No crafting at my house

Thats right, I have not been able to play with sequins, glue, glitter, styrofoam, etc. for some time now, so sad for me.  But, I have ordered quite a bit of supplies so that is gonna change.  I have been busy getting things around the house done before the kids get out of school, and as of today, we are down to 9 days.  The kids and I usually spend the summer traveling to PA, VA, WV, Eastern Shore of Maryland and then one big family trip, but with the price of gas this year, I think we will be staying close to home once we get back from our big family trip to Florida.  Just so you dont think I have been sitting on the couch eating peanut m&m's and tootie rolls (my favorites) and watching "Days of Our Lives", here is what I have been up to:

We opened the pool up and yes the water is quite chilly, but the kids and the dog dont seem to care.  I have given up on trying to keep the dog out, he will run through the fields, get hot and run up the hill and jump in the pool.  It puts alot of sand in the pool, so we are going to have to vacuum a little more than usual this summer.  Plus, once he is done swimming, he likes to come lay in the kitchen, which he then opens the screen door and lets millions of flies in, that is my summer project....to teach him to close the screen door once he is in. You wont catch me in the pool until the water temp. is up to at least 82 degrees, no cold water for me!!

We have had quite a bit of rain and flooding here in Southern Maryland, so once our fields soaked in all that water I was ready to plant.  So far we have in about 40 tomatoes plants, 4 rows of sweet corn and 2 rows of sunflowers.  The sunflowers are just to look at and cut for flowers in the summer.  I still need to get squash and cucumbers planted.  With the price of food going up the way it is I really wish I could plant Eggo Waffles, Syrup and Cheerios.....the main foods my kids seem to live off of these days!

And I wish we grew these, but my husband says they are too much trouble.  Anyway, its fun to go the berry farm to pick them.  I have been picking about 3 flats a week, and nope, I dont make anything with them.  We just sit down with a 5 gallon bucket of Cool-Whip and eat until we are gorged.  I took my kids this last time and it only took us about 10 minutes with the 4 of us picking (plus they think its fun).  Now, for the best picture of all...................

Dont you just LOVE new puppies (excuse my daughters bad manicure).  We have 5 new puppies, 3 black and 2 brown.  Betsy has already named a girl Belle and the boys are still arguing over names...typical.....BUT, we are not keeping them and they dont want to hear those words.  They will have fun playing with them for the next 6 weeks and I am sure I will be out there rolling around with them and smelling puppy breath, the next best thing to smelling a real baby!!

Hopefully things will start settling down and I can catch up on reading blogs and all that fun stuff, I feel out of the loop and dont know whats happening out there.  I still have Mays give-away sitting here on my desk, but I promise it will be added to Junes give-away.  Hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather.

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Just Rambling

So, its going to be a nice 80 degrees today and I decided to wash some bedspreads and etc, then decided to mop the upstairs floors.  Well in the hallway up there is a grate in the floor, it was used when my husbands parents had a wood stove in the basement and that was their only heat....it would rise up through these floor grates. Anyway, it get pretty dirty with the kids and dog trampling over it all the time.  And they can never just step over it, they HAVE to walk on it.  I lift the grate up and vacuum it off and sit it to the side and told myself "now remember that the grate is out and dont step there"  Here is where the alzheimers sets in and not 30 seconds later as I was mopping I backed up and stepped into the hole.  Now if you had of been here you would have been laughing at me because I had one leg hanging through the floor & ceiling and it was dangling down in the living room.  I now have 2 huge bruises and bumps on my legs.  Plus I have to tell my husband that the bottom part of the grate needs to be fixed since I stretched the springs out way beyond repair.

Okay, this was an impulse buy.  The lady was going to throw it away and told me to take it for $2.  She said she bought it at a school auction a long time ago and it was used in the kindergarten room as a coat rack. It has been well loved and does show signs of being abused by 5 year olds, but I couldnt let her throw him away.  I'm just not sure what to do with him.  Also, see that field behind him.  He is in my front yard, then there is the dirt road and then that field.  My neighbors have been plowing their fields for planting thier produce (as we have too), but it creates so much DUST!!!  The house, cars, windows, are covered in dust, but I guess its all worth it in the end when we are eating BLT's, Corn-on-the-cob, cucumbers and watermelons!!

I know it is no where near christmas but the ornaments I make are pretty time consuming so I only get about 2 a week made and therefore start working on them in the summer so that I have enough for the craft fairs.  But they are so much fun to make and I think these colors could stay out all year long.  My kids love the aqua one the best. 

Tummy's growling....time to eat lunch!!  P.S.  Thanks Karla, glad you liked last months giveaway.  I am currently getting Mays together now, so check back!

