Real Life: Live & Unscripted

Weekend Wrap Up: Chicago Edition.... (VERY PICTURE HEAVY)

Had a quick little trip to the "Windy City" this past weekend to hang out with my girl Patrice and BOY did I have a great time! How about some pics...

We went fabric shopping....

  

 
Cassandra  is a MESS! Maybe now she will update since I've linked her lol

 
The prices at Vogue Fabrics were INSANE!!!! I got SO much fabric! LOL

  

 

 

Umm we were trying to pick out denim lol. That neither one of us got lol.

  

  

What is the name of the fabric store across from Vogue fabrics? The next pic is the inside of that store lol. Rainbow something I think lol.
  

 
Ian was really nice and carried all our bags lol.

 
We grabbed a little snack lol

  

  

 
  

LAWD....ok..this is Cassandra and Kim. I haven't seen Kim in a couple of years so it was GOOOOD to see her! SHE IS A NUT! LOL Maybe she will update her blog as well *ahem* lol

  

Umm SOO GOOD! LOL

We drove around looking for a park for about an hour...almost hit someone on a bike, ran a couple red lights, then went to Loopy Yarns lol

 
 
Lawd...my stomach was hurting laughing at these two...talking bout gravy and smother porkchops and volkswagons lol. SMH lol

 
How big are these needles!?!?

 
We left there and went to Pappadeaux for dinner! YUMMOOOOOOOOOOO

 
 
I've known Dana for years, and we've finally met! LOL She is so silly.

 

 
Why was I the ONLY one that got carded?? *eyeroll* lol

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And it was all soooooooooooooooooooo good lol.

 
Patrice had a case of the "itis" lol

 
These guys came to play for us and sing happy birthday to me (since I WAS still celebrating lol) I decided to join them lol. Just havin a little fun :)

 
Awww fun times!

 
We walked the Pier...

 
 
 
 
How beautiful is this!?

 
Sooo pretty...

 
The wind was NO JOKE.

  

I'm ready to scrapbook this pic of me. I really like it....YES I SAID SCRAPBOOK! LOL

 

We walked The Mile and saw a bunch of ummm neat stuff lol.

 

 
We ate at Giordano's

 
Talk about a LOT of cheese...

 
*be still my heart* I think this was the largest Apple store I've ever been in lol. I was *THIS* close to getting an ipod touch. I want one so bad lol.

 
Folks were EVERYWHERE.

 
THIS MAN....

 
Got inside the box. OOOOOOOOOOOOOK. LOL

 
 
Loved this old couple!

 
*GASP* Got some Garrett's Popcorn!!!! YUM!

 
 
Talk about crowded on the inside...but it was SO worth the wait!

 
I just held the camera in the air and snapped lol

 
We ended up going to The Cupcake Gallery and meeting another fellow blogger/twitter friend Darius.

I had a BLAST!!!!! Thanks guys for making it a ton of fun for me!!

Ohhh before I forget...wanna see what fabric I brought back?!?! LOL

**GIGGLES**

  

Gorgeous stretch poplin...I think I want to do a jacket and a skirt with this one lol

 
This orange photographed kinda bright. I still don't know what I did wrong. I couldn't get the color exact. I'll try again another time. This will be some kinda gorgeous, drapey blouse.

 
Isn't this silk TDF!?

 
I normally shy away from this type fabric but it was too pretty to leave!!! This will be a great "going out" top!

 
LOVE this color!!! It's a sheer, crinkly type cotton.

 
Another sheer type cotton and not like knit cotton but woven cotton lol.

 
Another gorgeous sheer. This is a polyester. I don't have much navy so I was happy to get this one!
 
Some shirting that I kept touching....I had to have it lol.

 
This will be the lining for my spring trench...yeah the one I was SUPPOSED to make for fall lol.

 
HOW STUNNING IS THIS KNIT!!!?!?!? Patrice got some of this too. SOOOOOOOOOOOOO pretty. I have something kinda similar that I got from St.Louis the first time I went lol.

 
Another knit...loveeeeeeeeee the green and brown! I love this because it can either be a fall or summer fabric! LOL

 
Another one I got for a lining...I think I'll use it inside the jacket I'm going to make with that stretch poplin lol.

 
This is my FAVORITE piece!!! How gorgeous is this!?!? I will be holding on to this one until I KNOW what I will make with it. I already have something in mind, but I'm going to wait to see what the new spring patterns will hold :)

Alright, that's it for me! LOL

Guess thats enough huh!? LOL

Toodles!

Weekend Wrapup: St. Louis Edition.....(VERY, VERY PICTURE HEAVY)

This weekend, well last Thursday I went to visit Mrs.Patrice. We had SUCH a ball! I have to start with this pic, because it's one of my favorite of us.

 

It was right before I left :( lol

Soooo where to start? St. Louis is a beautiful city.

We had breakfast lol....

GOODY GOODY IS THE BOMB!!! LOL

 

Once you finish all you need is a NAP lol.

We spent some time at the Arch...

'

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ian was the "equipment/carry all" guy lol. At one point he had our purses and shopping bags lol...WHILE he was taking a pic of us lol. 

We went to the top of the arch:

My hair was BUSTED! LOL I had to MAKE a ponytail holder out of some kinda neck strap that Patrice had lol.

 

 

 

We walked around the museum inside the bottom of the arch...

 

 

 

Stopped to take a pic lol

 

We went down to the City Garden...

 

 

 

 

We didn't realize that this "made noise" until we walked across it lol. We entertained everyone out there lol. HILARIOUS lol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you moved your hand like you were going to feed the fish...they came to the top lol.

Patrice took me bead shopping lol...

 

But THIS PLACE....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ian was being all patient lol.

We walked The Loop...

 

 

 

LOL Ian is a mess lol.

WE ATE FROYO

Ok...now I know we have TCBY here, and other stuff and I've had just about all of it. IT CAN'T TOUCH FROYO!!!    This stuff is SO good AND I can eat it and my stomach not hurt afterward! LOL. Just YUM! All kinds of toppings, fresh fruit...my fav was french vanilla topped with strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, blackberries and a DUSTING of butterfinger! LOL SO GOOD! LOL

We went back a few times lol :)

We painted pottery...

 

 

 

Went bowling....

 

 

 

FYI...NEVER play ANYTHING where someone has to win with them. LOL  They had me all competitive and stuff lol.

We hit up an Art Festival...

 

There was actually way more stuff than this, but this was the only pic I managed to get lol.

I went yarn shopping:

 

 

We spent some time on Main Street...

 

Hit up another yarn shop..

 

 

We stopped to take a couple pics lol

 

Hit up a scrapbook store...

 

 

And a quilt shop lol....

 

 

 

I was able to see and TOUCH the Basic Grey quilting fabric. *FOR THE LOVE* ummhmm lol

 

We went to Hancock! This was really nice because we could actually sit down and look through the pattern books together lol. 

 

We went fabric shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

This is what happens when folks wanna play with the camera lol.

Yep...another knit shop ;) They were so fun in here lol

THIS SCRAPBOOK STORE WAS OFF THE CHAINS!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to Jilly's Cupcake Bar

 

 

 

 

 

This is how they pack their cupcakes to go....AND how they ship them lol. I love it.

 

They are OH SO GOOD. Like seriously. Makes me want to make cupcakes. lol

Oh yeah, of course there was food lol...

 

and drinks lol

 

 

 

 

And Patrice cooked one night lol. We ate plenty lol. Seriously lol.

I'll have to post pics of what I brought home later lol. NOT this post lol.

Ok, that's it lol. If you've made it this far woohoo!! If not..I totally understand! LOL

Thank you Patrice and Ian for a wonderful time!!

Toodles!

A little family picnic...

This weekend we had a little picnic at Oak Mountain State Park . It is really a gorgeous, gorgeous place. I love doing things as a family. It's my hope and prayer that we will continue to have a great relationship with the kids the older they get, and they'll never get "too grown" to want to do things with us as a family. Shoot...I'm almost 32 and LOVE doing stuff with my mom and dad so there is hope right? LOL

 

I just thought this was pretty....green Alabama water and all lol.

The kids had a good time running around and playing...

 

 

 

They decided to "pose" for a few pics...

 

 

 

 

At some point, he decided to pour water over his face...to cool off lol

 

Love the look on Aj's face here, sunglare and all !!!

After a little playing we finally unpacked our basket,cooler and blankets...

Quilt is getting some great usage lol

We grabbed some of the food...

 

 

 

YUMMM lol. Of course there were chips, snack cakes and capri suns lol. Sometimes its nice to just pig out lol.

 

 

I don't know what they were yapping about but I loved seeing them together like this...NO fussing or fighting lol

 

Told y'all Aj said he was hot lol. I cropped Tony out because he was hot too ;)

I laid back and took a little nap lol

 

What I saw when I turned over lol

 

That was my view lol. Isn't is gorgeous lol.

 

I actually love this picture lol.I ended up putting the basket on top of our little cooler because ants kept trying to take it away lol.

We met another family out there and it was amazing...the oldest daughter was 13 and the younger one was 9 lol

 

The two nine year olds became good friends FAST....they shared in a game of hide and seek lol

Can you believe Jaelyn played too!? LOL

 

Once they exchanged phone numbers it was OVER lol. It amazed me how much these two were alike lol. I was looking at two Kayla's lol. They do and say some of the same stuff lol.

The oldest two exchanged "cell phone numbers" lol

I saw these and HAD to get a pic...

 

 

I'm in love with all things red after I saw those red doors lol.

We had a really good time and managed to make it home before the storm hit lol.

That's it for me!
Y'all have a good one!
Toodles!

Kwik Sew 3333 and weekend update.....

Kwik sew 3333

I wouldn't have ever seen this pattern had it not been for Subversive Sewer's blog! That is one thing I LOVE about blogging lol. Ya just get so much inspiration! LOL

Pattern Description:
Misses' dresses are very close-fitting, have a slightly dropped waist, and flared skirt. View A is strapless and has stitched elastic at the top edge.

Pattern Sizing:
xm-xl
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
I didn't use them.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
If I could do anything differently, I would have used a wider elastic instead of what the pattern called for. I think it would have given it a smoother finish. IMO.

Fabric Used:
Jersey

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
I underlined the bodice using the same fabric because the jersey I used was thin.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I doubt if I will sew it again this season but I highly recommend it.

I think I'm done with maxi dresses for the season lol. This was the last one I REALLY wanted to make lol. I'm doing pants, pants, and MO PANTS now lol.

