one hour later

600 pine trees & 150 something elses & 150 "a merry christmas"es stamped!!!!

now i just have to add the finishing touches & attach them to the card bases.....this card was easier than i thought & WAY easier than my 1st design!!!!!

i can't wait for y'all to see it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ......but not yet..........!!

i may be in the mood, but i'm certainly not ready!!

can we just turn the clock/calendar back to september????

usually i take a few days in september & go off with a friend or friends & spend time working on my christmas cards. i usually have them (all 150 or so) done by the end of september.

not this year!

a couple weeks ago i finally decided on a design. a week ago i cut all the paper.

last night i made a card & for a brief moment thought, "i want to do THIS card instead. it's more "me".

tonight a friend "accidentally" saw the "new" card & convinced me i should do IT instead. she said the 1st design was nice, but the 2nd one was definitely more "ME".

so tonight i cut new paper!

i'll still be able to use the white as the base of the cards (i didn't have enough of the kraft colored paper to do the whole card for 150+ cards anyways).

yes, 150+ cards! when you consider everyone at church, friends, relatives, people at work, neighbors......... i give one to everyone at church because, well, you just HAVE to---when someone gets one & someone else doesn't, they know about it & they say something about it they're not happy & i even give to all the "new people i don't know" because it's a good way to get to know them & them to know me & it makes them feel welcome. i've tried over the years to cut down my list, but which friend or relative do you cut out without hurting their feelings? and besides, for some of them, it's the only contact i have with them the whole year. and i give to friends i see all the time, because, well, it's just a nice thing to do---lets them know you care for & love them. i hate it when people say, "i'm not giving so & so a card because i see them all the time." well, do you tell them all the time that you love them????? probably not!

seriously though, i did consider taking a picture of the one card i made last night & putting it on my blog & saying "merry christmas, y'all"!!!!!!!! but as of right now, i'm not going to do that!!!!!!! (we'll see how the next couple weeks go though!!!!!!!!!!!)

however, i might forgo the "christmas letter" -- i'll just put a note in saying, "if you want to know what i've been up to this past year, go read my blog or give me a call!!"

if you need me in the next few weeks, i'll be stamping 600+ pine trees & 150+ of something else that i'm not gonna tell ya what it is!!!!!!!! it's a pretty simple design, but it's gonna be some work accomplishing it --- why do even my simplest designs end up being so complex?!?!?!?!?!? ..........but i love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

see y'all in january later!

it's a christmas miracle!

well, 2 miracles, actually!!

the 1st happened yesterday --- i made pancakes!!!

it's taken 51 years, but i finally made pancakes! pancakes that worked! pancakes from SCRATCH!

i have never been able to make pancakes. they don't cook right, they burn, they're hard to flip -- it's just a big mess. so i don't cook pancakes. don't even try to. suzanne has asked several times in the past if i would make pancakes & i have refused. i have never made pancakes for my kids!

suzanne can make pancakes. but up until yesterday, her mom couldn't!!!

yesterday morning i woke up & thought, "i think i'll make pancakes today for suzanne!"

she was still asleep so i got out this recipe for "the best pancakes ever" & mixed up the batter from scratch. i got the iron skillet hot & poured a little measuring cup of batter in. the bubbles formed, i flipped it & IT WAS PERFECT!!! i cooked up the whole batch & then went to wake up suzanne. i told her i had a surprise for her & she needed to come to the dining room right NOW!

well, she was surprised!!! and still very tired, but pleased & impressed. (well, maybe i was the one who was pleased & impressed -- she was very tired!) a couple of them were still a little "raw" in the very center, but overall, they were good! they were light & fluffy & didn't taste like a box mix. but they were a little plain. i think next time i'll add some pumpkin, spices & nuts. suzanne suggested blueberries & oatmeal. that sounds good too!!!

overall, i'm pleased & impressed with myself!!!

the 2nd miracle is that last night i put up the christmas tree & other decorations & this afternoon put up the outside lights & decorated the porch (in shorts & a tanktop!!!!!). last year i wasn't in the mood & had to force myself to do it in mid december & this year it's thanksgiving weekend & i'm done!!!!

worked on christmas gifts out in the garage this weekend, took a walk to see christmas lights (not many up yet -- i'm gonna walk every night to check out the lights - love it!!) & now i'm going to bed. i have a vacation day tomorrow & i intend to get lots done & be very busy!!!

this is what my garage looks like right now!!!!

happy thanksgiving, y'all!!!!!

SCORE!!!!!!

unless i get a pickup truck, i'm never gonna trade in my pallet-haulin' SUV!!!

this baby was BUSY today!!!

monday i got 2 pallets when i got mulch at lowe's. the guy brought my mulch up from the back on a forklift rather than a flat cart. i jokingly seriously said, "do i get the pallet too?" he said, "do ya want it?" i said, "heck yeah!" he said, "whatcha gonna do with it?" i said, "build stuff" he said, "i've got another one in the back, ya want it?" i said, "heck yeah!!!"

that meant i had 9 pallets in my garage!!!

this afternoon my pallet scout friend joyce called & said, "i just passed a place that had a bunch of pallets laying out by their dumpster." i said, "meet me there in 5 minutes!"

when i got to the place (a furniture consignment shop), i went in & asked if i could have them (i always ask, i never just TAKE) - the lady said, "they're not ours. people dump stuff off in our dumpster all the time. you can have them!"

yay!!!! 6 pallets in REALLY good shape with really nice boards!!!! joyce said, "i've never seen you so happy! you're BEAMING!!!!"

