Monday, March 31, 2014

A little weekend road trip

Hello, friends!
How was your weekend? Ours was all kinds of busy - but it was the good kind of busy! This morning I'm sharing some photos from a little road trip that Doug and I took yesterday morning. Come on in...
 
We had decided to take the quad out for a ride in the desert, and Doug wanted to go up to Mt. Ord. That wouldn't have been my first choice because the last time we were there was with my mom and stepdad, two years ago this month. My mom was pretty sick then, and it was a rough trip for her - made me sad just remembering that day with her.

And to add to my already solemn mood, the skies were dark and gloomy, and it was cold and windy.



Our intent was to check out some Arizona wildflowers, but there weren't a whole lot to be found. We had a dry winter which means less wildflowers this spring, but we were able to find a few here and there, along with this little barrel cactus in bloom.


We figure that the forest service must have done some clearing on the mountain since we'd been there last, because everything just looked sparse and...well...just not what we were expecting.


By the time we made it to the top - about a 15 minute quad ride - the wind was really whipping around and neither of us had prepared for cold weather. I said the unthinkable: "I want to go home," so we hopped back on the quad and headed back down the mountain.


We were home by noon which was fine with me - I had the normal weekend household stuff to take care of, and Doug headed over to work on a boat motor with one of his brothers.
 
I have some other weekend-y things to blog about, but I'm filling up my blog post calendar for the rest of the week...pacing myself...

And wow - tomorrow is April 1st already! Don't be fooled. ;o)
Wishing you a week filled with lots of happiness, my friends.
See you tomorrow...
xo

Friday, March 28, 2014

Just a Quote for Friday

Alright, so it's not just a quote today.
It's a video with a bit of personal commentary,
and I hope you will enjoy it...
Many moons ago I was introduced to the concept that our thoughts become our reality. Our body/mind connection is an amazing thing, my friends. Anyway, I started paying attention to my thoughts - the things I "said" to myself inside my head.

One of the things that I got in the habit of was repeating a phrase to myself during tough times. In my mind I would think and repeat, "You're ok, Deb, you're ok...it's all going to be ok..." And the really cool thing? It was like the voice of an angel, comforting me and helping through trying times. Good stuff!

When I saw this video I loved it instantly and wanted to share it here for today's quote. How sweet to have a sister to assure you that you're ok. You're fine. And if you don't have a sister to tell you, promise me you'll tell yourself when times get tough...


"You're ok! You're ok!
You're fine! You're fine!"
~ Jessica

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Owl help you feel better.

I know, I know - corny post title - but just how cute is this little owl hot/cold pack?!?!


Our local friend, Jenn, made five of these owls to give as her "I this" gift exchange at our annual Valentine crop. FIVE of them! Carrie was one of the lucky recipients, and I was so taken by its cuteness that I just had to make one myself. Well I made one for my niece, Savannah.


I ordered the pattern from this Etsy shop and spent the week working on it off and on. It was one of those projects that I was so excited to finish - couldn't wait to send it on its way so my niece would have a little happy mail.


This little owl is filled with rice and gets stored in the freezer to be used as a cool pack. You can also microwave it for 60-90 seconds and use it as a heat pack. The back fabric is a soft and snuggly cotton flannel. I packaged her up and sent her to my local niece because I'm on a mission to send more happy mail to family members this year. :o)

I'm not sure I'll make a whole bunch of these like my friend Jenn
has, but I'm happy that I made this one for Savannah.
She's an owl lover, and she loved her happy mail.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Hey! How did you know? A simple moment.

"I'm soooooo jeally..." she cooed as she lifted my new phone off the counter. In an instant she had pressed the button and swiped her finger across the screen, revealing the passcode keypad like magic.

"Three, f..." I began, but her quick and nimble fingers had entered my passcode before I could speak all four digits.

"Hey!" I said, "How did you know my code?" and she laughed.

"Because it's my code too! I just automatically entered it without thinking."

Suddenly I'm transported back in time - back to a time when my sweet little Carrie had to stand on her tiptoes to see the keypad in the grocery store. We'd stop there on occasion after work/school, and she always insisted on doing the debit card swipe and "secret passcode" at the check-out. The same "secret passcode" that we have each assigned to our own phones, some 20 years later.

"This is so cool, Mom-friend," she continued, turning my new phone over in her hands to examine it further. "I'm happy for you..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
I'm linking up with Alexa today, and you can read more
Simple Moments on Alexa's blog by clicking here.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Scream and shout - there's a sprout!