I just saw that I was/am Pattern Review Feature Member! Neato!

We celebrated Tony B'day Friday night / Saturday morning with a bunch of his/our friends lol...

Marvin made a pit stop.....I love my brothers lol...

So did Andre...who should have shaved *ahem* lol

Getting our laugh on lol

Gettin our dance on lol

I had a GOOD time....had to get my swerve on lol

My folks....GOOD PEOPLE....love em dearly!

T-Boneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee lol Drove all the way from DENVER! lol

My girlsssssssssss lol

 

 

LOVE this picture!

Sam is STUPID. Seriously lol.

Y'all already know how I feel about those shades....indoors...no comment.

 

One of the group shots lol. Derrick (in the wheelchair) was injured when they were in highschool and when I tell you he is silly!?!? I DO MEAN SILLY LOL.

We had such a good time. ALL NIGHT LONG lol. LITERALLY.

Alright y'all have a good one!

Toodles!

Patrice came to visit meeeeeee :-) (PICTURE HEAVY)

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww lol Y'all know Patrice is my best good friend (said in my BEST Forest Gump voice lol)

I was so happy to have her in my lil town ;-)

It was so good to have Patrice here. Y'all just don't know lol.
Of course we ate lol...


We went out for drinks....

She met my folks....and laughed because my parents eat fish at 2am lol

 

We went to paint ceramic pottery

 

TOOOOOOOOOO many choices lol

 

HAVING FUNNNNNNNNNNN lol

 

 

 

We met Kisha for lunch....

 

 

and we ateeeeeeeeee lol

We went to hancock....

 

Had a fun night out....

 

We had to improvise....the original plan ummm didn't work out lol

 

Had some drinks and more food lol

 

We learned how to play phase 10 and we are ALL HOOKED!!! LOL

We went to the Juneteenth Celebration  (Click the link to brush up on your history ;) held at historic Kelly Ingram Park and had a really good time! Wanna see more pics?? SUREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE lol.

 

 

 

And of course....we ate lol

 

LOL we were able to visit the 16th Street Baptist Church

 

The kids really enjoyed Mrs.Patrice :-) ( I think she enjoyed them too) LOL

 

 

The kids got their face painted...

 

 

 

And did some playing lol....

 

I think Aj is tired lol

 

We left to go get sno-balls as she calls them lol. WE call it shaved ice lol

 

 

Fun times fun times! LOL

Took a little breather....and went to my FAVORITE PLACE:

Yep...Sips N Strokes! LOL

 

WE LAUGHED AND LAUGHED AND LAUGHED AND LAUGHED SOME MORE! LOL

Zanete came and since she was coming ANDRE wanted to come. OMG. I did NOT want him to come at first because it was just gonna be all women lol. baaaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbbyyy he kept us ROLLING!!! lol I'm so glad he came :-)

 

My mom is HILARIOUS...Zanete had some wine she wanted momma to try...she took a SIP out of water bottle top. TOO FUNNY lol

 

It was SO funny when it was time to make our woman look like "us" lol. LAWD all the different shades of brown....whewwwww at one point Andre woman was GREEN lol.

 

 

We wrapped up the weekend with more crafty goodness lol

She taught me to make pecan candy...

 

AND OMG she taught me to make SOAP!!!!! I am SO HOOKED!! LOL

 

Y'all will def see more of this! LOL Y'all already know I have an addictive personality....HUSH lol don't judge me lol

Thanks for coming to see me Mrs. Patrice! LOL Love ya much!!!

That's it for me!! LOL

Toodles!!!

Summer is here! LOL

The kids are out of school for the summer and it's time to start our summer routine! LOL

We always start out with a trip to the library!! I'm glad my kids love to read as much as I do. Excuse the pics...I left my camera at home but you BEST BELIEVE I had my cell phone ;-)

I love, love, love listening to Aj read. He has come SUCH a long way. He had some trouble earlier in the school year but he came out on top! WOOHOO!

Kayla has really  been into the yellow lately lol

We always go to Dairy Queen once we leave the library. We normally go to the library once a week or once every two weeks. Depends on how quickly they read their books.

Grandma got Aj a new PSP for doing so well in school. He LOVES IT lol. He was trying to show her how to work it. HILARIOUS lol.

Zanete came over to bring me some cake bites (see next few pics lol) but didn't want her pic taken....

That's ok...I just get you when you not looking! HAHAHAHAHAHAH lol


OHHHHHH these were SO GOOD! I'm too embarrassed to say how many I ate, but OMG. They are SO GOOD. I have GOT to ask her the name of the bakery again so I can go and get some this weekend. SOOOO GOOD.

 

I got some mail from Japan!! I love getting mail from all over the world!! It's good to know folks ;-)

We took the kids to get shaved ice and nachos from one of our favorite lil spots....

 

 

Yes, Jaelyn was there also lol

 

 

 

That's mine lol. I always get peaches and cream. YUMMMMMMY.

 

Momma and Grand-grand after church Sunday...

 

Y'all know you ain't been to church if you don't get any candy after lol. Well that's how WE do lol. Hmm I don't think I got mine lol.

That's all I have today! I hope ya'll have a good one!

Toodles!!!

Weekend wrapup...Atlanta Edition lol.

SOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much....where in the WORLD do I start!?!?

Friday I headed over to Atlanta...

First stop Gail K Fabrics.

 You know what?!!? I forgot to take a good pic of what I got lol. I'll have to take one and post it this week.

I met Carla and just had fun touching all the fabrics lol.

After I took a QUICK power nap I met with the fabulous Fergie

She picked me up from my brothers place and gave me this lovely bottle of wine...ummmhmmm can't wait to break it open lol

We headed over to The Strip and had a fabulous time!

 

Hey, what was the name of that sauce?!?!?!?! I can't remember lol.

I had such a great time with you!!

Saturday. Talk about system overload!!!!

STITCHES WAS AMAZING!!!
 
I didn't really know what to expect lol. The only thing I DID NOT LIKE was the fact that you couldn't REALLY take pics inside. SO much interesting people and stuff to see!!!

It didn't really become real to me until I parked next to a car that had the tag "K2TOG" LOL I got REALLY excited then! LOL

I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad to FINALLY meet Robin We had a BLAST! She was such a good tour guide lol, and fun to hang out with. I was sooooo giddy and just silly the entire time lol.

Either I am TALL (which I'm not lol) or Robin is SHORT lol which she is lol. She is soooo nice and has soooo much knowledge about all things yarn and knitting. Just amazing!

I got soooooooooo many compliments on my green gable! Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! LOL

Love this pic of her lol

Soooooooooooo what did I get!??

I went with this project in mind....

 

This gorgeous Orange LOVE Bamboo Fibers & Silk. This stuff feels SOOOOOOOOO good. This will be my first project from Custom Knits. It will also be my first time doing cables lol. I CAN DO THIS! LOL

 

I have NEVER purchased a pattern book for ONE PATTERN. But I did this time. I fell in LOVE with this top!! I was even able to try it on! SOOO cute. I hope I can do it justice lol. The yarn is Berroco Palace 50% Merino wool 50% Silk.

 

I KEPT walking past this booth. I LOVED the knitted sample (seeing projects knitted up is a WINNER!!!! LOL) I loved that!

I broke down and got it lol. Here is a link so you can see the top better...

Thalia

The yarn is Silk Noil. This feels soooooooooooo good.

Guess I'm figuring out I love silk and bamboo yarns lol.

This one is for a special project to be talked about MUCH later lol

 

That's it for me!!! I guess that's enough huh!? LOL

Y'all have a good one!

Toodles!

Field Trip...Field Trip!!! Oh, and weekend wrap-up lol.

Anytime my mom and I travel more than an hour with the girls we call it a field trip. Complete with snacks and all lol.

We set out early to a new and undiscovered fabric store. Now it's new to us but it has been around a WHILE lol. We already can't wait to go back lol.

I grabbed my "project sheet" lol (I just took the pattern envelope picture and made it smaller and put the fabric yardage under each picture. It REALLY helped to have a visual of each pattern. I will do this EVERY SINGLE TIME I go in the fabric store)

This store was small but PACKED TO THE GILLS!!!!!!!! It was awesome! THe prices?!!? INSANE! SUPER reasonable!!!!!


 

HEre is a peek at their linens....OMG. They are FABULOUS! Such great quality linens. *sigh* lol At super fabulous prices. LAWD lol.
 

Then there was this whole other room that we didn't even explore. I sent Kayla to take a pic while I was getting my fabric cut lol.

What did I get!??!?!!

Ooookkkkkk, that floral is SO GORGEOUS IRL. OMG. The polka dots are what the girls picked out, the white has white stripes in it (shirting fabric), and that turquoise is linen for a dress for Jaelyn, that green multi print!?!? LOVEEEEESSSSSSSSS IT.

These are ALL linens. That redish/orange at the bottom is SO fabulous!!!!

 

Ahhhhhhh this demin...I didn't really get a good pic of it but it has this sheen/shine to it and it is TDF. I don't know WHAT I'm going to make with it but it has a good stretch to it also. I fell in love with it. The green is a stretch cotton poplin. This stuff feels FANTASTIC. LOVE IT :-)

They did NOT have a selection of knits. Y'all know I could sew and wear knits all day every day but I was ok with all my woven purchases lol.

I purchased almost 30 yards of fabric...that's ok though isn't it Carolyn? LOL

After the fabric store we went to the mall and did a little shopping with the girls....

 

 

Left the mall and headed over to a local spot to grab some grub...

   

 

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. OMG.

 

She was TI-RED lol. Just LAID out in the back seat lol.

Sunday Jaelyn was in a Tea at Church...

 

All the kids really dress up for it. Kayla and Aj weren't in it...THIS year lol.

 

My lil cousin Raymond :-)

We chilled out Sunday night, played some games on the Wii and just relaxed.

I've been busted about not posting any food pics soooooo I have some that I have stored up lol. I will get those to publish this week lol.

Alright! Ya'll have a SUPERB Monday!

Toodles!

Weekend Wrapup and a pattern review...

Happy Monday!!

Did you guys enjoy your weekend!? We did! It was REALLY low key! LOVE IT!
Here are a few pics of the kids in the play...



I love that they enjoy doing stuff at church :-)

Aj did NOT want to take a pic lol. I don't think any of us really did but you KNOW I have to document it right!? LOL

They were SO ready to go lol

I did manage to get a better one once we got home lol. Aj started taking his clothes off in the car lol.