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Saturday Yardsale finds

The boys have started their baseball games and of course they are EVERY Saturday!!!  Which can really mess up yardsaling.  This weekends game was at 11:30, but we had to be at the bowling alley at 9am to get their awards since bowling season is over.  SO, I woke the kids up at 7am and we were out the door at 7:45am.  I wanted to hit a few yardsales along the way.  We stopped at about 3 on the way and then stopped at the church thrift store on the way to the ballfield.  Luckily they love going to yardsales, so its not a big chore to get them up and going.   Plus, they got alot of goodies too...youngest son got a gameboy advance for $5 (didnt need one but it was such a bargain, now we have spares), and of course they always clean up on DVD's!!  I came home with quite a bit of stuff, but here is the best stuff:

I am not sure of the age of these dolls, but they look old.  The little one on the right is marked "TOMY", and you wind her up and she crawls.  The one on the left has arms and legs that move up and down and her eyes open and close.  They need a little cleaning though. 

The little alarm clock on the left is also marked "TOMY" and when you wind him up he rolls sideways, the bell rings and his minute and hour hands roll around.  The furry bear I think has glass eyes and has a sticker on him that says "West Germany".  I got the dolls and these 2 items from a lady who "had no idea where they came from", she just found them in her stuff when she was cleaning.  I am not even sure what I am going to do with any of it, but she left me have all if it for $1.

And more cookbooks for .25. I really dont need anymore of these, but I just cant resist them, especially when they have all the old clippings and handwritten recipes in them.  Plus, maybe that Junior Cookbook will get the kids cooking and I can sit and relax while they mess up the kitchen beyond repair...on second thought, I will cook!!

And last I wanted to show these towels I got from Angie of Norththreads.  I purchased the two little pot holders a while back and loved them so much that I asked her if she cold make me a set of tea towels to match.  I think they turned out PERFECT, and I love the rickrack trim.  They look great in my kitchen.  She has an etsy account under Norththreads and is also on Flickr....go check out her goodies.

Gonna be a rainy day, so I am heading to BJ's to get my weekly case of waffles, 2 pound jug of syrup, 3 gallons of milk...etc.....cant wait to see the bill..LOL..

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Sunday Show N Tell & Giveaway Winner

Just a quick pop in to join the Show N Tell Sunday Bling and to announce the April Giveaway Winner. We have a big group of us going to see the play "Hotbed Hotel" and then to dinner at a Mexican Restaurant, so I am pressed for time (as I sit here typing with my wet hair). I have just a small collection of old jewelry, but lots of Vintage Raggedy Ann jewelry so I included a few pictures of them.  I couldnt get all the pictures of the Raggedy Ann jewelry because some of it is diplayed on a wall and the pictures looked horrible.  Here are my pictures:

This is some of my mom and grandmas jewelry that they have given me.

I LOVE the pink beaded pin and earrings, which I picked up at a yardsale for a few dollars and the colored rhinestone earrings I got a few weeks ago at the church for .50. Bargains are so much fun!!!

My favorite Christmas piece, even the little kids in my sons class love to look at it and play with it when I wear it at christmas.

I never wear the Raggedy Ann jewelry but I just love it and have a few pieces from my childhood.

Disney charm bracelets.  The Winnie The Pooh and Mary Poppins are mine from when I was a kid, the rest I have found at thrift stores, and the one at the top is the one I bought at Disney and each time I go back I get a few more charms.

Hope you enjoyed my little collection, when I get home tonight I will visit the other blogs to see check out their collections.  AND, the winner of the April Giveaway was Karla of SugarBearDesigns.  Congratulations!!

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April Giveaway

Well, it seems like forever since I have updated my blog.  Once I got my computer fixed (and bought a laptop as well, just in case), my TV blew up, so it was back to the big electronics store to spend my tax refund!!  Mostly I have been busy with my parents.  My dad had surgery on his knee cap so he is unable to drive for a few weeks and I have had to tote my mom back & forth to dialysis, getting groceries, cleaning their house, cutting their grass, etc....plus trying to keep my own house in order.  They are both in their 80's so they need help with things as is.  But another week and my dad should be back to driving and running errands. OH...Daughtry just came on the radio....gosh that voice, I could just melt, between him and Steve Perry from Journey, I could just disolve when I hear them sing~~~..okay, back to reality!!

I have a few pictures of things I have purchased recently and also I have just a small giveaway this month, but I love the little box it comes in, so "ON with the pictures.  I bought this paper mache bunny from Jenny of Everyday is a Holiday, it came wrapped so pretty and even her business card is to die for.  I am still in the middle of cleaning house, so once that is done, I have to find the perfect spot to display it.  I envy her talent to paint like she does, just amazing.  I can hardly draw a stick figure, its just not there.

