Ramblings From the Mother of a Teenager

As hard as it was getting my son to adult age and out of the house (love you son) was.....its NOTHING compared to raising a teenage daughter. Especially when said daughter takes after a grandmother and aunt whose life descriptor would be DRAMA. It's in her genes. And not in mine. Makes for a crazy combo. And daddy missed those genes and grew up with the DRAMA so he can't stand it in HIS house now. And nothing gets mom and dads hackles up faster than emotional drama.

Cause most of it is so unnecessary. Seriously...its the "you had to CHOOSE to let something like that bother you" stuff.

Okay - so maybe I shrug things off a little easier than most people. I think its because I don't measure my worth by someone elses standards or opinions. I am who I am. You get what you get. I will not get along with everyone on the planet. AND THAT IS OKAY. So when things go south with someone, its not tragic to walk away. I cherish the season they were a part of my life...but I move forward. Without baggage in 98% of the cases.

And this post has gotten so far left of what I am blogging about. But my whole life is like that right now....which is a whole different blog post. Think its time to get the thyroid levels tested again!!!

So....what is this post about.....
It's about paintings and chocolate.

See, Songbird has a friend that she has had since 6th grade that she still keeps in touch with. Her and J were fast and famous friends. They were so compatible that as first year junior high students I once commented to his mother that if they were two years older I might just have to watch them a little more closely.

To which she replied that her and her husband pray for their children's future spouses from the time they are babies.


Um.....what?

But at that point I started think about just how compatible they are and how much fun they have together, etc. And the future possibilities.

Even tried to work that into conversations with hubs. His response: "J????? He's so goofy. Not even." (Does anyone know a junior high boy that is NOT goofy????)

So we moved away and I breathed a small sigh of relief. Because I just don't want my kids dating early. It only leads to scars and baggage.....and with Songbirds drama flair its certain to drive me into a straight jacket. **Let me insert here that Songbird says they are just friends and nothing more to this day....so most of this stuff is in my head.***

Except....a year later they still write and FB.

And then he painted her picture. Which I love and would love to steal from her. Maybe I should commission him to make me one?

And I think this is all just fine. Because I like J and I like his family. And they can't date unless they end up in college together -- which is perfect dating age.

And last week Songbird got a box of chocolates in the mail. REALLY good ones to - she shared one with me.

And NOW daddy is taking notice.

"Autumn. He. Sent. Her. Chocolates."

I know, baby.

I know.

Quilting Ranny: Would You Give $12 To Help 2 Children?

As most of you know, I am big on volunteering (in any manner) and helping out in your own community. A bloggy friend of mine posted about this ministry last week and I wanted to share. Its a great one to do with your kids if you do donation gifts with them at Christmas time. It could be helping a kid right there in their own classroom. And its less than $20.

Many of us in the international adoption community like to make sure we do a dontation type gift to our childs country of origin -- and this is an easy way to do both at $12.

Please at least click through and read about the charity even if you can't help this year. Maybe some other year you might be looking for a worthy cause and this one will come back to mind.





Quilting Ranny: Would You Give $12 To Help 2 Children?: "Each year around this time, charities begin hitting all of us up for monetary donations so they can meet the growing demands for help. Ever..."

Coolest Birthday Card Ever

And it even had a real quarter in it.

I rate people.

I rate.

Snapshot Saturday: Mummy Fingers Edition

Today the girls and I took a trip two hours north with the Girl Scouts. This is the 150th anniversary of Juliette Gordon Lowe starting Girl Scouts....and since the 31st is her birthday, a museum in Bowling Green had a full day of GS activities in period.

Of course I should be showing you pictures like this....
...and tell you all about what we learned about the mid 1800's and later during Juliette's life time.

But I get kind of antsy if I hang in a large crowd for long so near the end the teen animal and I wandered off a bit. Not really but kinda.

And that is where we found the gruesome display. There was a whole wall dedicated to crimes in the area from times past. And the fingers above? For real. An exhibit from a 1881 trial of a man that killed his pregnant wife. With a corn knife. And why the fingers where an exhibit I don't know. Did they do fingerprinting back then?? Oh, and they had the rope and noose they hung the guy with.