Annnnnnddddddddd a quick pattern review:

Simplicity 3867 and Simplicity 4236

Pattern Description:
Misses Dress, Top, City Shorts, Jacket and Bag - Sew Stylish Collection

Pattern Sizing:
14-22

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes the instructions were superb!

What did you particularly like  or dislike about the pattern?
I LOVE this pattern!

Fabric Used:
Poplin from Hancock.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
None

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I HIGHLY recommend this pattern and I already have plans to make it again. I LOVE the way this fits. I've also considered making the dress lol.

Conclusion:
This is such a great pattern! I can see why it has such great reviews.
I also made  I also must add, I have had this pattern cut out and ready to sew for OVER a year. I SO wish I would have made this last year!

And my shoes because they are just sooooooooooo fabulous lol

 

**gasp** that ruffle detail SOLD me lol. I got these from Nordstrom.

Ok..now Imma go play catchup on my email lol.

Toodles!!!!!!

The Weekend is OVER lol

I was *THIS* close to not MOVING my car and I had a slight change of plans lol.

Took the kids to the park Saturday afternoon.

Then went and got these:

We went to see Walking with the Dinosaurs and it was REALLY neat. The kids LOVED it.

Before it started we picked up some JUNK food:

The mess that was left behind lol

A few pics from the show:

 

 

 

 

 

 

and one of the littles ;-)

Sooooooooooo what else is going on???

 

*GASP* Could it be!??!? You'll find out soon lol

 

My Easter outfit...almost finished. WHAT?!? Don't act like y'all didn't get Easter clothes lol. I still do lol.

 

This book is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO full of ideas!! We love our home. It's modest. It's ours. We have projects to do!! YAY! LOL

 

She LOVESSSSSSSSSSSS this cat. That's Chunky lol.

I did a BUNCH of scrapping but since this post is pic heavy enough I'll post them later this week!

Y'all have a good one!

Toodles!

It's MONDAY!!!!!

Did you guys have a good weekend!??! I did!!

Here is a pic of my "little" herb garden lol

I have another plant in the house lol. Hey...gotta start somewhere right?! LOL

My dad and uncle went fishing and won 2nd place in some kinda tournament....

I swear fresh bass is the best fish....yummyyyyyyyyyy

Tony and I went on a nice little date ;-)
 

I gotta learn to make this!!!! It was Tilipa with some kinda sauce and spinach..so good.



And yep we ate all of it lol. Well most of it lol. I can finally eat without throwing up....I can only eat like once a day. I have only been able to keep down fruit, applesauce and starchy stuff. THEN I can eat one meal and I'm good. I will be glad when I get over this because I love to eat. Seriously. I did forget to take our pic together though...oops lol

My aunt and uncle...Isn't my aunt looking like Easter Sunday!? LOL I love her hat.

Kayla was just a wee bit upset because she didn't get a chance to get in the candy bag after church lol.

Check out the look on Aj's face...he is just a WEEEEEEEEEE bit upset about my dad holding my cousins baby lol.

Now check out his face...umm hmm...I see you lol.

Yeah he was happy he got to ride home with Ac lol.
 

My brother came home yay!!

And one of Jaelyn...because she asked me to take a new pic of her lol

I have been sewing and scrapping up a storm. Green gable is about 96% done lol. I'm FINALLY ready to bind off and do the sleeves. Who KNOWS when it will actually happen! LOL

This is a busy week for me sooooooo y'all have a good one!

Toodles!

Happy Monday....

Did you guys have a good weekend!?? We did it was REALLY laid back....

We all went to dinner and a movie Friday night....

My Grandma turned 82...Doesn't she look FABULOUS!?!?

My grand dad however didn't want to take a pic lol

We ate...lol
 

Click HERE for the recipe...scroll down....
 

The kids "made bread" lol

I love when Tony makes this chicken and shrimp stir fry stuff lol.

We played games....
 

Don't get it twisted...I HATE Monopoly. I don't play, I just stay in the same room with everyone else.

We LOVE learning games!!! And the kids like them too ;-)

I cut out a pattern....trying to jump start my mojo...

I got some new polish...that the girls are trying to take over lol

SOOOO summery! lol

I "dog-sat" for Andre and Zanete

Isn't Emilee cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

She is the sweetest little doggie!!! Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww She has as much fur as Andre when he doesn't shave ;-) teee heee

Ok, that's it for me! Y'all have a superb Monday!

Toodles

Weekend Wrapup....

I don't know WHY I can't seem to do these posts on Monday's lol. Seems like it is ALWAYS a Tuesday!! LOL

ANYWAY LOL

I decided VERY last minute to do a 5K Run/ FUnwalk with my mom. WHEEWWW. I did NOT condition myself like the last time. Trust me when I tell you I PAID FOR IT lol. I finished in 46 minutes lol. NOT BAD...but I had fun lol.

Kayla tried to keep up with me but ummm...nerp lol

Kayla couldn't make it to the finish line lol

I got my mom strolling across the finish line....

There was a live band there to keep the runner/walkers motivated and I asked them to say Happy Birthday to Jaelyn lol...She was like mommmm how did they know! LOL

Love this one of my mom cheering Jaelyn on lol. She SMOKED those kids lol.

When Jaelyn finished she laid out across the table lol.

Kayla was running too lol

Jaelyn couldn't decide if she wanted me to cook her a bday dinner or if she wanted to go out...once she FINALLY decided what she wanted we headed over to O'Charley's lol.

She was enjoying her bday pie lol

Sunday we hopped in the car and took a wee drive up to the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville

The kids have never been and Tony and I haven't been in YEARS soooo off we went lol

 

 

 

 

That is my dream camera...MANY MANY years ago lol

 

 

 

Can you see my family under there!?!? LOL

 

 

 

 

I loved watching Aj read about everything! Especially when he got to the big words he didn't understand. He would try and sound it out then ask for help. :-)

 

Then the kids did a little rock climbing lol.

All in all it was a great weekend! LOL

Now, Im trying to get back in the swing of things! LOL This month has been ubber busy and it's not even over yet! LOL

The home decor bug has bitten me...more on that later! LOL

Y'all have a great day!

Toodles!!

Woooo Hoooo! It's MONDAY!!!!

I LOVE Monday's!!!! I have a list of things I need to get accomplished this week so I will be BUSY.

Let me go ahead and break the news....remember green gable that was knitting up oh so lovely? LOL

Your eyes do not deceive you lol.

I threw it in the trash. WHY?

LAWD! I tried it on once I separated the sleeves and never did look in the mirror. Just kinda looked down, saw it fit and took it off and kept knitting.

WELL I was ALMOST finished with it (was knitting for length) and I decide to try it on again and send a pic to Patrice. LAWD when I saw it on me!??! The lace section was just JACKED UP! It didn't continue all the way over to the right side. When I say I BAWLED!?? I didn't notice it was messed up until I looked at it on me lol.

A picture is worth a THOUSAND WORDS! LOL SERIOUSLY!
I BAWLED!! I felt so bad. I just threw it away.

I do believe the yarn I used has bad juju lol. Remember when I tried to do Rusted Root a while back?? That was the yarn I used! I tried to do a couple other projects that did NOT turn out right lol. IT IS THE YARN!!! LOL

Imma get some more yarn and do it again, and it will NOT be red lol.

MOVING ON..... lol.

Thursday Night I went to Sips N Strokes yet again and had a blast! This time I talked my mom into going lol

 

She was all happy paying for her class lol

I got there early to make sure I could grab seats for all of us and I was surprised when I saw they already had us set up!

 

What does that sign say? LOL

 

Wooo hooo lol that's for us lol.

 

Momma was just painting away lol...with her left handed self lol.

 

One of us together lol

 

Didn't she do a great job for her first time? I think her painting was the best of the group!

And here is a group shot lol

 

We REALLY had fun! My mom enjoyed all the ladies and the ladies enjoyed her. She kept cracking up about something or another lol. I finally got to meet Neecha and  Kisha was there too lol. Maybe now she will update her blog lol.

We aren't painting this month. We have something else planned lol. Wheew chile lol.

Jaelyn was also in a play Thursday night and Tony being the wonderful father he is, went and had a good time lol. Cheryl also sent me a couple pics since I wasn't there! YAY! LOL

Friday night I went to a book signing at Books A Million where the one and only E. Lynn Harris was there signing his new book!

 

He is REALLY silly lol.  I have hat hair so ya gotta excuse that lol.

 

And he was REALLY nice. He seemed sincere. It was fun meeting him!

While I waited in line, the kids played in the kids area and picked out some new books.

 

 

 

Jaelyn actually started on her book while we were there and finished it on Saturday. I guess it was REALLY good lol.

Saturday my mom and I took the girls shopping.  *sigh*

 

 

I HATE CLAI.RE'S. SERIOUSLY.

But the girls loved it and I guess that is all that matters lol.

We also went to Fore.ve.r 21 and a few other stores and they really had a good time.

Mom and I went to Hancock too. I actually purchased some spring fabric! It was strange buying fabric but I can get used to it again lol.

Sunday was our Anniversary/Superbowl party lol. We had a house full and SO MUCH FUN! LOL

 

Verdi is soooo good to me lol. And that was NOT all of it lol.

 

Gotta love the budlight. Too bad I don't drink beer. And we had regular BL, but there wasn't enough room for everything in my fridge lol, and my fridge is kinda on the large size I think lol.

Yep that is Kool-aid for the kids. It's not gonna kill 'em lol.

 

Tony was handling that grill! LOL

Y'all see that apron? He made that in the 10th grade lol. He STILL wears it when he cooks lol.

 

He kilt it lol. I did the inside cooking stuff, he did the outside lol.

And since it was our anniversary I made him a red velvet cake. I make it for him every year lol.

It's gone lol.

Along with all the food and drink lol.

Successful party! LOL

Alright, this got REALLY long...LOL

Hope y'all have a SUPERB Monday!

Toodles!!!!

Celebrating Sisterhood (VERY PICTURE HEAVY)

Did you guys have a good weekend? I sure did!!
I have told you guys before how much Patrice and Stacey mean to me. These are truly two amazing women! I love them both dearly! Love you ladies :-)

Ok...enough mush lol....

Well, we planned a trip to get together and have a good time. I've met Stacey before but not Patrice...BOY did we have fun!
I hoped in a plane early Friday morning...

