Hopes, Dreams and lots of tears

It had been a while.  I have been busy getting things ready for a graduation party.  We have a senior this year.  A is going to graduate high school next week.  I keep asking myself, "How can this be?"  It was just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital all soft and pink and smelling so sweet like babies do.  Then in what seemed like a blink we were putting him on the school bus for his first day of kindergarten, teaching him to drive, his first job, prom and now this.  It all went by so fast.  

I managed to get A's senior letter written.  I do hope a few tears won't hurt my computer.  I think, no I know this is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.  Where do you begin to express to your child the love that you have for them.  That is so personal.  So intimate.  So deep down in your heart that you can't even grasp ahold of it long enough to get it on paper.  Ok enough.  I am terribly emotional when it comes to my boys.  Can you tell?  I'll get through it all. I've done it before.   Graduation, college, sending him off into the world.  I am sure there will be more tears along the way but like these they will be happy tears.  Filled with so much love and joy.  I am proud of you A for all that you have accomplished and all the accomplishments that lie ahead.  I am honored to be your mom.   

Congratulations to A and the Class of 2009!

I'm in the mood for a little sparkle

Lately I have been in the mood for a little sparkle.  So today I tried my hand at a new craft, bead weaving.  I have been making jewelry for a little over a year and have dabbled in a lot of different kinds but never had I tried bead weaving until the little flower bracelet I made yesterday.  Today this little pile of beads ...

.....became this sparkly little bracelet.  It is much prettier in person,  I think it will look great with a black t-shirt and jeans for a night out.

I also played around with a little wire wrapping and made this....

Now I just need some place to wear them.  

A little bling, a little spring

This past weekend I took a beading class at my favorite bead shop, Bead Bayou.  I learned to make these little flower beads.  They were so much easier than I had thought and so cute.  I may have to make up some of these for gifts.  They make you feel a little bit of spring.  

They started out looking like those little green beads but with a little thread and some weaving they turn into those pretty little flower beads.
See won't those be cute with my wardrobe for spring and summer.  

It's beginning to look a bit like spring around here!

This is our backyard

My little spot in the world.  A few years ago we needed to replace our deck.  My dad designed this one for us but it was a bit more than we wanted to spend at the time. Every time I talked to Dad he would ask if we were building the deck?  We finally decided to take the plunge and boy am I glad we did.  I love it out there.  Since it was such a beautiful day here in Atlanta and I have been itching for spring I gave the deck a good scrub down.  Added the cushion and pillows to my porch swing (Dad built the swing as sort of a porch warming gift).  A table runner and some candles and lots and lots of flowers.  I put white impatients in the flower boxes under the bench seating on each corner.  White bicopa in the hanging baskets and in my garden lots of pretty colored flowers.  We usually plant veggies in there but never have much luck with anything but tomatoes so this year I decided if I can't grow something to eat then I might as well grow something pretty to look at.  So from here on out all of my posts will be coming to you live from my porch swing in my little paradise.  

I've been tagged

I am not good at these things but tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com tagged me so here goes.

Things I am Looking Forward To:

1. Middle son's high school graduation
2. Spring
3. Sitting on my porch swing getting lost in a good book.  (Any suggestions?)
4. Hanging out with my family
5. Filling my planter boxes with beautiful flowers

5 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Went to Wally World
2. Did some grocery shopping
3. Hugged my boys
4. Indulged my passion and bought more beads
5. Made fried chicken and mashed potatoes with my youngest

5 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Learn how to use my camera (and actually remember)
2. Sing (apparently I can't but I do anyway)
3. Play guitar
4. Take amazing pictures
5. Do just one thing really really well

5 Shows I Watch:

1. House Hunters
2. Scrubs (with the boys)
3. I don't really watch tv
4. 
   
5. 
   

and finally: 5 People I Tag

Deana's Sew Crafty!

Living My Life, Outside the...

Mabel's House

Our Suburban Cottage

Rue's peanut butter and jel...

A little bling

Since the boys are on spring break this week and it has been cold in Atl. we have not done much.  A has been working and actually cleaned his room for me.  I find it interesting how it has been cold for the last 6 months yet he put 5 pairs of swim trunks in the wash.  Hum....   S is pretty much a homebody anyway so he has been busy playing football with his friends, shooting hoops in the driveway or playing his guitar.  Gotta love those two, the just don't require much.  They are pretty happy just doing their own thing. That leaves time for me so I am still working on painting the trim.  Almost done with the main parts of the house.  Of course, the little corner that had a nice crack in the baseboard which is what possessed me to start this project is still not caulked or painted.  Today I am touching up wall paint and hopefully getting all of the framed family photos off the floor in the living room and on the wall in the upstairs hallway.  Then I can move furniture and get to that annoying little crack in the baseboard.  I did manage a trip to the bead store earlier in the week.  Beads seem to be my main downfall these days.  I just can't resist all of the pretty sparkly beady beauty. I bought a ton and have been making some new bling for spring, if it ever gets here. (a little sidenote - if I quit buying beads I may be able to afford the island for the kitchen - naw beads are so much more fun!) Ok, back to the painting, but I will leave you with these ... 