There were also lots of knives and guns and other newspaper stories. One display show a picture of a guy (and why did they all have really creepy beards??), the clipping of how he was found guilty, the rifle he used to shoot the victim (a father of 9) AND the shirt the victim was wearing when he was shot.

Not kidding.

And there was a display with all kinds of things...that were labeled like...

"knife used by insane person"

So while the little girls learned all kinds of wholesome goodness about the founder of Girl Scouts....I was busy being grossed out.

Now that's a fun day.

Only thing that could of made it better was if my Bones had been there. Because he would appreciated with me.

Too Many Heros

Its been a totally heartbreaking week.

Once again a mother and father get notified that their son was a casualty in Afghanistan.

A woman that is my friend.

A son that was my son's friend.

A whole 24 years old.

Another Hero for us to mourn.

And what do you say to parents that are broken by the news? God is their comfort...but that does not take away the pain. And even though there will be celebrating in heaven when they are all together again.....it doesn't make it easier to see that empty chair at the table this Christmas.

All the could-have-beens.

I haven't seen James for several years so all my vivid memories are of him as a young teen.

And what a kid! This was the one you were GLAD your son was playing with. He was the sweet kid. The kid with a big, big heart.

And his laugh! Oh his laugh! I loved his laugh. It was a true laugh. And him and Bones? Oh they laughed!!! Usually at one of the little sisters expense...... yes, I vividly recall lots of laughter over a wooden snake and a certain little sister that was scared to death by it.

And speaking of siblings, James was one of seven kids. Seven of the closest siblings I have ever met. Besides mom and dad there are 6 other people that are broken tonight. I always wished my kids had been as close as these siblings. Thankfully they will have each other to cry with and remember with.

So today's post is a salute to an American Hero that I feel privileged to have known.

You will be missed greatly by a large number of people. You touched many lived in so few years. Godspeed James.

James and Bones catching minnows. Big deal right? Did I mention it is Iceland? And they have their feet in that water????

Princess Days at the museum. Our gallant knights locked in a sword fight! And if James ever stops laughing he will probably make short work of Bones!
Row boats at the park....helping little sister into the boat. James was always a big help with the younger kids at home.
Typical shot of our boys. Is it any wonder he joined the Marines???
Would that be a war related game?
This is an awful shot but one I kept. You see, this is Bones Baptism day and its the only shot I have of the two of them together on this special occasion. The church baptismal was not built yet so we had to use a local pool in Keflavik.

Tonight, my friends, remember all the families of our fallen hero's.

We have far too many of them in our time.

Zombie Duck

So how is your horror movie fest going? What? You don't watch those???? LOL!

Yes, I'm a little off. It's an Autumn thing.

So it wasnt a banner week this week Lots of boring movies. I did manage to sneak in a couple of oldies just to shake it off.

So what was on the menu this week?

Monster Island
Its Carmen Electra and MTV. Need I say more?
Big bugs and they didn't even try to make it scary really. It was a fun flick that was every bit as bad as you'd expect. And the guy? Of course he gets the girl in the end.

Mulberry Street
Infected rats bite people who turn into crazy rat like zombie things. This is actually a good one. If you like zombie flicks you will like this one.

Ring of Darkness
Boy Band Zombies. Not kidding. If you have a disdain for boy bands this movie will crack you up. All the video cameos and pretty boy shots are hysterical. But its okay. They are really zombies under all that make-up. NOW the world makes sense.

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie
Classic British zombie flick from the 70's. Worth a watch if you like the genre.

Bunch of "dancers" and their manager get wrecked on Spider Island. Once you are bitten you are either dead or you turn into a spider like creature. This movie was actually lots of fun just because of the girls and their various stages of undress (but not fully). And there is a good cat fight of course. And the handsome men that show up to rescue them and run around the rest of the movie without their shirts. (Not the same effect as current day shirtless guys.)

The Giant Gila Monster

One I used to like as a kid. If you own a Roku box you can have the Pub-D-Hub channel. This is all the stuff that is old enough to be public domain. Most of the old ones like this you will see have come from watching Pub-D-Hub.

The Legend of Bloody Mary


Exactly what you would expect it to be. No surprises here.