To go and see these ladies!  I had a nice little flight so what did I do??

Did a lot of knitting and listening to my ipod. I LOVE that thing!
I STILL don't understand the logistics of my flight..I had to fly to Chicago just to fly down to North Carolina...but OH WELL lol. When I got there I saw these neat Lego displays..


I thought these were so neat! Aj LOVES legos so this was more for him than me lol.

After a little layover I FINALLY made it to Charlotte

YAY! We left the airport and went straight to Bojangles for some nice and greasy fried chicken lol. It was SO good!

We then made our way to the fabric store Mary Jo's

OMG! This store is HUGE...

I am SO glad I made the exception to not buy fabric unless it was vacation fabric when I said I wouldn't buy any fabric until the new year lol.(dang, how many times did I say fabric? LOL)

Serious discussion going on lol

Cutting some fabric! Wooo Hoooo lol

It was OVER once I found the knits :)

Ohhhhhhhhhhh I was in heaven!! I will have to show pics of what I got later on lol.

Yep, we stopped for half a second to take a picture lol

After fabric shopping, we went back to Stacey's place to rest up for a minute and freshen up.

They even had a birthday cake for me!! Awwwwwwwwww. I was doing something on my phone and didn't even notice them lighting the candles lol

You guys are so sweet!!! After those festivities we went out to dinner...

The food was yummy!

and so were the drinks!

Just a group shot...

we had SOOOOOO much fun lol

After dinner we went home..rested for a few then got dressed and went to Blue Restaurant and Bar and had a FAB time!!

I promise y'all we really didn't sleep lol. We left there and headed over to "Kiss"

Whhooooo talk about fun!

We had a blast. Have I said that already? I will probably say it some more lol. Tanisha is in the red hat. She is Stacey's neighbor and she is a sweet heart too! HEY TANISHA!!! :)

Once we left KISS, we headed home and passed out. I woke up at 4:30 despite not going to bed until ummm shortly before then lol. It's my internal clock. Sorry bout that Patrice :-)

Saturday was SO.MUCH.FUN!!!!

We met up with some fab ladies!!!

Michelle who SERIOUSLY needs to update her blog, Nik, Delta Purl aka Jennifer, Toni, Renee and I even met Christi aka Turtlegirl!

We all met up at The Cottage Yarn Shop...

Ohhh so much pretty yarn! I will have to show those purchases later as well :)

Nik was serious about her shopping y'all lol

Yep...SO much fun lol.

We left there and headed over to Big Daddy's Burger Bar

OMG... TALK about GOOD. Like VERY good!

I had a "spiked" milkshake. It was SO good. Even Patrice who is the most picky eater I have EVER known  liked it lol. It was called a Royal Peaches & Cream. SO good. Once I got mine, everyone else at the table wanted one hahahaha. It was the bomb. I want to make some at home lol.

We left there and headed over to Charlotte Yarn

This store was really nice!

Stacey took us to the mall next...it was a nice mall. I picked up some perfume and that was it lol

We left there and I FINALLY GOT TO GO TO TRADER JOE'S!!!!

I now see what all the rage is! Christina would send me tea from there and I LOVED it. NOW I have gone and I am totally hooked. EVERYTIME I go to Atlanta I will restock! LOL Ohhh and I picked up a few bottles of white wine that I've heard so much about! It's SOOOO good!  Ben the wine guy was HILARIOUS...

We left there and rested up for a few minutes and headed back out to another spot called Tempo.....babbbbyyy Michelle you were right..it was "different" lol

People watching was SO INSANE and SO funny it was just CRAZY!!! This one dude...man..and these two girls that looked like men...and well just wow lol.

We had such a good time...I know I keep saying that but we really did lol.

I guess this post is long enough..I will say that before I got on the plane to come home it started snowing in Chicago lol and it was COLD up there!!!! 30 degrees in Chicago and 30 degrees in Alabama is TOTALLY different. Dana and Robin, I don't know how you do it lol.

Thank you Stacey for a wonderful time and for being such a super sweet host! I had a blast!!!

Ok, you guys have a great week! I have ONE more birthday celebration for me tonight and that is it for my  birthday! LOL

Toodles!!!

Weekend wrap up...B'day edition...(PICTURE HEAVY LOL)

******************************PLEASE GET OUT AND GO VOTE!!!!!***************************

This is a long one...I won't say much(I'll try not too lol)..just post pics lol

Friday was awesome! Then Friday night, Tony took Jaelyn to one party, then I took her to a skate party that lasted from 11pm to 7 am. We only stayed until around 1am-ish lol

I love this one of her even though it is way past blurry lol. She came flying towards me and ran into the wall...*take a picture click-click*

Saturday my brother and I had a birthday dinner with our inner circle of friends and family...

And a few candids...

I think I was happy my cake was coming lol. I LOVE CAKE.

Then I realized what was ON the cake lol

THAT picture is SO old lol

Then we opened our gifts from our parents lol

We were like TWO on these pics lol hahahhahahah. My mom has had these shirts FOREVER! We wore then once and she NEVER washed them!!! She said she didn't want our pics to come off...

See still dirty lol...

Awwwwwwwwwwww lol

We had a FAB night!!!!

Sunday we went to the Spa...and took Jaelyn along...

Move that mirror Jaelyn....

Sistah girl had her eyebrows shaped up...she loves it...we do too!

That's all I have for today lol. Today my girlfriends are taking me out to lunch and something else they won't tell me lol. So I am still celebrating! LOL

Y'all have a good day!!!

Toodles!

Magic City Classic...Weekend Wrap-up!(PICTURE HEAVY)

I had such a fabulous weekend it was ridiculous! I got up WAY early Friday morning to go to the Steve Harvey Morning Show with my friend Tamika...

When I say WAY early...I mean WAY early. I went to bed a little after midnight...and met her around 2am ish....when we GOT there the line was ALREADY long to get in lol.

It was PACKED in there...this was before everyone got in.....

But we had FAB seats!!

How do YOU look at 2am? LOLI see bagsssssss under my eyes lol.

Special guests Avant

and Husband and wife duo Kindred  took the stage.

I like Kindred...and I like Avant...but I'm NOT a big ole huge Avant fan. Just like a few of his songs.

The best stuff happened during commercial breaks. GOOD laughs...we really had a good time.

And for all you Nikon lovers....I TOUCHED...HELD a NIKON. I think my fingers will fall off now lol

The camera guys that were there were HILARIOUS lol. I don't know if it was because it was so early or what, but they were funny lol.

Once it was over (around 9am-ish) we went up to the stage to get a couple pics...

I think ever woman needs a pair of spanx. That is all. I KNOW I OWN SOME AND WEAR THEM! LOL

I came home to pick up Tony and we did a little running around...picked the kids up from school and started getting ready for the night activities.

Tony went to a football game and I met up with some of my girlfriends to go "out" lol.

The fellas ended up where we were so I danced the night away with Tony...

Ahhh, I went home...and seriously took a SHORT nap....we were up again at 7am to get ready for the big game...

THE MAGIC CITY CLASSIC Which is THE biggest HBCU Football Game. GO HBCU. I swear HBCU's don't get the credit OR recognition they deserve...but that is for another post...another time.

This was the traffic at 8am-ish...OH the game didn't start until 2:30PM lol.

Yeah it was CRAZY.

We went back and forth between two tailgates...hey what can I say lol. Wish we had clones lol.

One was with my family...the other with the Band...

Mannnnnnnnnnn we had so much fun...

Me and "Lil Frank" lol there is NOTHING little about Lil Frank...and I've been calling him this ALL my life lol. Soon as we got there, the party started lol. No better way to start the day...

SUPERB food..you KNOW you eatin good at a tailgate when there are greens...y'all don't even hear me.

Let's not forget the "Hooch" lol aka hunch punch.

Ok this was seriously the best punch I've EVER had...but I TRY to stay away from it because it will sneak up on you and knock you on yo azz. SERIOUSLY lol. It's like you are just drinking "juice" lol. They told me to slow down but umm...lol. It was just SO good ;-)

We made our way to the 2nd tail gate (which was directly across the street..yay for little walking lol) and had some fun over there lol...

Stayed for a while...headed into the game...

On the way in Mayor Larry Langford saw Tony and we took a pic...He has known Tony since highschool lol

ahhh the bands...

The crowds...

 

But WTF is wrong with State's Lines? Umm those are SUPPOSED to be straight...ANNA...that's YO school! LOL

Tony took a pic with the bulldog...first time in the HISTORY of the Classic that he has come in the stands lol

Sometime during the game, that hooch caught up with me lol

The final score!?!?!?

MAYBE NEXT YEAR STATE FANS!!! HHAHAHAHAHA!

Final pic of the night...

Camera got put away and we partied and enjoyed the win! WOO HOO

Now...*DEEP SIGH* All the fashion no-no's.

I had a WHOLE lotta stuff but SOMEBODY got delete happy with the camera and took it off so I will share what I have...

I still don't get why guys are doing this?

I swear...this must be the year that Run DMC reunite or something... I KEPT seeing this. UGH.

Ladies...now I KNOW y'all want to be "fierce" and all but leave these shoes at HOME...I KNOW her feet were HURTING! Mine were tired and I had on VERY comfortable shoes..

I "ALMOST" missed this one...and she was RIGHT in front of me...

WTH is going on here? Fur around her neck AND her hem?? Umm NO. She was walking like  Snuffleupagus.

That about killed me...

EERRYYBody had on leather. Now it was COOL that morning...then it warmed up and got cool again. I saw folks with scarves, gloves, and leg warmers on...then others had on mini dresses and tank tops. People just don't know how to dress for the weather. LAYER PEOPLE...LAYER.

*SMH*

Can ANYONE explain this to me??? I'll wait...

THESE three guys...whew....they had on EXTRA Medium Vests... ALL THREE OF THEM. They must have all got them out of the toddler section at the same time..

Wheewww. Yeah....just tighter than nat-booty (Outkast) lol

Ummm NO.

BUT THIS RIGHT HERE?!!? THIS RIGHT HERE?!?! THIS ISH RIGHT HERE??

Y'all KNOW I Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee shoes...

HTF do you let your heels get like this??! I mean seriously. The worst part of it was the fact that she actually LOOKED cute!!!

Ladies...don't go out with your shoes looking like this. They are fit for the TRASH.

That is it for me!! I had a great weekend and I'm glad it's over lol. My week is so super busy it's a shame, but I'mma do what I do and GET 'ER DONE!

