us for a wedding present). While visiting, I told her I'd like another one, so she let me pick one out. They aren't fancy by any means, but they are made with love, and she does all of the stitching by hand. She had a few with interesting patterns, but I chose a simple patchwork quilt. It reminds me of her, because when I was a kid, those are the ones we'd use. She uses any scraps of fabric she has, and I think that's really cool.





While we went to Indy, we took the two old dogs and my inlaws kept the two younger ones. I guess they were spoiled rotten, because when we drove back through St. Louis to pick them up, they didn't seem as excited to see us as we were to see them.





It was a nice trip, but I'm glad to be home, in my own bed. I'm not glad that I have about 8 loads of laundry to do, but I guess that comes with the territory. ;)

A little bit of domestication thrown in for fun

So I was a little inspired this week. I don't know why. I should check my temperature and make sure I don't have a fever. Because not only did I bake, but I baked from scratch. AND! I made enchiladas for dinner twice. From scratch. Go me!

But this is such a good, tasty recipe that is especially appropriate for this time of year. It all started with two mini muffin pans I found at a garage sale. I was going to use them for paint wells, but decided to try and use them for their intended purpose.

I saw a recipe online (complete with video with a crazy old lady) for mini pecan tarts. Here is the result.



And if you want to make them yourself (and I know you do!), here's the recipe. If I can do it, anyone can do it (this coming from the girl who caught her stove top on fire. Once.).

Shells:
*3 oz. cream cheese (I used fat free so there'd be less guilt as I shovel these into my mouth)
*1/3 cup butter
*1 cup flour

Mix and put in fridge for an hour. Make little balls and spread out to fit mini muffin tins.

Filling:
*1 egg
*dash of salt
*3/4 cup brown sugar
*1 tbsp soft butter
*1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Mix and fill shells (about a spoonful of filling each). Add a whole pecan to the top of each one for cuteness.

Bake at 325* for 20-25 minutes.

Makes 24 tarts.

A request

My friend Diana's 10 year old daughter Regina passed away today from brain cancer. Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers.



Regina's Story

Who let the dogs out?

Woof woof woof woof.

That song is stuck in my head. And now, probably yours too.

This weekend we had a cold front come through (that's what the weatherman called it), and since it was a frosty 95 degrees outside, we figured it would be the perfect time to take Cissy to the newish dog park.

One of my missions for this year was to get my city to open a dog park. I know of the perfect place. I just need to get on that. {note to self}

There are a few dog parks within a reasonable distance, but honestly, they are almost far enough that it's a pain. A few months back, the suburb south of us opened up a dog park...in a shopping center parking lot. I know it sounds weird, but it's actually pretty ideal. It's only about 5 minutes from our house. And when they were planning it, they left a 2 acre patch of grass and trees in the parking lot for this park. There are lots of benches, clean up stations (dog poo bags, Purell for our hands), and did I mention, tons of trees? That alone makes it worth going to this one instead of the others where you're hot as blazes with no protection.

The dogs were so quick, it was hard to get a good picture of any of them. They were well behaved (except the one little mutt who wouldn't stop humping Cissy...and the owners didn't try to control him...that's the only thing that gets on my nerves at the dog park). Cissy was very good, too. I was proud of her. There was one creep of a guy who was ugly to a few teenagers, but they remained very respectful to him (though I'd have stood up and said something to him had I know they didn't know him). I think he might have had some mental issues, so it was best that I kept my trap shut.

I'll share some of my favorites from yesterday.



{handsome feller who knew lots of hand signals}















{hubs trying to get Cissy to chase her ball...she was really more interested in the other people and sniffing every tree in sight}



{this little 3-legged german shepherd was the fastest dog there!}



{"ready to go home momma"}



{"I got my exercise for the day"}



{"is it ok if I take a power nap back here?"}

*I just realized this is my 100th post. I've been blogging for almost a year. Just goes to show I can yap about a lot of crap! ha!*

Blog par-tay!

Last Friday evening I met up with about 17 other ladies who are bloggers from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Nicole even came down from Oklahoma to join us!



{group picture without a couple of girls who had already left}



{me with Kendra}

Typical of Dallas (and of myself), I got stuck in rush hour traffic and arrived 30 minutes late. Which was fine, but unfortunately I came in on the tail end of the introductions. Too bad I didn't have a grand entrance planned! :)



{Elyse, Alicia, Jen, me and Dina}



We met up at the Golightly Antique store and tea room and chatted, ate wonderful food, sipped on some wine and got to know each other in person. Afterward, we shopped! If you are ever in the Fort Worth area, make a point to stop by the tea room and try the banana caramel pie. It is to. die. for.



{Kendra, Alyssa in her cute born to blog shirt and Jennifer}



We're going to plan on doing this at least once a quarter. I'm really excited about this, because at this stage in my life, it's so difficult to meet other ladies. When I was in college, it was no problem. But everyone has moved on in their lives. So this was a great opportunity to get to know some great women!