Alien Invasion Arizona

Prisoners being transported escape with hostages. But man did they escape in the wrong place.

The Video Dead
Zombies come out of the tv.


Can you say double tap?

Would You Rather?

Joining Andrea at Sgt and Mrs. Hub in a "Would You Rather" Monday.

The question:

Would you rather…

Take a one-week vacation to a faraway country

OR

A one-month tour of the United States?

That is very very hard.

So, if the question is about right now, the answer is a one-week vacation to a faraway country.

Because right now I can fit my ever-increasing behind in a plane seat somewhat comfortably. A few years from now I might not be able to say that (judging from my weight gain the last 3 years).

Right now I bounce back from extreme time changes fairly quickly.

Right now I do not have any medical issues that would require scoping out the nearest hospital and wondering about their standards if it is a third world country.

And I've lived and traveled many places in the US already.

Plus we have our retirement plan tailored to being able to travel when we retire...so I'm going to get to do the stateside thing in due time.

How about you? If you could go today? Which would you choose and why?

Snapshot Saturday

Friday I went on a day hike with the Junior and Cadette Scouts. We have some amazing parks with fantastic hiking trails in this area.
The fall colors here are to die for right now. I can honestly say this is one of the pretties places I have ever lived -- and definitely the prettiest fall surroundings. I didn't know what I was missing!

Butterfly's On Mars

Finally finished! I actually worked on this one for a year. Sort of. I started it a year ago this past summer while dog-sitting at my sister-in-laws. Did all my cutting and matching up the blocks.

Then it got packed away because of the move. And I didn't touch it again for months.

So I started back on it. And two friends got pregnant. And then a family member was getting married. And then another family member got pregnant. So, it was set down while I made gifts for all of them.

And then I got started again....and the quilt I planned on working on LAST for Christmas became a first and a finish and send now kind of thing. So I put it down again.

But with the help of my new GO! toy I am now finished (!) with Butterfly's On Mars.

Can you tell that my husband named it? LOL! I was stumped for a name and asked him to help. At first he was ganking on me for naming them....but I assured him that is was standard practice in the quilting world. Then he told me he isn't "artsy-fartsy" so he wouldn't be any help.

And then he belted out Butterfly's On Mars. And I loved it. Which shocked him. But hey, most of what I thought of (Strawberry Fields) has been used so many times it is tired already. LOL!
It was windy so getting a good picture with a camera phone was not easy. But its instant gratification for posting to the blog so I didn't break out the better cameras. (Can you say lazy??)

This is a free pattern called "Wickedly Easy Quilt". Its a huge block that you turn opposite directions when you pair them next to each other.
The back is pieced with my extra's from the front. I had a couple of corners and stuff that made for some interesting blocks up by my pieced butterfly's.
I was told the recipients favorite color was maroon -- hence the colors of the quilt. I had a hard time finding such a strong color in more modern fabric designs. Of course I started it in August....if it had been around Valentines Day I would have had alot more choices to choose from. But I was able to find several butterfly fabrics which has significance also.
I also found a free tutorial on the web for making these butterfly blocks. They are awesome!!
I also ordered another signature block for the back. Love that touch. One day if I get a new machine I will make sure it has embroidery choices on it also so I can do my own. Or maybe I wont since I get them at such a reasonable price.

And there she is.....a year in the making......Butterfly's On Mars!

Am I Supposed To Be Ready For This?????

Somebody pass me a paper bag please!

Blessings In Blue

I finished my hardest quilt to date. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift, but head bone had to go and shake things up and need surgery. Some people.

Anyway....I wanted her to have a visible hug from me while she was recovering from her surgery (and while I have her kids and she is allllllllll alone healing and resting). So, I double timed it and worked my tail off to get it done pre-surgery.

Wow. It was not easy. When it was done I kinda walked around in a circle not knowing what to do with myself for a day. Until I woke up to the fact that it is October and I have 2 more quilts to finish off if I want to give them as gifts as planned.