Toodles!

Weekend wrap up and I looovee my family!

Hey y'all!! Did you guys have a good weekend? I sure did!

For some reason I have trouble remembering what I did on Friday lol.

Saturday we had some friends over to watch the game(s) lol. Miss Tamika and I left the guys here and went out for some drinks....

**CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHY MY PICS LOOK BLURRY??? WHEN YOU CLICK THEM THEY ARE FINE...ANYONE...ANYONE...**

and Miss Tamika.

Love this pic of my parents....

and some more random shots....

awwww lol

That's my Grandma hugging my Uncle..

I really like this pic of my dad..

Oh and everyone was hugging him because he and my mom were on program. I was the first time ever for my dad...I THINK my mom has done something before lol.

I love love love love love love this shot of my dad and aj....

I really love my family. I'm blessed to have a family like the one I do. Yep...blessed indeed.

And how about tonight's dinner. I am making it a point to start taking pics of my dinners again lol

15 Bean Soup.....this stuff is SO good. There is a dry bean mix that has 15 different types of beans in it. I add a few more beans to it, and sometimes I just use my own beans...soak them overnight...cook them slow the next day. I add smoke sausage, shrimp, garlic and I think that is it. It is SO good and so filling. Throw in a lil corn bread and babbbbbbbbbbbyyy you talkin bout GOOD eatin....ummm hmmmmm.

Ok that is all for me! I hope you guys have a superb Tuesday!!!!!

Toodles!

Weekend wrap up!(pic heavy)

I am STILL tired....LOL
Friday I had to do some running around and Tony decided to come with me hahahah. Did what we had to do...went to lunch...did a little shopping....




He was funny as all get out in DSW lol...I NEEDED a chocolate shoe..I don't have a chocolate shoe...then he looks down at my feet to see that I do indeed have on chocolate shoes...my comment?? LOL But I don't have a chocolate pump, these are not pumps lol..hilarious


but he still paid for my shoes hahahaha.
And of course our "date self pic" lol

But you GOTTA check out how tired he was lol...he is going to KILL me but this was SO freakin hilarious lol...

He was KNOCKED out in the car lol had the bobble head thing going lol...gotta love a camera phone lol.

Once the kids got out of school we packed up and hit the road to Huntsville for Alabama A&M Homecoming....ahhh good times good TIMES! LOL

The kids had a blast in the hotel room. Don't know what it is but ummmm lol

They REALLY like the photo booth lol. These kids stayed up until almost 3am Friday...and we got up at 7ish on Saturday lol.

Tony was playing around with the camera and got this pic of me cleaning out my purse...

and then he got REAL close lol..

I kinda like it lol...Jaelyn was on the laptop lol...hahahaha.

Then the fun REALLY started!

Alabama A&M vs. Grambling The tailgate was better than the game lol.

OBAMA 08

There was food for DAYS...

Gotta have a bulldog cake...

Dude with the pimp cup was HILARIOUS...guy in the black shirt (Lovejoi) is so seriously stupid it is ridiculous lol love him and his wife lol. They are the PERFECT couple lol.

Got a chance to hang out with some of my girls....

Poor Aj couldn't take it any more....I think this was taken between 6 and 8pm lol. Can't remember exactly lol

I LOVE this picture of him. I just want to caption it "BOO" lol

I did a little people watching...and I was kinda disturbed...

What are these??

That is the ugliest mess I've seen in a LONG time.

Ladies, ladies, ladies....

I am not what one would consider big..and "I" would NOT wear this. Some stuff just doesn't look good and this is it. I saw SO many women with this on. eww.

I was con-fu-sed...it was 80 out and people had on boots. Umm NO... Then when this lady stopped walking she was all "leant" over in her shoes...*sigh*

I am not some celebrity stylist..nor do I claim to know everything their is to know about fashion but I KNOW she don't need to have this on. YES I said SHE DON'T NEED lol. Just wrong...

But THIS travesty...

WTF? Someone PLEASE explain that to me.

That is all. Toodles! LOL

Weekend Wrap up

Thank you all for the Birthday Wishes for Kayla yesterday! She asked me if she could tell you thank you since you were strangers. She isn't supposed to talk to strangers lol. It was so funny. I let her read the comments and she only recognized a couple of names (because I physically talk to/about you guys all the time) I was so tickled lol.

DId you guys have a good weekend? We sure did.

For some reason I can't remember what we did on Friday. I can't seem to find any pictures so ummm, I am guessing we didn't do much!?? LOL

Saturday I did some sewing and we went to a wedding. That is IT lol.

Sunday we went to church (more on this later) and then we went to do our "annual" thing of going to the Southern Women's Show. We always have soooooo much fun. If you haven't picked up on it yet, I kinda LOVE hanging out with my mom lol. She is always so animated lol.

We should have known what kind of trip it was going to be when we walked in the door lol. We have NEVER purchased anything as SOON as we walked in lol. This time was SO different.

The first booth we saw was for SMOOTH Legs

Ok....the thing that got us was the fact that it said ALL NAUTRAL. We were interested lol.

THIS STUFF WORKS LOL. My mom would NOT let me take a pic of her legs before she shaved but you could SEROIUSLY braid the hair on them so it was PERFECT for her to try out lol.

IT REALLY WORKS! LOL We thought it was a gimmick but ummm NO lol, we both bought some lol.

The girls did a make and take at the Stampin Up booth

They had fun with that. They never pass up an opportunity to scrapbook. I am teaching them well lol.

Kayla has this weird facination with fake hair:

I seriously don't know where this comes from. I could totally understand if she didn't have gorgeous hair, but she has a HEAD FULL of it lol. She is soooo funny. She acutally cried because I wouldn't buy her any...ummm NO MA'AM!

We love all the different vendors that show each year. We had a good time shopping and my mom actually admitted that she had never spent as much as she did this year lol. I was admitting no such thing lol.

Jaelyn had a FIELD day at one of the booths that sold earrings lol. I think I stopped taking pics because she was trying to buy earrings that were as big as her face lol. Nope...not a good look lol.

Once it was all over I did get a few pics:

Love this one of my mom and the girls.

Can you guess who doesn't want to take any pics?? :-)

Hahahahah I'm such a mean mom :-)....these will make GREAT SB pages lol

Then the little one had a birthday.....

She loves her birthday crown and wears it ALL DAY LONG.

This year Kayla did NOT want the normal sheetcake for her birthday. She wanted a BIG GIRL CAKE lol. At the wedding we had a cake similar that was white with buttercreme frosting and had strawberry filling. That is what she wanted...that is what she got. Pink and Green of course.

She also said she just wanted ONE candle a big one...since she is a big girl...ok baby **singing...you can have whateva you likeeeeeeeeeeeeee lol**

Love this pic

She wanted a birthday dinner this year so we had about 10 people over and I cooked her requested meal lol

Kayla has been begging me to make lasagna for about two months lol.This huge massive dish of  is now GONE lol. I have used my grandma's recipe since I started making this. She kinda teared up that there wasn't anymore left so I will make a small dish of it today lol. We had salad, lasagna, garlic bread and corn on the cob. It was pretty tasty lol.

Ok that is all for me! HOpe you guys have a great day.

Toodles..

PS...I don't know WHAT is going on with the size of my pics, but I will fix that NEXT post lol

Weekend wrap up!

I'm a day late but better late than never lol.

Did you guys have a good weekend? We sure did.

Tony and I love doing things together without the kids. We also love doing things together as a family. This was one of those let's go out and have a good time family weekend lol

We started off by going bowling Friday evening. WELL lol. I THINK this was the first time Aj has gone with us lol. I know he went when he was in summer camp but never with us lol.

FUNNYYYYYY. Here are a few blurry pics because SOMEONE I KNOW **coughcoughtonycoughcough** can't take good pics lol:

Another family went with us and Tony was helping the little-est one bowl...it was too cute.

The kids got really excited when the lights went out and the lasers came on lol.

And the final score??

Gotta have one of me and Tony ;-)

The girls wanted to do "my.s.pa.ce" poses...

Yeah they crazy lol. When we left though they were POOPED!

Yeah they were TIRED!!! LOL

Once we rested up over night lol. Saturday was equally as busy.

Jaelyn is going to be in a pageant November 13th and we went and picked out her dress. It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO pretty and sparkly.  I will show those pics on November 14th lol. Kayla was GREEN WITH ENVY because her school doesn't have pageants lol. Her time is coming. I know once she starts, she will ALWAYS want to be in them. She really is my girly girl lol.

Once we finished with that the girls and I had a good lunch then we waited on Tony and Aj to get home and we headed over to Alabama Adventure for ONE LAST TIME lol.

This was taken right before we left lol.

Jaelyn and I were on this cup spin thing (that REALLY made my stomach hurt OMG) and I had the camera and decided to take apic...I love this one lol.

Well that is IT guys. It's late and I need to get ready to turn in lol. The girls had new furniture delivered today and the delivery guys came SO late it messed up my entire day. I had so much to do and now I will be doing that tomorrow...or today lol.

I was tagged a couple of times, so my next entry will be that and I'm planning another "mini wardrobe" but not like the one I just did...just a LITTLE different. More on that later.

Ok, have a great day guys!
Toodles!!!!

Happy Monday!

Hey guys! Did you all have a good weekend? Mine was ok. Still sad about the death of Aelida just still shocking. Please remember the family in your prayers.

Tony decided it would be best if I got out of the house, so the kids went to his sisters to spend the night and we got to hang out with some grown ups lol

We headed over to Michael's Steak and Seafood

Good food....

Good friends

we had a good time.

Also got to see The Family That Preys and it was VERY good. I want to go see it again this week lol.

And now a pattern review:

Vogue 2850

Please excuse the "I've been riding 4wheelers with my son hair" lol

Pattern Description:
Close-fitting empire waist tops with neckline variations. I made view B.Sleeveless, wrap top has neck flounce.

Pattern Sizing:

12-16

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, very

What did you particularly like  or dislike about the pattern?

I loved the entire pattern. It's well drafted and I didn't have any trouble with it.

Fabric Used:

Cotton/poly blend. I originally purchased a chiffon for this top, but I wanted a more casual top and went with this fabric.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:

None

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

I REALLY like this top but with so many other patterns out there for me to try I HIGHLY doubt if I make it again, but I highly suggest it.

Conclusion:

Great pattern!

I have some LO's I HAVE to take pictures of and post before I take them to the store tomorrow.

