I'm Back

It feels like a coon's age since I last posted. A lot has been going on. As you know the hubs is home right now so my days are really messed up. We went on vacation which was real nice. I love the beach, and getting away with the family was a lot of fun. We had a couple mishaps, though. Our first night away my son called and said there was alot of smoke in the kitchen. Turns out the 'fridge went kaput. When we got home we had to buy a new one. Normally that wouldn't have been too big a deal, but while my husband is out of work it's not what I needed to spend $1,000 on. And then when we came home my husband clipped a curb with the trailer and we ended up making a 2-1/2 hour ride home 7 hours! Oh, yes, lots of fun when you're waiting for AAA and they can't find a tow truck big enough to tow away your camper. I'm so glad we re-upped with them as it was a $900.00 tow! The camper is now sitting in the side yard waiting to be fixed. Can't even think about that right now.
But it wasn't all bad... two of the boys enjoyed a day deep-sea fishing, we went to a cook-out at my brother's house in RI, and visited the beach a couple times, too.
Since we've been home I've been terribly busy with my MODG consulting work and taking the nice days and going to the resevoir with the family and sitting out at the pool. My husband said he could get used to this retirement thing! Yea... don't think so...!
So take a peek at some random pictures from our vacation (including how it ended!) and I'll soon be back with hand-made Christmas plans and a few completed projects, too. Oh, and don't let me forget the garden!!!

Spray Painted Pencil Case

I'm in the middle of packing and cleaning before we leave this afternoon, and what am I doing? Snapping a quick picture of one more little thing... In the midst of my packing, I nearly forgot to finish up this project for Cassidy. For another one of her gifts, I got her a Primsa Watercolor set. The outside tin is rather ugly; black with some colored pencils on it or something. I wanted to pretty it up for her. I got some pink spray paint and clear spray paint. It took two coats of the pink to cover the black, then I sprayed on the clear and shook on some Martha Stewart glitter. Oooo it's fit for a princess, now!
O.K., I gotta get crackin' before my hubby catches me loafin' on the computer!
Have a great week!

Little Bag of Goodies for Cassidy

Cassidy's birthday is coming up on Tuesday. I've been picking up a few things for her here and there over the past month and this is one little thing I put together for her. See, I saw these adorable bags on the Homespun Living blog (see side bar) and I wanted to try to make one. Through a lot of trial and error (lots of error) I now think I know how to make a decent one. You would think it would be easy, but the knitted bottom, with making the outside one piece kinda threw me off. My measuremetns were way off and I ended up having to cut my knitting (steeking). That's the first time I ever did that and I'm thankful I tried it on a small project. Not hard, but oh, so scary! Anyway, the bag's measurements are horrible; too long and skinny, but I didn't want to throw it out, so I made it into a little bag for Cassidy. I don't think she'll pick up on my mistakes! I tucked in small bottles of Bath and Body Works shower gel, a pink shower puff, and a hair brush.
Another little thingee I made for her was a starfish zippered bag with a little starfish charm hanging off the zipper. Real cute. I wrapped it before I took a pic. Inside I tucked in some pretty nail polishes and nail stickers. Turning the grown up age of nine, you know...
Well, we'll be off for nearly a week at the beach. I'm looking forward to the relaxation and family fun. I think we all need to get away. I'll catch up with y'all when I get back.

Blessings

The past few days have been a whirlwind of anxiety. First my husband's job loss, then my dad being taken by ambulance and admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, my son being stuck by a catheter needle at the hospital, and my sister-in-law's brother passed away of cancer. My mom kept telling me to calm down, that things will get better. Well, my husband is still, of course, jobless, but hopefully he'll find another job. After a morning on the computer investigating unemployment benefits versus his pension, things may not be quite as bleak as I thought. At least I hope not. :)
My dad will hopefully come home from the hospital either tomorrow or Wednesday. My son, well, we haven't heard yet of the patient's blood results, but hopefully the patient was 'clean' and all will be O.K. And my sister-in-law's brother; well, he's been suffering for over a year and really, his passing is now a blessing.

We've tried to be upbeat, but honestly this whole thing has taken its toll. I felt a little better today so decided to give my girlies and myself a manicure and pedicure. Goodness, with the five of us adds up to a lot of digits to manicure! It was fun though, and everyone's nails look much better. The girls did some swimming and I sat out on the sidelines.

My side-kick, Kaleigh, has been right by my side all week. Her arms around me (along with all the kids and hubby, too) makes things just a little bit easier. My family, good friends, both on-line and in person, make everything so much better. Thank you all for the prayers, encouraging words and kindness. I am truly blessed.

My Husband is Laid Off

After 30 years at the same company, my husband has been laid off. Please keep us in your prayers. This is a devestating time and I can't even think straight. I hope my next post is a bit more positive.

Ahhh... Summer

The lazy...

crazy...

days...

of summer! Happy 4th!

A Simple Living Exercise

I never do two posts in one day, but I had to share this. I'm taking part and thought you might be interested, too, so if so, take a click and visit Rhonda's blog. Plan on staying for awhile; there's a lot of great information there.

New Camera - New Camera Case

Finally a blog post. It seems like such a long time; but really it's just been a week. I've been busy with life lately and just haven't had any time for stuff I wanna do...mainly it's been stuff I haveta do.
I've needed (nope, wanted) a new camera for some time but couldn't justify buying one as there really isn't anything wrong with the one I have. It works and everything but it doesn't take the greatest pictures. So I've held out. And it paid off. My husband just celebrated 30 years at the same company and they sent him a booklet filled with gifts he could choose. There were all kinds of things but not much appealed to him. He's not one for jewelry and just isn't a materialistic kind of guy. So what did he choose? A new camera for me! He never takes pictures but thought I'd like it. And I do! So of course, seeing as how I got this new camera, I had to give it a new home to sit in, right? And that's what I came up with. I searched around and looked at other people's tutorials and combined them and made my own. Maybe I'll be able to find it quicker seeing it's hot pink.
Oh, and just so you know, the above picture is taken with the old camera because I wanted the strap to come through and the old camera doesn't have one. Hopefully from here on, my pictures will be a little more clearer.