Drooling

I have been doing a little online dreaming lately.  Drooling over this little beauty.  Actually I have been drooling over it for several years but it is just a little too much for my pocketbook. Hubs and I have been married for almost 24 years and have lived in 4 homes in 4 different cities and 3 different states.  Not one of them has had a kitchen with an island or a big front porch but that is for another post.  The kitchen in this house is big enough that it could actually hold one of these beauties.  Maybe someday.  

For now it is the beginning of spring break.  Kids are home for the next ten days.  Ten whole long days.  We don't have any wonderful adventures planned this year.  Just hanging around the house doing nothing.  I hope the weather is good so we are not stuck inside the whole time.   Have a great week and I will see you when the boys go back to school.  Maybe it will look like spring when I get back.  

(edited - I forgot to mention I want it in distressed black finish. They didn't have a picture of that one.)

Waterlogged

I could really use some of this.  No not the pot of gold, although that would be nice.  A rainbow because that would mean some sunshine.  It has been raining here for days and I am feeling a bit water logged.  Next week the kids are home for spring break and they are predicting freezing temps.  I live in the south!  What is going on with this weather?  

I have still not been able to get out and get my deck cleaned off so I can enjoy it.  All of the new pillows are still sitting in my living room just waiting to take their place.  In the mean time I have started paint all of the trim on the main level.  It still has the original paint from the builder 7 years ago and is looking pretty shabby.  I am making my way around the first floor repainting all of the trim, doors and door casings.  Things are looking so much fresher. Hopefully it will stop raining and I can get back to some other things on my project list. 

 

Some Metallic Lovin

The other day I had mentioned using some Metallic Rub Ons that I had bought in a Rubber Stamping store years ago.  I had never seen them anywhere since.  Lisa at Living My Life, Outside the Box asked me about them.  There wasn't much info on the packaging so I Googled Metallic Rub Ons and there they were.  Ritz Camera Online carries them.  Look at all of the colors there are  to choose from and the best part, they are CHEAP!!!  (insert happy dance here).  They came in the mail in less than a week. You can use these little babies on everything.  I think they were originally for decorating greeting cards but I used them on this cross and this mirror .  Wouldn't they look cute on some little decorative easter eggs or anywhere you need a little shimmer.   You know what I will be doing tomorrow.  Playing with these of course.

Just stuff

I am still here.  It has been a slow week but I am feeling a bit refreshed.  I had my prayer group on Monday which always gets my week off to a good start.  We have the best discussions.  

It was cold and rainy here today so I finished putting my mistreated Flylady "Control Journal" together.  I had one before but most of the stuff was so outdated, the notebook itself was huge and didn't look nice sitting on my counter.  I was in Office Depot the other day and you know how we girls love our office supplies.  There was this pretty little notebook with matching dividers just calling my name.  So what is a girl to do.  I bought it of course.  The first thing I did was make a new emergency contact list for the front, school info sheet, printed some more of my budget worksheets and started the task of updating my address book.  I didn't do any of this from scratch just copied and updated what I already had. I have been collecting address and phone numbers that are written on little snippets of paper all over the house as well as all of those business cards and half done address lists that seem to be all over.  I had them all in one place and have been wanting to start this for a long time but thought it would take too long so it kept getting moved to the bottom of the list.  I sat down the other day and it only took me an hour to update and compile everything on to my computer's address book and print off the list.  Now I have a it neatly tucked into my control journal.  It has been so handy this week while trying to sort threw and update other things in my home plus I was able to toss a ton of stray papers in the process.  

Oh the pretty little cross pictured at the top was one my mom gave me a couple of years ago.  I painted it and used the metallic rub ons to highlight the design.  I just love the way it turned out.  I liked it so much I did this mirror the same way.  

I have also been sorting threw pictures to make a photo gallery in our upstairs hall.  I have a ton of black frames with white mats that were hanging in the stairwell to our basement.  I love that gallery but it is time for something new.  The photos were getting old and every time someone would shut the basement door all of the pictures would go askew.  Drives me nuts. Today they all came down and are getting new prints and a new home.  I'll post pics hopefully next week.  In the mean time I guess I should get out the spackle and get cracking on all of the holes in the wall.