Knowing that sunflowers are so easy to grow, I thought my niece and nephew would like to have some for their own backyard. I had a bag of seeds from last years crop, so I packaged some up for Presley and Stone (ages 9 and 5) to plant.


They've recently started a small vegetable garden that they check for sprouts daily. I'm so happy to know that they are excited about their garden, and I'm counting on my sister for lots of Instagrams and/or texted photos to keep me updated on the progress.



Their sunflowers seeds were planted last weekend and have been watched closely since then. My sister sent me an email saying that Stone was so excited to see them sprouting the other day he actually SCREAMED and she thought something was horribly wrong. Haha - that's my boy!

Dang, I love being their aunt!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Renaissance Weekend Recap

Hey there, blog friends.
Happy Monday morning to you!
I had such a fun and busy weekend and it included a visit to our state's annual Renaissance Festival yesterday with Carrie and our friends, Kristin and Kandi. Today I give you some Renaissance-y photos...

Me to the glass artist guy: "How long have you been doing this?"
Him: "About 10 minutes."
eh-hm
Him: {chuckling} "All my life, Ma' Lady. All my life."


 


 
It was so much fun to be out in the sunshine yesterday with my girl and our friends. The annual Renaissance Festival is held on the east side of the Phoenix Metropolitan area, out far enough that it seems like you're in a whole 'nother world. The Renaissance "town" includes structures that are built and vacant all year, save for February and March when it is populated by artists and local fair goers.

Our high temp yesterday was 82° (28°C) - a perfect day to kick off spring time. We soaked up some yummy vitamin D, a couple of pear ciders, and a whole bunch of love and laughter.

Here's hoping the sun is shining on your piece of the planet
and that spring is springing up all around you.
Have yourself an awesome week!

Friday, March 21, 2014

Just a Quote for Friday


"What Susie says of Sally
Says more of Susie than of Sally."
~ author unknown

Thursday, March 20, 2014

I finished this for my mom. And Olivia.

 
My sister and I found this unfinished doll amongst our mother's sewing projects when we cleared out her craft room last year after her passing. I was trying not to hoard every little thing I found, and when this doll was discovered my sister mentioned that maybe I could finish it for her daughter, Presley. Gosh, I really didn't want to finish this doll for anyone at the time. I've made dolls before and they are not my favorite thing to sew, and apparently our mom ran out of steam before she could get around to finishing this one.

I ended up putting this partially done doll in my stack of things to save and she came to Arizona with me. Then she sat out in our garage for several months in this blue plastic bag on top of a stack of items to be taken to our local thrift store.






In fact, Doug helped me load all of the thrift store stuff into my car one day and this little doll was packed in too. But before I could drive away to deliver the load of donations, I pulled her out of the car and put her back on a shelf in the garage. I just couldn't bring myself to let her go yet, even though I still really did not want to finish her.


When my brother and his wife found out they were expecting a baby girl, I got super sentimental thinking about the granddaughter that my mom would never know. She loved being a grandma so much, and the thought that her ninth grandchild / fifth granddaughter would never know her Grandma Marti just really tugged at my heart. Then I remembered the doll my mom had started, and it all became so clear! I knew I had to finish her for Olivia.



So I sewed some clothes for this little dolly, and I added some yellow-yarn-hair and with every stitch I thought about my mom and sweet little Olivia.

 
The fabric for her top/dress is a scrap from my mom's stash. :o)

I smile to myself now, thinking about the thoughts that went through my mind as I worked on this sweet project. I could hear my mother's voice saying, "This is why I didn't finish this doll - I didn't want to do her hair!" Lol. {Yeeeeah, me neither, Mom!}


I love that this doll belongs to Olivia now, and I can't tell you how humbled and honored I feel to have been able to finish her on behalf of my mom. I hope that Olivia will feel her grandma's love and spirit when she plays with this doll ~ a little piece of her Grandma Marti to hold onto.

Don't you know how pleased my mother would be?
It makes my heart so happy.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Surprise Party for my Brother ~ Jack Daniels Style

Let me tell you about my amazing sister-in-law, Ryann, who just delivered a baby two weeks ago and simultaneously planned a surprise 50th birthday for her husband/my brother, Ron. She enlisted a few people for help, but she orchestrated the entire thing with a brand new baby.