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And this pretty wrapping paper from Sadie Lou's shop Nickel Candy.  One of them has a cloth-like texture to it, really neato!!  I think I am going to use it to make my bags with matching tags.  She has alot of really cute supplies in her shop, and it goes fast, I have missed out on a few things I have wanted because I was busy with something and figured I could come back later to get it and "POOF", its gone!!

And now, here is the April Giveaway.  Inside the cute little pink & white polka dot suitcase is a small mint vanilla candle (smells so good), 2 pink tissue paper carnations, angel made out of a doily, small pink roses, round scalloped tags, felt flower cut-outs, old pink flower sequins, 8 old greeting cards (great images for tags), and 4 sheets of stationary from the 70's, its really GROOVY!!.  Just leave a comment and I will enter your name to win.  Will pick the winner on Friday.  Good Luck.  It's going to be 72 today so I am off to wash sheets to hang on the line and get the weeds out of my front flower bed.

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I'm BACK!!

Did you know there are no support groups for people whose computers have died....and I really think I could have used one.  It's amazing how much I depend on this thing.  I went ahead and bought a laptop, but still hoping that my desktop is fixable so that my kids can use that one and keep their grubby paws off my new one.  I am still learning how to use this little pad instead of the mouse...takes some getting used to.  Oh, and our TV blew up as well...it must have been done the same time the computer was, but just took a little while longer to die ( we had a storm and I think when the power surged, it messed everything up.)  Anyway, I have a few pictures of some goodies I found on my trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland when I went to visit my sister and cousins.  I didnt get to stay as long as I would have liked, I wanted to hit more thrift stores.  There was one place we went to called The Barn that was at a nunnery (is that right?) and was run by the nuns....stuff was cheap or FREE.  I got cookbooks and the kids got toys...as if they needed anymore of those!!  Here are a few of my finds:

Really pretty Lefton Southern Belle Planter in great condition and a vintage bunny rabbit.

I am not sure how to tell if Milk Glass is old or not, but they were only .50 a piece and I thought I could use them in the bathroom for cotton balls, q-tips, etc.

And last is a 1/2 find.  Only the angel head is a find, the rest I crafted.  I came across 3 vintage angel head pics, 2 brunette and 1 blonde, they still have the "made in Japan" stickerson the wings and have been wanting to do something with them.  Well when I went to the Big Flea a few months ago I knew what I had to do.  A man was selling vintage christmas items and he had 3 angels with heads almost like mine and their bodies were cone shape and covered in HOT pink feathers, each one was holding an instrument, for the 3 of them he wanted $75..YIKES.  So since I have had time on my hands with no computer I dug them out and made one with a cone styrofoam body, pink boas, vintage chenille arms, vintage forget me nots, pink pearl necklace and I glittered her wings up a bit. Her halo has a bit of pink boa on it, but I apparently cut that out of the picture. I left the "made in japan" sticker on her wings since I couldnt bear to take it off, if it has stayed on this long then it deserves to be there.  I think the next one I am going to use some pink feathers, but mine dont look as christmasy as the ones did at the antique show.  Well, I am gathering things for my giveaway which I will be posting in a few days, but for now I am off to hopefully catch up on some emails, flickr pictures and blogs.

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Boo Hoo---I'm Sad

I have no idea what to do with myself, didnt realize how much I depended on my computer now that I dont have one.  Me and the kids went for a little road trip last week for a few days to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to see some relatives and when I came back my computer was sick.  My neighbor said it is probably the power supply since the monitor and printer still work, the tower just wont turn on.  Apparently we had a storm while I was gone.  I pulled out my old computer (almost 11 years old) and played on it for a few days, but it is just toooo tired to do the things I want it to do, and it is pre-digital cameras and doesnt have one of those slots to put your media card.  So I cant even upload the pictures of the goodies I got on my trip.  Anyway, my neighbor is supposed to come look and my computer and see if it is the power supply.  I am secretly hoping its not worth bothering with and then I can go get the laptop I have been wanting!!!  I have been using the librarys computers to check emails and such.  Well, one thing about not having computer access 24/7 .....I have been getting some cleaning and sorting done.  The kids room are LOOKING GOOD!!!....Well, we only have a limited amount of computer time at the library, so I am off to pick up my home interior candles and then do some shopping (alone, with no kids!!!)   Be sure to check back, I am getting things together for my April Blog Giveaway....some cute things!