Up next in sewing...

My version of this Theory Knit Top.

Also look out for Simplicity 2754 which I got on Friday. They have a new set of patterns out and they aren't even on the site yet.

Butterick 5245 view A in a beautiful cranberry knit.

Vogue 8138 in a mustard wool jersey.

Butterick 5247 view A & B

Have a great day guys!!!

Toodles!!!

Weekend wrap up Atlanta Edition....

Kinda late but better late than never lol.

We went to Six Flags this past weekend and had a great time!

My nephew is the tallest in the group and he is still growing lol. Tony couldn't make this trip but it was just like he was there because the kids called him almost everytime they got off of a ride lol.

The kids did NOT want to stop and take this pic lol. They were ready to ride! LOL

This has to be THE BEST PICTURE EVER!!!

I don't know what scared Kayla but the look on her face is HILARIOUS!!!! LOL

The best ride HAD to be The Superman Ride!!

Tallest ride???

Goliath. WOW. It had a 175ft drop. See...I ride everything at six flags...EXCEPT

This thing. HELL NO. I like to KNOW when I'm going to DROP lol. Jaelyn loved it though lol.

Aj wasn't so sure about these swings....

Notice how his face changes the closer he gets to the ground...

BIG HUGE GRIN lol

When it almost stopped...he put his hands up lol too funny.

This is what six flags does to your hair lol

Whoooo it was SO hot lol. I know I sweat off 10lbs lol.

And a couple more for good measure lol. I took a TON of pics, but I won't put them all here. It will make a great mini album one day lol.

I also hit up Gail K while I was there...

I can't express how much I love this store. I got some fab fabrics that I still haven't take a pic of yet lol.  I can't wait to get back in there lol. Until I get to NY , this is my metro textiles lol.

My brother Corey

also took me to Ikea and Nordies where I proceeded to loose my mind.

Umm Ikea sells fabric now. I didn't get any but it's a home decor weight. Y'all know I'll use home dec fabric in a hot minute, but I passed on this. Next time I won't. It will be great when I redecorate the girls room.

I THINK that is all I have for today. I am SO behind on emails and blog reading lol. So gimme a minute to catch up lol

Hope you guys have a great day!!!

Toodles!!!

Weekend wrap up!

Did you guys have a good weekend?!? I sure did!!

First I got a new recipe for Red Velvet Cake that is seriously TDF!!!!

Someone, who shall remain nameless...couldn't wait on it to cool off...so the icing is sliding lol....next time, next time lol.
I had a recipie that I got from a family member and it was off the chains...this one....10 times better.

Seriously. I'll have to ask if I can post it. Hopefully the answer will be yes, because it was SO freaking moist...omg...can't you see it? This Ish right here....This Ish right here....THIS ISH RIGHT HERE?!? LOL ok...so I watched Katt Williams this weekend lol.

YUM....as if that isn't sinful enough. Friday Tony and I went to Joe's Crab Shack

and ate there for lunch....I had some type of fried seafood platter...yes all fried, and yes it was the bomb... But best of all was one of my drinks...

I can't even remember what it was...but it had pop rocks in it lol. Remember that candy? LOL

And the self portrait lol

Looking good babe! :-) Y'all have to excuse my eyebrows for a minute...I'm letting the grow back so I can re-shape them... I do this twice a year lol. *sigh* Tony has jokes...but he has NO room to talk lol

Once we finished up there we made our rounds to a few of my favorite stores lol

He looked around in hancock and found him some fabric for some lounging pants. The stuff he was looking at had skulls on it but it was umm kinda plastic lol. NOT what you want to lounge around in lol. He had the ladies at the cutting table ROLLING lol. It was so funny. He is a nut...

We left there and headed over to Books A Million...LOVE the bookstore. OMG

*Sigh* lol yes he is eating a blue ring pop....at one point he had it on his pinky finger...talking bout he was tha pimp...lol so stupid lol

No date is complete without a trip to Michaels lol

He said he couldn't believe there were so many stickers lol.Then he REALLY started to look around and he said..Hey, don't you have that?!? Oh Adrienne you have that. WHY is it 49.99? LOL yeah we left there REAL quick lol.

Did you guys know they  have Project Runway PaperDolls???

I didn't know that either lol.

Both my brothers came home this weekend. I didn't get a pic of Corey, but I did catch my dad and Andre in deep convo...

Looks more like my dad is really enjoying his sunflower seeds lol.

How about the only child that wants to be in front of the camera?

Aj lost his other tooth!! TEE HEE

OMG, he was eating some gum at a birthday party Saturday and I about DIED laughing at him. He looked SO funny....

My father being the WONDERFUL grandparent he is, picked up Aj a softball bat...and some softballs....

*sigh* I can hear the glass shattering....

He did NOT want to stand still lol

blurry but still cute ;-)

LOVE this picture!!!! My baby is getting SO big...

Have you guys met Ozzie yet???

HE IS CRAZY!!!! LOL My mom's (INSIDE) dog lol...might as well be mine since I do something with him EVERYDAY lol. He is cute though...

And that is IT! I finished up my items for the Pattern Review Mini-Wardrobe contest. And I hope to get some pictures tomorrow in half of it and the rest by Friday. I ordered some beads to make a necklace and they won't be here until the 29th which SUCKS but oh well. It will all be posted by the 31st!

Next post...I will show you guys what I have been scrapping!!

Have a fantastic day!

Toodles!!!

Weekend wrap up!

Woo hoo, what a fun weekend!! Here is a quick little video. Can you tell what my new favorite song is? LOL Y'all that know me well know I have a new favorite song every two days lol We had fun. How about some pictures!??!

 

Lookie at the bead frenzy lol

The girls even got a lesson and yes they like it, even though this isn't the first time they have beaded lol.

While we bead...when Aj was around us..he played on the laptop lol

Now that I have shown the kids....let me show you the beads!!!!! LOL

From Beads To Beauty....lol

These are my  FAVORITE BEADS!!!!...

And Zanete's treasures lol

Let me tell y'all about these beads....this is NOT like the stuff you find in Michael's, Walmart, Hobby Lobby and AcMoore.  NOTHING wrong with those beads they are pretty to and I have some of those, but when I tell you.....OMG, this stuff is INSANE. The quality...it's ridiculious. But so is the price of some of it. We saw some beads for $280 a STRAND!!!!!!!  I just had to touch it and walk off lol.

Let me show you what I made first....

and another because I couldn't decide which picture I liked better lol

and a close up

This is my favorite one that I made this weekend.  I love crimp beads...when I remember to put it in the correct spot lol. Once they are on, they are ON. If it's wrong, live with it or start over lol.

and a close up

I am LOVING my closures!!! I told Zanete they don't look boot-leg lol. She is so proud of me...but I have a fantastic teacher!

And another...

you know what's next.....lol

**patting myself on the back lol**

I made one more but forgot to take a pic of it. I'll post it tomorrow.

Tony asked me what store we purchased them from...I had to show him the before picture of the beads lol. THAT made me proud lol

Let me interrupt the beading and bring you a picture of a really cute spider like boy....

He dressed himself lol....

Now let me show you that heffa's stuff....you know...Zanete lol

Yep...I'm hating lol, that red is OFF THE CHAINS!!! These are for her customers, so no chance I can get any of them lol.

Ok, that's it for me! You guys have a good one!!!

Toodles!

Weekend Wrap-Up...Picture heavy....

This was a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG weekend.  It was good but L-O-N-G lol

Friday is kinda blurry. I know we had some friends over, threw some steaks and shrimp on the grill

The "little" steaks are for all the kids lol. They will play over anything bigger...I don't waste food lol.

I know I cooked about 8lbs of shrimp lol. These were the only pics I got before my battery died lol. I think I take pics to remember stuff. I don't even know what time everyone left.

Saturday I got up BRIGHT and early so I could head over to the BRAND NEW Scrap Etc!!!

Here is the brand new design team:

Can you find me!? lol Can't wait to get to know these ladies better!!!

Now, THE STORE...OMG...it's amazing!! It's HUGE!!! SO. MUCH. SPACE!!! Here are a few pictures I managed to take before I started shopping and before the store was mobbed lol....

THE WALL OF THICKERS.....

Shelley, I left some for you....lol

Virginia  teaching her first mini album class in the new store...

She's awesome BTW :-)

Two of my three kids even had a little fun playing in the STAZON INK....ask me what it STAYED IN!?!!! That stuff does NOT come off...just in case you didn't know that lol.

My girl Lu is doing a photography challenge this week...shooting from the hip. Here is my pic from yesterday:

You should have SEEN some of the pictures that came off my camera lol. I'm also challenging myself to use my 20D and leave the point and shoot at home...we will see how long I can do this lol.

Sunday was umm eventful lol. Kayla had a rough night Saturday night(mind you I had a wedding Saturday so when I got home I was beat..I THOUGHT I was going to bed...umm no lol) she was up and down ALL NIGHT. Got her up Sunday and took her to Children's After hours and what an ordeal lol. She had a fever, which is why we went in the first place. Her throat is still SO ugly looking but the strep is gone...she has kissing tonsils. They are SO HUGE. She ended up getting two shots in her booty, and they drew blood from her arm. She was SO NOT HAPPY lol.

One of the nurses almost got cussed out. SERIOUSLY. I complained to the Charge Nurse. It was insane. ANYWAY...once I got home and chilled out a bit, my brother came over:

Check out that bokeh.........oh YUMMY. I LOVE this picture....shadow across his face, dirty, worn out Dragon Ball Z hat and all.

He brought me some cd's that are STRICTLY OLD SCHOOL! OMG...like 397 songs!!! I was in old school heaven today!! Everytime a song changed, I would holla "whooooooooooooooooooooooooo that's my jam" lol. Tony just shook his head lol.

Andre also got some new ink:

I heard it was addictive lol. I'm SKURD so I will pass lol

I caught one of the kitties on my bookshelf:

They will be leaving me and going to their homes this week. They are a handful but I do think I will miss them...not enough to keep them though lol.

Let me leave you with a funny....

I was doing some sewing and had to re-thread my serger...that pesky lower looper. Now I can pretty much do this in my sleep now, so imagine my surprise when I finished it and tried it out on my scrap fabric and it was STILL loopy...like something wasn't threaded right. Well, I did it again, and still the SAME thing. So I decide that maybe I need to just re-thread the ENTIRE thing and not just the lower looper.