Ryann is originally from Tennessee, and my brother is a fan of Jack Daniels whiskey, so she chose a Jack Daniels theme for his party. I love how the whole thing came together! Decorations were done in black, brown, and white, and she used bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey here and there as well.
 
Ryann made the awesome birthday banner to hang over the drink station, and the tissue paper poms were made by me during our drive to California.

Cupcake toppers were purchased from this Etsy shop, along with the letters for this banner...

...and water bottle labels too.

I love that Ryann created a private Pinterest board that I had access to, and one of the things she had pinned was a wall display of photos in the shape of the number 50.

Ryann collected photos of Ron's life and had them printed in black and white. As soon as the guys left for golfing that morning we all got busy with decorations, and Carrie and her cousin Britny were in charge of arranging the photos on the wall. I loved this piece so much!

Over the kitchen/food area we hung some fringe banners that I made using this tutorial, along with a banner I made using my Cricut - sticking with the Jack Daniels theme "Aged to Perfection."

I love that the women in my family all gathered at Ron and Ryann's house Saturday afternoon to help with the party prep while the guys kept Ron distracted with a game of golf. My sister, Valerie made her yummy stuffed mushrooms for appetizers, and she was happy to entertain baby Olivia while we hung banners and photos.

Ryann had found a recipe for Jack Daniels cupcakes and I was in charge of those. You guys, I worried about these crazy cupcakes for weeks leading up to the day of the party! LOL. Seems silly now! I tested the recipe a couple of weeks ago and discovered there wasn't enough whiskey in the frosting to taste, so I added some to the cakes by poking holes with toothpicks before they were frosted and using an eyedropper to soak them with a little Jack Daniels. Kind of like a rum cake, you know? The result was still a slight whiskey taste, but they were really yummy. I loved them, and I am not a fan of whiskey. I baked the cakes Friday night when we got to my sister's house, and then frosted them on Saturday with frosting I'd made at home and brought to California in an ice chest.

Is it wrong that we had my five-year old nephew help load beer and ice into the tubs? :o) Stone is an awesome helper!

Of the 300+ photos I took last weekend, this next one is in the top five. My brother Tim and his family drove from Arizona on Saturday to be part of the birthday surprise - Ron didn't know they were coming. I took this photo just after they arrived and were meeting Olivia for the first time. It melts me every time I see it! ♥ ♥ ♥

I am terrible about keeping secrets and was so glad when the guys left for golfing that morning because I felt like I'd made it without slipping and spoiling the surprise. Imagine my horror and panic when I texted Tim with Ron's address and said "Hi Timmy! When will you be here?" and then realized I had accidentally texted it to RON instead! Holy smokes. There was some frantic texting to my two nephews on the golf course and Tyler was able to get to Ron's phone and delete my text before he read it. For crying out loud, Deb. Really?!?!

When the guys came home my nephew Cris texted that they were coming in the back door so all of the party guests gathered and faced that direction. Another text, "No! FRONT DOOR!" so we turned around. And finally, "AAAHHH! BACK DOOR!" Ron was really surprised when he walked in and I loved that. I had never been to a surprise party before, have you?

One of the best things about the surprise was that our brother Tim was there. My brothers have such a close friendship, and it just wouldn't have been the same without him. After dinner the guitars came out and we sat around the fire and enjoyed my brother's music and comedy show. It's always so much fun!
 
It was a great night with family and friends - the perfect way to
celebrate a really great guy like my brother, Ron. Big thanks to
Ryann for making it such a special occasion for him!
And great big happy birthday wishes for Ron!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

This is Olivia

at 17 days new.
 

I wanted this post to contain words to tell you how I feel about this little girl. I wanted to articulate the way she humbles me and reminds me that life is full of new beginnings, how tiny and floppy and frail she felt as she was passed from one aunt to another last weekend. And the way the simplest little twitch of her mouth sends everyone around her scurrying because we all want to make her happy. She's just a perfect little miracle and a breath of fresh air for our family.
 
There's something so magical about having a new baby in the family - something I'm still soaking in and processing in my mind and heart. So instead of a whole bunch of jumbled and mushy words today, I'm giving you a whole bunch of photos of Olivia's little world right now.
 

Olivia's mommy stenciled this design on the wall over her crib. Photos don't do it justice - it is gorgeous!
 





Of course, I took some photos of my brother, Ron, with his wife, Ryann and their new baby girl. I loved having the opportunity to photograph them! I think this one is my favorite:





 Great big love in a teeny tiny package.
My heart does flip-flops over her.
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