well shucks!

looks like i lost a follower!

well, that's the thing about these blogs, you win some, you lose some!

but it's MY blog & i will say what i want to say. everyone has that same right on their blog!!

where'd i get ALL THIS ENERGY?????

i've been GOING all day -- i woke up at 3 am & slept on & off (mostly off) til 5 & then laid in bed trying to get to sleep for another whole hour, thinking of all the stuff i could be doing & at 6 just gave up & got up!

i started cleaning in my bathroom & scrubbed the tile floor on my hands & knees with baking soda. amazing all the crud that you think is just part of the floor!!!!!! then i cleaned my bedroom, dusted all the ceiling fans in the house & washed all the bathroom rugs & then the sheets & other whites. still need to put the clean sheets on the bed & fold the other things. i scrubbed the floor in the other bathroom & cleaned it up too, then i vacuumed & dusted the living room & just mopped the floor in there & the dining room.

then i did some "fall decorating" - rearranged the stuff on the mantle & bookshelf. (i'll have a whole post about THAT tomorrow.)(& i'll have pictures too!! sorry about none in this post. i didn't take any of the dirty mop water or the bazillions of weeds---i know, what kind of a blogger am i????!!!!)

i need to scrub the living room & dining room floors, but they're too big to do today. i also need to scrub the kitchen floor, but i just mopped it because i had to take a shower & get up to the church for our "evening in the gardens" event (weeding the flowerbeds). i wanted to clean up the craft room too, but that'll have to wait til tomorrow.

when we started weeding, it was just misting (after raining all day), but it started sprinkling & after we had been weeding for an hour, it started to rain hard, so we stopped. we got A LOT done though!!!! we had pizza for dinner & now.i.am.tired.

the elves didn't put the sheets on the bed while i was gone, so i'm gonna have to do that. i also need to take a shower again................i hope i don't fall asleep in the shower!!!!

ok......

it's 8:30 and i'm going to bed! i sure hope i'm not wide awake at 3am. if i am, i'll be scrubbing the kitchen floor or cleaning up the craft room, so if you're up then, come on over & help me!!!!!

a question for one of my "followers"

this is something that's been bugging me for awhile,

and it's apparently got lots of other people wondering too.

i've gotten lots of emails, messages, a couple phone calls, some questions on facebook, and lots of friends have asked me in person.........

"JACINTO FLORES, WHO THE HECK ARE YOU & WHERE ARE YOU FROM?"

and more than a few people want to know:
"who's the guy in the superman jammies???"

so, jacinto flores, please tell us all who you are & how you "found" me, cuz to be perfectly honest, you're creeping me out!!!!!!!!

tuesday

i can't think of a catchy title, so "tuesday" is it!

i stamped with some friends tonight. wasn't really in a stamping mood. we didn't do anything in particular - just piddled with some various things & talked & laughed. i love watercoloring. i've been workin' on my "technique". i don't think i'll ever master markers like my friend laurie, but i think i'm pretty good with watercolor crayons & pencils! i love the "life" shading gives to an image!!

this is what i did-----it sort of fits the mood i'm in. [these are 2 separate stamps, the jar, & the girl]

i feel trapped.

alone.

in a jar.

good thing i like jars!!!

and it's only....tuesday.

a 1/4 pound cookie

we had a meeting at work today, so it was a good excuse to make cookies!!!

my work-friend from dallas, michelle, made chocolate chip cookies.

her "NOW FAMOUS chocolate chip cookies".

no chocolate chip cookie can ever compare to THIS chocolate chip cookie!!

this is 1/2 a cookie!! the pictures don't really show how BIG these cookies really are!!

that's a dinner plate!!!

the dang things were HUGE! they weighed a 1/4 pound each!!!! they were as big as hamburgers!!!! each one had a million chocolate chips -- the GOOD ghirradelli chocolate chips.

and they probably had two million calories each!!!!

it's gonna take 2 days to eat this!!!!

it's HARD to take pictures of 1/4 pound chocolate chip cookies!!!

NOTE: WHEN THESE PICTURES WERE TAKEN, THERE WERE ALREADY SOME BITES TAKEN OUT OF THIS COOKIE!!!

i got blessed at church today!

well, that happens a lot, but today was extra special!

my friend laurie made me a very special gift. she's been working on it for MONTHS & has said several times, "i'm making something for you, but it's gonna take a long time." well, today was the special day!!

OMG!!!! i wish i could make that word bigger!!!! if i had been wearing socks, they would have been knocked off!!!!

it was ALL.I.COULD.DO.
TO.KEEP.FROM.LOOKING.AT.IT.
ALL.DURING.CHURCH!!!!!

but i was good, i kept my hands off it & concentrated on the sermon (very difficult with a man with a circular saw sitting behind me! and, no, nancy b., he didn't HAVE a circular saw in church --i just KNOW you're going to comment about that!!!!)

ok, back to the gift.............

so i ALMOST blew the surprise because i went to laurie's online shop friday night (which was actually saturday morning, cuz it was after midnight) to see if she had any barbed wire images!! i ALMOST went to her blog because i haven't read it in a couple weeks (so bad!!! i want her to read MINE everyday, but i sometimes don't have time to read HERS!! --i'll do better, i promise!!), but i decided that since i needed to get up early for bible study saturday that i'd better not "get stuck" reading blogs. good thing because she posted all about the process of making this gift on her blog -- you can read it HERE (sept.14)! i would have been so disappointed if i had blown her surprise!

she gave me the beautifully wrapped package before sunday school started. i teach preschool, so i had to hide it so the kids wouldn't see it & think it was for them! at that age, everything is for them!!!! before church started laurie came to me & asked if i had opened it yet - i said, no, i'm waiting to take a picture of it wrapped because it's wrapped so cute!!! she MADE me open it then & BOY.AM.I.GLAD.I.DID because i got to show it off to lots of people!!!! i wanted to run up front & show the whole congregation!!!!