{Jen, Stacy, Alicia and Nicole}



If you ever get the chance, meet up with some fellow bloggers! Some people think it's a bit wacky to meet people you've only ever spoken to online, but it was great. None of us were pillaged or killed. ;) Thanks to Jennifer and Dina for hosting.

Weekend roundup

This last week and weekend I accomplished quite a bit, but nothing photo worthy. I made a "to do" list of things I wanted to get done in addition to my regular housework, and with the help of hubs on some projects, managed to finish them all. So I feel good about that. However, when I was going down my list, I noticed that my hubs, being the "funny" guy that he is, added something.



Do you see it? Mr. Smartypants. (do I tell him he put message instead of massage? ha!!)

I only went to two garage sales this weekend...one on my street, the other around the corner. I got hubs a new Krups espresso machine for $10, a new muffin tin for $1 and 3 rolls of Christmas wrapping paper for a quarter. That's it. Not too exciting. I just wasn't able to drag my bum out of bed to go to sales like I normally do.

I also helped my neighbors who live behind me paint their shed. I had no idea what I was getting into. I went over to say hello and managed to be put to work. That's ok. I don't mind...he's 77 and she's 66, and that's what neighbors are for after all. The funny thing is, it was about 9am, and when we got done with the shed, he offered me a beer. Then another. And another. (ha!) Since it was about a gazillion degrees outside in the Texas heat, a beer (or two or three) at 9am sounded good. ;) They also had an old heirloom tea rose bush that they said I could have if I dug it up. So I had hubs help with that, then we planted it out back in one of our flower beds. I hope it does well!

Their backyard is amazing. It's like a little resort. They are great gardeners and I love to just sit on their back patio and visit. They sent me home with some fresh veggies from their garden (okra, onions and eggplant) along with a few eggs from their chickens. Yes, chickens in the suburbs! They have a chicken coupe (coop?) built that's actually not bad on the eyes, so it doesn't seem out of place. Like I said, their yard is a little oasis. I'm sure they are breaking all sorts of city ordinances. :)



Tomorrow is my last watercolor class. I'm so sad! I've really enjoyed it, not only for the creative aspect, but also the socialization. They'll start up another one come September, and if I'm still not working yet, I think I may sign up for it.

I'm also thrilled that I won a blog giveaway recently! Cathe at Just Something I Made had a great giveaway that I managed to win! I had the choice of a few books, and while they all looked great, I chose 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse since it looks like it might be right up my alley! Thanks Cathe, I appreciate it! If you haven't been to her blog, go visit. She always has such great ideas and tutorials, and also features free downloads for art projects.

Also, Kelli tagged me in a fun little game. Please feel free to join in on your blog!

Here’s how it works: USE ONLY ONE WORD!
It’s not as easy as you might think. Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s really hard to use only one-word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? kitchen
2. Your hair? rootsy
3. Your mother? crafty
4. Your father? tired
5. Your favorite food? Mexican
6. Your dream last night? unknown
7. Your favorite drink? pepsi
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. What room are you in? office
10. Your hobby? art
11. Your fear? death
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
13. Where were you last night? Lowe's
14. Something that you aren’t? employed
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. Wish list item? floors
17. Where did you grow up? Austin
18. Last thing you did? laundry
19. What are you wearing? capris
20. Your TV? on
21. Your pets? barking
22. Friends? busy
23. Your life? blessed
24. Your mood? ok
25. Missing someone? hubs
26. Vehicle? dirty
27. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
28. Your favorite store? dunno
29. Your favorite color? depends
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? dunno
32. Your best friend? hubs
33. One place that I go to over and over? Caribbean
34. One person who emails me regularly? mother
35. Favorite place to eat? Aparicio's

An ode to the ever-elusive sundress

I don't know about you, but I have a heck of a time finding dresses. Not only am I short (5 ft) but I'm also short-waisted. And. AND! I have what's commonly known as the "J-Lo booty." I'd like to find a dress that doesn't make my butt look like a fabric shelf. It's torture trying to find a dress that's not only cute, but looks halfway decent on me. And without looking like I'm trying to be 14 again.

I generally have to shop in either the juniors dept or the petites. There's a downside to both. The juniors stuff is cute. I like cute. But almost everything has some sort of sparkle, glitter, ruffle, teenage saying or some other sort of curly-Q-rhinestone-whatchadoodle on it. And the petites...most of the time I find things with high waists, or worse yet, elastic waists. Or the pieces just look too old. I think the fashion gurus are really missing a mark here...the "I'm not a teen, but I'm not yet in a nursing home" crowd. Yep, that's me.