So.....the unveil of Blessings in Blue......
This is a total Frankenstein quilt. The bottom left corner out to the rectangles is from a pattern called Bricks and Stones from Red Pepper Quilts.
It wasn't quite big enough for what I wanted so I enlarged it a little and still wanted more. I decided to add the cross blocks. Still wasn't big enough. Then I made the alternating angels and butterflys (to signify her girls).
I still wanted it a little bigger so I used up most of the extra 2 inch blocks. NOW it was done.
I used a small polka dot for binding. I don't really care for dots, but all the best quilters I follow have been binding with them lately and I love the way it looks. Go figure. I wanted a bigger dot but this was the best I could do in the colors I was looking for.

My white sashing are in 3 different tone on tone patterns. The outer sashes are scroll work. The inner ones are stones/circle looking ones. And of course the other one is butterfly's.

I pieced the back with my extra fabric and extra blocks. It has an embroidered signature block also.
I also got brave and made this my first free motion quilt. Oh my is it a mess. Luckily most of it wont be noticeable once its washed and has the crinkled quilt look. I still need lots and lots more practice. I also need a machine that I can program to stop with the needle down in the fabric to avoid the shifting from the weight of the fabric when I reposition my hands.
The small squares I kept pretty even...it was the bigger ones that gave me fits.
I did "crazy spiral" one the outer border. Didn't keep it very uniform but it wasn't too bad. Also, I used a variegated thread with 3 shades of blue. Wont do that again. I didn't like the darkest blue on the white. Plus, the thread had weak spots and would start to shred in the needle hole. This made lots of thread breaks and aggravated me to no end since I did not buy cheap thread.
The mid size blocks have a spider web looking spiral in the dark blocks. See how unsteady and wiggly it is??? I'm sure a year from now I will look back at is and nearly die of embarrassment that I actually gave that to someone. At least I hope so anyways....

And there she is...in all her amateur glory. I learned alot from her. How to paper piece. Lots of free motion practice. How to cut a binding with the GO!

Hope Tricia loves her as much as I do!

Zombie Duck

Can you believe I gave up a weekend in October full of monster movies to go camping with a bunch of little girls? I know, shocking.

And can you believe that the camping trip was smooth as silk with no blood and gut injuries, misbehaving girls or even kids that stayed up too late????

What is up with that?

If I have to miss my movies you would think I could at least come back from the wilds with a true life horror tale right? Not the blood and guts kind -- the crazy kid or misbehaving kind or cool tricks pulled on each other or SOMETHING.

Well, at least with all the hours spent in the sewing office this last week I got my fill of bad monster movies. (AND I finished a quilt I was busting my tail to get done.)

So........

If you like vampire movies, this one was pretty decent.
This one has a twist as it never shows who bite the girl, how or why....just the guy that finds her and helps her. And the story unfolds from there.
Love the old monster movies. There are so many movies from the 50's that are all about mutant animals/insects from atomic accidents. Hence...the giant crabs that eat people and absorb their intelligence and talk to you in their victims voices. Very creep thought!!
Yes, shark movies are one of my very favorite. And I watch Shark Week on Discovery pretty much every year. But this movie??? A dog. The sharks roared like lions. Seriously???? And in one scene a shark comes through the side of the boat and plucks a lady right out. Wow.

Then there was Wicked Little Things..
Crazy little zombie miner children...
It! The Terror from Beyond Space...
A monster that looks like a gorilla with lizard skin. Not very imaginative. And the thing that really bothered me about the movie? The people didn't scream or have fits when being attacked. It was the calmest and quietest monster movie I've ever watched. How can you have a good monster movie without screaming???
This is a British flick. I don't really understand the whole plot of the movie (I was sewing so my attention to detail is not keen.) But, even with that it was a good horror flick. Stuck on a boat out in these reeds with a medical emergency...and something is out there.
Giant spiders being bred on a freighter. Not the people you want to rescue you after a storm. Way too heavy on the computer graphics and rather boring actually. Skip it.
This one is actually really well done and was a good movie. For the time frame the monster was really scary looking...even if it did look like a big caterpillar. Again with the radioactivity.
Not my favorite kind of movie. But the soundtrack was great. This one is people doing horrible things to other people. Not into that so much. So if you like violence and blood and guts due to bad people...this one is for you.


I'd have to say Bitten and The Reeds were my fav from this week.