THIRTY minutes later lol, I tried it out and the same thing... the thread was just loopy. At this point I'm BEYOND frustrated because my serger wasn't working right.

Then it dawned on me what I needed to do...

 

LOWER THE PRESSER FOOT! LOL

I was too done with myself lol.

I won't even tell you about the conversation Patrice and I had lol. Once she finished laughing at me, and I finished laughing at myself, I got off the phone and just turned everything off and WALKED AWAY! LOL I'll pick up with the sewing again today lol.

Hope you guys have a great day!

Toodles!!!!

Back to normal....

This weekend was seriously all about Breaking Dawn. No spoilers here, but damn that book was all that I expected and more!!!

I don't know what happened to my video but it was no longer on my laptop so that was a no go lol. I'll look again and see if I can recover it so we will see if I can get it lol. Here are a few pictures..

Come on now....I couldn't pass up this shot lol

This guy was fun lol

Jaelyn enjoyed a hot cocoa, she wanted coffee but THAT was not going to happen lol (excuse the hair...we went swimming Friday lol)

And I took a pic with a few of my friends...I told them to let me stand in the middle since I was a different color ;-P

These are great girls. Sooooo much talent. I still want to make one of those shirts! LOL

And one of me and Jaelyn...not a very good one...

And that was my Friday night lol.

I didn't move Saturday lol.

Sunday we did our normal then took the kids to a pool party. I was SO tired when I got back lol. Had to call one of my good-est girlfriend so I could stay awake and pick up a little bit lol.

My main focus today is to re-do my story board for the mini wardrobe contest. I MUST DO THAT TODAY so I can get started. I had already started on the vogue dress I wanted to make so I will finish that up and concentrate on getting my other garments together. TODAY lol. I MUST lol.

Ok, this will seem SO silly but let me explain this picture:

Ok...When Tony buys new work boots, they give him socks to go with them. Now he buys new boots every few months. I LOVE it when he gets new boots because these socks are the softest EVER. SERIOUSLY. They are so warm and squishy lol.  I get so excited when I see that boot box. LOL I know it's silly but it's the little things lol.

Have you seen this yet? LOL

You are The Sun

Happiness, Content, Joy.

The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.

Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.

The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Ok, you guys have a great day!!! Hopefully this week will be MUCH MORE uneventful that last week lol.

Toodles!

It's Monday...in case you didn't know :-)

My heart is still heavy after hearing about my friend loosing her step-daughter.  Please keep them in your prayers.

The weekend was pretty good.

• Wedding went well.
• Reception was OFF THE CHAINS never seen people line dance to Lil Wayne Millie, and this was some country line dance. Someone told me what it was but I forgot lol.
  
• Had some friends over
• Saw the new Batman movie
• Took the girls school shopping

And that was about it. I will show this crappy cell pic of Kayla in her mini BWOF trench:

She said she wanted it because she saw it in my sewing book...aka BWOF lol.
My girls can really shop. SERIOUSLY.

Last but certainly not least, I got my very first secret pal package!!!

She knitted over the soap that is in the spiral thingy lol. OMG, it smells SOOOOOOOOOO good!! I love everything in my package!!! Thanks again Secret pal!!

That's it for me guys. Hope you all have a good day and please remember my friend Shelley and her family in your prayers.

Toodles

Happy Tuesday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATRICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love ya much!!!!

Hope you are having a fabulous birthday girl!! Y'all pop on over to her spot and wish her a happy birthday!!!!

This is going to be the most fantastic week!!!! I simply can't stand it lol.

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good!! The weddings are going great...LOTS of photographs, but heyyyyy that's what I do baby!!! LOL

I FINALLY used my mixer....woo hooo.

LOVE this thing! We  made chocolate chip cookies....*ahem* this pic is for you lol

The icecream was melting...note to self...let the cookies cool off first lol

Okkkkkk how about some scrappies.....

I have to start with my personal favorite:

I Must Admit

I tried to scan this but my scanner didn't like it too much lol.

A few close ups..

and another

I am loving these cluster of flowers and all the bling (That I am now TOTALLY out of lol)

Products Used:

CS: Bazzill

PP: Making Memories

Thickers chipboard alphas

HS Bazzill ,Glossy Extras & Bling

MM Bling Brads

Prima Flowers

Journaling font is Fine Hand, printed on a Hammermill Transparency.

Beach Babe

I used stickles for the first time...I mean they are OKAY...reminds me of fabric paint but it dries quicker...ONLY difference and stickles cost more...I'll stick with my fabric paint....lol Here is a close up:

Products Used:

CS: MME

PP: OLD SCHOOL Chatterbox lol

Lil' Davis pink polka dot tape

MM: Blossoms

MM: Mini brads

KI Lace Cardstock

American Craft Glitter Letters

HS: Photo corners

Stickles

First Fish:

Products Used:
Scenic Route Paper

MM: Mini Brads

AC Thickers

Ali Edwards Journaling Block from Designer Digitals

HS: Date Stamp

Ok, that's it for today! More later!!!

Toodles!!!

 

Hellooooooo

Did you guys have a good weekend!? We did. I love the weekend lol.

I took a ton of pics so here we go lol.

FIrst off, this one is for you Carla!

This was JUST as he got in to my moms house lol. I think it was around 11pm-ish? LOL He thanks you for his CD!

LOVE this pic of Tony and Aj sleep lol. Tony was playing on the computer and Aj was playing with his gameboy lol. I went back in the bedroom and saw this:

I also love this pic of my dad and Aj at church Sunday...YES I take my camera everywhere lol

Yep...will be on a LO soon!!! lol

The kids picked a few things out of the garden. Maria you would be proud lol

And Kayla

I thought I had a picture of Aj but ummm I guess not lol. Here is more squash:

Bell pepper anyone?

With all the crazy crap going on with our food....it's good to grow your own if you can...I'm just sayn' lol I bet I can eat my tomatoes lol.

Aj got a little one on one training using the lawnmower lol. My dad is so ready for him to cut the yard lol

Good thing he still has a good ways to go lol.

This is Andre and one of his good friend. He moved to Vegas after he finished up with the Navy and we haven't seen him in FOREVER....so of course when we found out he was home, we had to go over:

And a few more of his friends:

By the time we left there were a bunch of folks and kids there lol. Too bad my battery died lol.

Last but not least...we made icecream. OMG. TALK about good. I took a TON of pics...like all the step by step stuff but it's for a LO. Here are a couple favorites:

Kayla beating the eggs....she did a good job. Yes she is all tatted up lol but it is gone now lol.

Jaelyn getting the flour ready. Y'all already know I don't like that instant stuff lol. But I had NO idea what was involved with making icecream lol. It's not hard but a LOT of steps. It paid off though:

It was SO GOOD!!!!! Notice those two finger marks in it? Yeah, Tony couldn't wait lol. Glad we weren't sharing lol. We have enough left over for the apple pie that we are making today...YUM.

And Christina...for you...

Au Gratin Potatoes

I also cooked some  Smothered POrkchips
that were fantastic. I forgot to take a pic of those, they were awesome though and mixed grilled veggies. YUM.

I have done some sewing and some scrapping and some KNITTING!!! YES I KNIT! LOL So pictures of that stuff soon!

Ok, this post is long enough.

Have a good one!
Toodles!

Ahhhhhhhhh

I have NEVER been happier for it to be Monday in ALL MY LIFE lol.

I had a pretty good weekend until my jaw started hurting terribly bad. I mean, can hardly open my mouth. I do not have a tooth ache but it feels like my jaw is dislocated or something. OMG, talk about hurt!!!

Other than that, it was a pretty good weekend.

We saw a rainbow:

I love keeping my point and shoot in my purse lol.

Aj and my dad had some "bonding time" lol

I love this one too...

He was singing....lol not talking lol. I have that on video too but won't post it lol

Christina
made me want fajitas so bad lol ..so Tony and I went to work in the kitchen lol

Getting ready....lol

Adding veggies lol

Umm hmmm, I was so hungry...but because of my jaw situation, I had to seriously chop my food up lol. Tony told me to put it in the blender and drink it. Ummm no thanks! LOL

I also made chicken nachos this weekend...hmmmm do I sense a theme? LOL

One of the kids asked for it lol. I can't believe its been almost a year since I've made it!!! lol

Doesn't this one just scream summer!??!

And it was SO sweet. YUMMY!

If you guys need a laugh, check out my girl Cee now this young woman is a NUT. SERIOUSLY. She would call me and tell me about all this stuff that happened...I always told her, girl you need a BLOG! LOL I am SO glad she finally has one lol. She is so hilarious lol.

Umm what else. I did a TAD bit of sewing. I'm letting one of my dresses hang for 24 hours, then I'm going to ATTEMPT to hem it on my coverstitch machine lol. I did thread it and practice a LOT on the fabric I made my dress from, so umm, it will be interesting lol. But the "trial and error" went very well.

Everyone that was expecting a package from me, its in the mail!!! Look for an email from me this evening. Jennifer I will send the info you need to your cell number.

Ok, I guess that is all for now! LOL

Hope you all have a fantastic day!
Toodles!!!

What a weekend!

Did you guys have a good holiday weekend!??! I sure did! This post will be picture  and long lol...just a warning lol.

Saturday the kids and I got up early for a trip to Atlanta. Now this is a FIRST for me. I have NEVER traveled more than an hour without Tony (he had to work, so we left him behind lol). Now Atlanta isn't far at all but still...I just DO NOT like to go too far without my man lol.

ANYWAY....I'd planned this trip a while back..why?? So I could meet with Stacey. YAY lol.

Let me tell y'all how lost we got trying to find this store lol. Ok...so maybe I won't but we both got lost trying to find it. It's RIGHT off the highway BUT map quest and I are NOT good friends right now....umm hmmm. 

We decided to meet up at the Fabric store

GAIL K FABRICS first since it opened before anything else...LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THIS STORE. OMG. It is INSANE...DO NOT GO without a pattern in hand and some fabric in mind. It is COMPLETELY overwhelming. SERIOUSLY

Here is a picture I took. I just held my camera up in the air and snapped lol

.

We had SUCH a great time in the store and my kids instantly took to her! LOL. Stacey was in button heaven and my kids stayed with her (taking pictures of I swear every button in the store...seriously.) and I looked around. TOTALLY OVERWHELMED. I only got two pieces but the ones I got are FAB.