A few weeks ago I went to every store known to man to try to find a dress for my cousin's wedding. I just wanted something simple. A cute little sundress that I could wear with a cardigan. I couldn't find anything. Anywhere! After looking at high-end stores, low-end stores and everything in between, I finally found a cute little dress, at Burlington Coat Factory of all places. Let me say this. I've never been in a BCF before. And I doubt I'll ever go again. It was the nastiest, dirtiest, most unorganized store I've ever set foot in. However, due to my desperation, I did find a dress, and miracle of all miracles, it was on sale for $15. Good bargain aside, I felt like I needed to bathe when I left the store. Even the dressing rooms were covered in gum, and the doors were barely hanging on the hinges. *shudder* I think I literally said "ew!" out loud when I walked in to try on the dress.

I think it's cute. I wore it with a white shrug. I also have a black shrug and a coral shrug that would look great with it as well. Versatile. That's what I like.



So today I happened upon another cute summer dress at Walmart of all places. I'm not a fan of Walmart. In fact, hubs and I boycotted the W for probably 8 years, but I'll spare you the long story. Anyway, my favorite pool float had a hole in it, so I went up there a little while ago to get another float. And soy milk. I happened to pass by the clothing area and saw the ca-utest dresses! Who knew?! At Walmart! I found this one and tried it on. It actually looked really cute on me! Miracle! I love these flowy sundresses. They can hide a multitude of issues (JLo booty, menstrual bloat, anything!)...The one I really wanted was orange (one of my fave colors!), brown and white. But they didn't have it in my size. My second choice was this pink, white and black one.



I love that it's a halter dress. I love that it fits. I love the pattern. Girly without being too girly.



The best part...



I think it would look cute with a pair of sandals. Or, my black and white Lucchese cowboy boots for when we go honky-tonking (aka hub's gigs).



So today I feel victorious. I love you, sundress.

I need your opinion

I'm out of ideas, so I need yours. :)

I have this glass candy dish (?) on a pedestal that my mother recently gave me. It was my grandmother's. She received it as a wedding present a gazillion years ago. At some point over the years, she broke the lid. I've been wanting this piece for a very long time, and finally wore my mother down and was able to get her to give it to me. ;) She doesn't part with family heirlooms often. So I'm happy to have this (though I still have my eye on my great-grandmother's cookie jar..my mom said I can have it once she dies...*rolling my eyes* ha).



So here's the problem...I don't know what to do with it anymore. During the Christmas season, it looks fantastic with colored glass balls. At one point, mom filled it with colored water and floating candles and used it as a centerpiece. But I'm stumped for ideas on what to put in it for every day use. It's very special to me, and I don't want to pack it up and pull it out only on special occasions. I want to display it every day. I currently have it on my kitchen table, though I had to put it on a wood table to take the pictures so you could see it. Everything I've tried with it just doesn't seem to work for me...seems too mundane, not quite special enough. Any ideas would be much appreciated!

And a little change with my garage sale candlesticks. I decided to use only green on them, and I wrapped the beaded garland around the candles instead of having it dangle. Hubs said he likes this better. And for him to say anything at all is highly unusual. He really doesn't care what I do with the decor. ha



Spent the morning walking around the square with hubs and Cissy, drinking coffee/tea from our favorite little coffee shop. Stopped by only one garage sale and found a pretty necklace and matching earrings ($2). Been home for about an hour. And it's only 10:30am. I've got a few errands to run, then some jewelry pieces I want to make. I'm hoping to squeeze a nap in somewhere. Also hoping to hit some g-sales tomorrow. I hope everyone has a blessed weekend!

Do you ever have days where you just don't want to get out of bed?

Saturday morning ramblings...



Most days I'm feeling good. I feel blessed. God has truly taken care of us during these times where so many people are having struggles with finances, health and more. And I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I am grateful. I'm so very thankful to the Lord for watching out for us, keeping us under His wing. But sometimes I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. I don't know what is in the future. For the first time in my life, I don't have a plan of action, a goal. And it's scary! The thought of going back to a corporate environment is so unappealing. I've been there and done that. I just want a simple life. My goal isn't (and never has been) to shoot up the corporate ladder. All I ever wanted was to do what I enjoy and be happy. However, after six months of being at home, I'm not quite sure what that is anymore. I've lost quite a bit of confidence in my abilities. Ideally, I'd love to find something creative that I could do from home, however, those opportunities seem to be few and far between, as are "regular" opportunities for that matter. I wish I didn't have this burden that I put on myself. I can't seem to find the motivation to do things I enjoy much less things I need to do because I'm a responsible adult. I don't know how to light my fire. So many other things I'd hoped for that can't or won't ever happen. But through it all, I still try to remain thankful. Sometimes I find it difficult not to be angry. I'm human, I can't help it. Then I try to remember that God is near, and His plan is better than any other I could have for myself. I just wish I had a little bit of guidance to show me the way...