it's a journal that she made from scratch!!!! she even made the inside pages - and they have barbed wire for the lines you write on!!!!!! (i did see a sneak peek of the page with the boots on her shop website & thought that was the cutest paper!!!! i was gonna tell her to make me some!!!!!) she made the cutest little calendars that slip into a pocket on the front!! AND.THE.BARBED.WIRE!!!!!!!! OH MY!!!! she thought it might make it look too "cutesy", but I LOVE IT!!!! how could i not love barbed wire?????? and it's made with little stars, & everyone knows i love my stars!!!!

so here are all the pictures i took of it....

i've got it sitting next to "sam" on my dresser.

i don't want to mess it up by writing in it, but i want to use it!!!! i want people to be able to see it, so i don't want to use it as a journal. (gotta keep SOME things private!!!!) maybe i'll use it as a recipe book -?- i'll let you know what i do with it! i love it!!! and it was for no reason at all, not my birthday or christmas...just because! that's the best kind of gift & the best kind of friend!!!

in a cowboy mood

and i didn't even watch a sam elliott movie!!!!

i went into the craft room tonight to clean off the table & then i started making a few cards. i guess i was in a cowboy mood..............! here's what i made:

the boots, hat & horseshoes are digital images from my friend laurie who has a digital stamp company called "doodle pantry". she's got some really great images & they are VERY reasonably priced. it'd be really nice if you'd go over there & purchase some of her images. (she has some in color too, so the work's already done for you!) here's the link to her website: "doodle pantry"

bumping up my prayer life

prayer is very important to me. i admit i've been in a slump lately though. i lose my concentration & focus. i don't pray from the heart, i've been praying from my head. (yes, i believe a christian's "heart" is in their mind, but i haven't been using my "mind"/"heart", i've just been using my skull!!)

yesterday at work, after my brother had his heart attack, i asked one of the guys who's a christian to pray for my brother & his family. we often share prayer requests back & forth. it's so good to work with a "brother" in Christ! he said, "let's pray right now!" he prayed a beautiful prayer, honest & kind, not all "churchy wordy" etc. i prayed silently while he was praying, "God, i want that back. i want to pray like i used to, from my heart." last night at church/prayer meeting, i was able to pray for the 1st time in weeks. it felt good!! and God revealed a few other things to me during the evening's bible study time. OH GOD!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

this was on renee swopes blog the other day. i don't have a name to put with this right now, but i'm gonna pray it. (goin' out on a limb??!!) and i'm going to pray it for suzanne's future husband. i pray for him now, but this is a really good "focus" prayer. and i'm gonna pray this for my son......i so want him to be a Godly man.....and i'm gonna pray this for suzanne, that she'll continue to be a Godly woman. but i'm also gonna pray this for ME. because if I'M not doing all these things, how can i expect them from others?? and i'm gonna journal my prayers again. i used to do this & it really helps keep my concentration & focus.

what's neat is there are 7 "parts" - to focus on 1 each day of the week & look up the Bible verses - & find other appropriate verses! i'm excited!!!

Praying for My Husband from Head to Toe
Free Download Printable from Renee Swope
www.ReneeSwope.com

Head
Father, I ask that You would continually renew my husband’s mind, resulting in a transformed life. Help him bring every thought to Christ and make it obedient to You. Give him a greater understanding of Your Word. Help him to think on things that are pure and right and worthy of praise.” (Psalm 119:15, Rom 12:2, 2 Cor.10:5)

Eyes
Lord, keep open my husband’s eyes to spiritual truths that You have for him. Help him to see things as You see them. Please guard his eyes from things that make his heart wander away from you and me. (Psalm 119:18, Psalm 119:37)

Ears
Father, help my husband to hear Your voice clearly. Give him wisdom to recognize your voice with certainty. Protect him from listening to those who aren’t seeking or walking with You. Guard him from negativity of what others say, and help him discern between good and evil. Thank you for giving him the ability to determine what is of You and what is not. (Is 30:21, 1 Kings 3:9, 1 John 4:1)

Mouth
Jesus, help my husband to speak the truth in love. Your desire is for him to be quick to listen and slow to speak – so I pray that you would make that his desire too. Give him courage to lovingly confront when necessary. Let the words he speaks be Yours, not his own. Help him speak words that bring grace and truth to the hearers. Thank you that You want to help him grow in his ability and desire to communicate with you and others. (Psalm 19:14, 119:13, 41:3; Eph 4:15, 4:29; James 1:19)

Heart
Lord, instill in my husband’s heart a desire to seek passionately after You. Teach him to guard his heart with diligence and wisdom. Help him deal with anything in his heart that is not pleasing to You or that separates him from You. Create in him a pure heart, O Lord. Thank you that You are enabling him to lead our family with integrity and honor. (Psalm 78:72, 119:10-11; Prov 4:23; 1 Thes 3:13)

Hands
Lord, I pray everything my husband does would be done with his whole heart, serving You rather than man. Seeking to please You alone. I pray You will increase his skills and his abilities so that he might bring honor and glory to you – and feel like a good provider for our family. Thank You for blessing everything he puts his hands to. (Psalm 24:3-4, Col 3:23)

Feet
Jesus, I pray my husband would love Your Words and walk in Your ways. Help him walk in a manner that is worthy of You, bearing fruit in every good work. I pray You’d show him how to creatively share your truth with our kids as he does life with them each day. Father, when he walks through the valley of the shadow of doubt and difficulties, I pray he would fear no evil because He knows that you are with him. Thank you for loving and leading Him. (Deut 6:7, 8:6, Col 1:10, Psalm 23:4