Check out this black and white piece:

Can we all say OMG, that is TDF? LOL.  Mr. Lee showed me a pic in a magazine (can't remember which one) where they used this fabric to make a dress:

How fabulous is this?!!? It was funny because when I saw the fabric I thought about Tany...when I saw the picture in the magazine I wish I could have picked up the phone and called her lol, instead I did the next best thing lol, sent her an email lol. For this piece I am going to try my hand at drafting my own pattern lol. I was thinking one thing but it's not going to work because of the hem, so off to something else. This should be interesting lol. I can see it in my head....lol

I also got this piece of silk chiffon. LOVE IT!

Stacey got button happy in there and will have a button plan next time she goes back lol. I have NEVER seen so many buttons in ALL MY LIFE.

Once we left there we got in my car (so we could get lost together lol) and headed over to the most fabulous and friendly knit shop EVER.... THE KNITCH

Aj even got to help with a customers yarn lol

Stacey even let him use her camera to take come pics lol. My kids love cameras lol..hmm wonder why.

OMG, this shop is FAB! And the staff!?!?!? SUPER FRIENDLY! I have a girl crush on the owner Kim! LOL She was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO super nice. SERIOUSLY. I had a million and 12 questions and she answered everyone of them.

What did I walk away with?

I liked this pic too lol

Nora, I totally thought about you when I walked into the room of Habu...

I am going to try my hand at the Kusha Kusha Scarf

After that we literally walked across the parking lot to this fabulous restaurant

which is the oldest restaurant in Atlanta! It's been there since 1922 and I know why...the food was THE BOMB!

While we were waiting on our food we had to call Patrice lol.

We put her on speaker and proceeded to have a good ole time....we missed you girl...next time..next time lol

Kayla had to call her daddy because she really missed him lol:

I try shrimp and grits EVERY WHERE I go now, so I had to have it from there... just a couple pics:

Before:

AFTER:

That should say it all lol.

The kids ate well lol:

After we finished eating we hit up Why Knot Knit

Jaelyn too all the pics of Stacey and I lol...good job pumpkin. This is a great shop too! So much yummy yarn lol.

We spent all day together...we ended a Wendy's where Stacey bought us ice-cream lol and we  both got our internet fix because they had wifi tee hee, and I travel NO WHERE without my laptop lol. We had a great, great time! 

We kept touching each other saying..you are real lol...it was so funny.

Sunday my SIL and I  took the kids skating and Aj learned to skate...PURE COMEDY!! But what was even funnier was when he had to go to the bathroom...he was still in his skates and I was still in mine but he REALLY had to go so we didn't have time to take them off....baby, when I tell you...he lost his balance...I almost lost his all while helping him pee. Six year old pee went EVERYWHERE but we did not get wet lol. It was HILARIOUS lol.

I love this picture of my nephew:

And JAELYN took it! She is really getting good with the camera!

I managed to get this one of Jaelyn helping Aj lol

and this one...

pretty soon he was skating on his own...he was SO proud!

Then I came back home Sunday! LOL Did a couple of cookouts Monday and now I'm pooped! LOL

See you guys soon!
Toodles!

Happy Mother's Day! And other ramblings :-)

Happy Mother's Day to everyone who celebrates!!!

I am doing my weekend wrap up early lol. I have an insanely busy week this week soooooo....lol.

Here is a video of my mom and I....SO SILLY! lol

While we were at the fabric store I ran into Lisa!!!!!

I kept looking at her, like, dang, I KNOW I know you from somewhere....then I said, are you on pattern review?!!? LOL then it clicked! She was really fun to run into!! I know I will see you again in July! LOL

My mom played in "The Crown" LOL

And one of my mother and I together...

This was our second set of bags lol. This store does NOT have shopping carts like hancock. You take your bolt to the table and start a pile...well...see...our pile was seriously like half the table lol. The second go round, it wasn't that bad lol.

Here is one just for Carla:

My mom actually has this same machine, she is having it cleaned up and serviced so she can put it in her new sewing studio which is a WHOLE different post. lol

When I got home, I immediately washed and pressed my fabric lol. Then I sat down to take a nap, no dice. I don't actually know what happened after that but I know I didn't go to sleep lol.

My brother came by to keep the kiddos so Tony and I could go to a 30th bday party for one of our friends. TOO MUCH FUN! A few pics:

These are GOOD peoples!! GOOD PEOPLES INDEED! LOL

Me and the B'day girl...yep...she is a shawty! LOL

No bday is complete without shots lol. I don't like being drunk (BAD EXPERIENCE) so I only had a couple. Good thing too because I ended up driving the bday girl home lol. She on the other hand was DONE! lol

They shole was tasty lol.

We didn't get home until it was PAST O'Dark Thirty. I am still tired lol.

Ok, that's it...gotta flat iron Jaelyn's hair....ugh lol. I'll get caught up on my email tomorrow...or maybe tonight lol

Toodles!!!!!

I was "sew" suprised!!!!

Imagine my surprise when I go to check my mail today and see this nice little box. Now I've ordered some stuff, but nothing was expected today...so I promptly throw the rest of the mail on the ironing board, and looked at the box more closely. It is from a good, good friend. Hmmm. I was so excited to get into it, I used my "good scissors" lol

How gorgeous is this black and ivory polka dot jersey!?!? I even got a beautiful card and some gum that my kids tried to eat up! Thank you SOOOOOOOOOO much girl!! This really made my day. It was so funny because I was talking to her last week and she said she was in the store and saw something that made her think of me...well this was it! LOL.I think I already know what I want to make with it but I'm going to wait until I get my May BWOF before I cut it. HOPEFULLY it will come in the mail today. Thanks again girl!!! I can't wait to make it "come to life" LOL.

Ok, now let me say this:

SOMEONE I KNOW, WHO IS VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY CLOSE TO ME, LEFT ON LAST THURSDAY GOING TO KENTUCKY DERBY...THAT SAME SOMEONE THAT IS VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY CLOSE TO ME DID NOT TAKE ONE  SINGLE PICTURE. But I won't say who that someone is. Humph.

How about some pics from this weekend:

I love this shot of my sewing machine:

Umm, can SOMEONE tell me why I kept seeing this chick in my bathroom?

I promise you I hate the people that developed these things lol. And NO I did NOT buy this...my brother did...and it came with GLITTER...ugh. NO COMMENT!

How about some food?

One...

Two...

and presto chango:

I have not made meatloaf in a MINUTE, but this was SO good!!! It was so moist.OMG. Too bad it's gone today! And this was a big meatloaf! That picture doesn't do it justice lol.

I stopped drinking coffee and I am totally addicted to tea!! OMG:

Kim, LOVE this one. Now my two favorites are the Pomegrante tea and the mint tea that Christina sent me. I SO WISH I HAD A TRADER JOE'S! OMG. Maria, I still love my mug!!

Ok, this is getting long (playing catch up!!)

Toodles!!!

I have to say thanks to you all for your kind words. Today is a better day and my uncle is really holding up well.  Now before I cry,  let's move on to something else lol.

Remember this post on my next sewing projects? That was what? April 13th? I have totally changed my mind lol. But more on that later! LOL

We ended up having a pretty good weekend...despite the death of my cousin.

My kids let me know that it had been a minute since I baked...hmm ok! LOL, so Friday while they were in school I made Paula's Lemon Cake.

OMG. This cake is SO good!!! Once it was cut, it was  over lol. It took all my power not to cut it before they came home. I think the last of it was gone last night. But we did have guests over Saturday night.Tee hee.

I made a Fettucine Alfredo dish umm Thursday I think using this recipe

SO GOOD. Now, I was going to take pics as I added all the ingredients, but umm...what had happened wuz lol. I just didnt lol. I ended up adding in shrimp, chicken, and broccoli to it. DIVINE.

That's all the food pics lol. Gotta do better with that lol.

There won't be too much fattening food next week lol. Gotta have balance lol.

For Nora and Tany, here is a pic of "little" Max lol.

You should see all the pics I had to take BEFORE I got this one lol. Max would NOT sit still until I put his leash on lol. He is such a good puppy. Love my Max!!! OH, Emmy HATES Max. Seriously. I had NO clue dogs could be jealous...until Max came lol.

The kids did some 4-wheeler riding....and I know, I know...I was a bad parent and didn't enforce the safety gear....I already know of two people who will be sending me emails lol. I'm ready lol. Love you both though lol.

Tony and I got in on the fun this time. I LOVE this picture of Tony and Kayla.

Awww, look how he is looking at her. I have NO clue what she is looking at lol.

Can you see my face? I can't either...Kayla's puff is in the way lol.

Here is a pic of Jaelyn...mainly for Stacey lol

And one for Virginia lol

Kayla decided she wanted a flower in her hair:

a closeup...for LO purposes :-)

You know she had to get her "pose" on lol

Sun and all lol.

This picture totally makes me smile:

Tony hates the dishwasher. Me..not so much lol. I will load it in a minute. Well he washed dishes and Kayla helped. Just made my heart smile!

Ok, that's it.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!
Toodles!

JILL SCOTT IS THE BOMB!!!!

SERIOUSLY!!! I went to see Jill Scott last night and she is just totally awesome!!! FANTASTIC SHOW! Every time we got ready to leave, she came back out. I loved her before but I super love her now!!!!!

Just AWESOME!!!!! I am SO stuck on her right now!! LOL

I met a wonderful man there....we exchanged numbers and he even brought me home. I let him stay a little too lol. Best looking man there!

He was the best looking guy there, but he can't take a picture worth crap lol Love you babe!!

We had a GOOD time y'all. Love going out with my hubby! :-)

Ok, so other than that..tee heee

We had a great weekend!!!
Friday night we had a scare. Max was very lethargic, vomiting, just sick..unresponsive. We were thinking it was parvo...took him to a 24 hour vet..he is doing GREAT now! Still kinda weak but MUCH better. Phew...that was scary!!

Saturday I talked to my bestestestestest friend ever Cathy who moved to DC   :-(  ....WELL when I talked to her while I was cooking dinner...she was pregnant...due April 15th...waiting on hubby to get home from Japan...wellllllll when I talked to her Sunday...I had a new baby! LOL I can't post his pic just yet but I will soon! I can't wait to get up there to see her!!! I'm coming soon girl! LOL You are after my Tennesse trip!! LOL

So dinner Saturday was this tasty dish:

Mongolian Beef

• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound beef round steak, cut into thin strips
•  
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces

                                                                                   

                                                                                      

                     

                     

&nb