so i bring the pallets home & unload them in the garage. then i go run a couple errands for some things for church & then i'm going to go to grandma/pa's to shampoo their carpet. i pass another furniture store & there's a HUGE pile of pallets way in the back in a field next to their warehouse. i pull back there & ask the guy if i can have some of them. he says to go inside & ask the store owner. i do so & he tells me i can have all i want!!!!! i drive back to the back & he tells the guys back there to load my car for me! i had 10 guys loading pallets into my car!!!! the only thing is --- most of them were too BIG!!!!! they were huge furniture size pallets! i NEED a man with a truck - but all the ones i know are busy!!!!! there happened to be 4 "regular" sized pallets so i just got those!

then as i'm leaving there a friend calls me & says, "we had a new roof put on today & we have a couple pallets. do you want them?" i said, "HECK YEAH!!!!!!!"

so after i finished cleaning carpets, i came home, unloaded the "pallet truck" & headed over to my friend's house. they had 4 pallets!!!!!

i got 14 pallets just today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have 23 pallets in my garage!!!!!!!! they take up 1/2 the garage!!!!!!

i've already disassembled 2 of them! (that was a few weeks ago......still waiting for "a man with lots of tools" to find the time to come over with one of his many saws.......)

i had to move the trash can & mower! i have just enough room to open the door a little & get out of the car!!!!

when i pull in to the garage, there's just "that" much space between the car & the trash can!!!!

whew! thank you God, for answering that prayer for pallet wood!!!! "ask & you shall receive"!!! (now, i don't want to be pushy, but could ya answer those other prayers i've been praying about.....that one in particular???????)


dear "amwacs" -- gitcher tools & git on over here quick!!! we've got work to do!!!! there's only 38 days til christmas!!!

my new cell phone holder

CRAP!!!!!

and you need to say that word with 2 syllables!

CA - RAP!

or it could be

CUR - APP!

or you could say it

CUR - RAPP!

OR YOU COULD SAY

POOP!!! or something else like

SH....





SHOOT! (what were YOU thinking???!!!)

well, apparently i wasn't thinking!!!!

it started out a good day.

it didn't end a good day.

i got up early, went up to church because we had "gardening day" & since i'm 50% of the "gardening committee" i sorta hadta be there.

but that was all fine. we got the whole rose bed that spans the entire length of the church weeded & pruned plus the pastor & his family weeded the whole flowerbed on the one side of the chapel.

after a long day (7:45 til 2:30) at the church, i came home & cleaned out the inside of my car, washed the windows, dusted, vacuumed the interior & then washed the outside. got it all dried off, walked into the garage just long enough to step inside & hang the drying chamois cloth on the ladder which is right at the entrance & walked back outside to find my car COMPLETELY WET! in a matter of probably 8 seconds, it rained!!!

and then it stopped.

so i used some scratch buffer stuff & buffed out some JERK'S fingernail scratches down the whole side of my car --- what's wrong with people? did that idiot get a lot of satisfaction doing that to my car?? i hope so, because he's gonna pay for it at the judgement!!

then it started to sprinkle again, so i pulled the car into the garage & dried it again!

then i went next door & talked to my neighbor lady for a little bit, came home & did a load of laundry. when i put the clothes in the dryer & started it, it was making a horrible noise. sounded like tennis shoes in the dryer -- you know how they make that loud thumping noise when they hit the inside of the drum? or a brick.

i checked the load & all it was was pants & shirts. no shoes. no brick.

but the noise continued throughout the entire drying cycle. i got a sick feeling in my stomach -- i just did a blog post on my cute laundry room & now my dryer's going out! i don't have the $$ for a new dryer. i seriously thought about opening up the top while it was running to see if i could see anything wrong in there, like a broken belt or something that wasn't supposed to be in there!! & i thought "do dryers even HAVE belts??? no, i'm not gonna look, i'm just gonna ignore it & pray everything's ok" !!! i guess i'll be hanging clothes out on the line to dry. (which is NOT a bad thing! i used to do it ALL the time growing up & even when the kids were little i had a clothesline out in the back yard - til it broke & i never replaced it. but i thought about it all summer -- i want a clothesline again. i love the smell of sheets dried outside!!! i'm going to do that soon!)

anyways, after that load was done, i put in a load of towels.

no noise!

both loads seemed to have dried just fine, no noise, maybe the dryer doesn't need to be replaced/repaired!!!!

YAY!!!!

so while these clothes are drying, i was in the craft room stamping tractors.

(isn't that what every single girl does on a saturday night???)

i borrowed a tractor set from a friend & stamped a bunch of tractors so i could have them to make guy cards any time i wanted. i stood up to go cut a piece of paper & when i went to sit back down, the chair rolled out from under me & i fell straight to the ground & hit the back of my head on the chair.

OHMYGOODNESS!! i saw stars! it felt like my teeth had been jammed up into my head! i now have the worst headache, i have a huge goose egg on the back of my head & it's so painful it feels like the skin is open (but it's not). i don't think i have a concussion, but i don't really want to go to bed just yet to be safe!

sooooooooooooooo, i think i'll fold the clothes! i gather up all my stuff to take to church in the morning & put it next to my purse so i won't forget anything. i look in my purse to get my phone to set next to the bed because i use it as my alarm. there's no phone in my purse. i'm trying to think where i had it last.......

i then got that sick feeling in my stomach again. only this time it was WORSE. i knew EXACTLY where my phone was. in the pocket of the denim shirt i wore to church. when i came home, i took it off so i wouldn't get my phone wet when i washed the car! and when i was doing the laundry, i grabbed the shirt off the back of the chair & tossed it in the washer.

i now have the cleanest phone in town.

it doesn't work, but it's clean! and the water droplets inside the screen SPARKLE like diamonds!!!

that's not dirt or grease, that's the water inside the screen!

and even though it got dried in the dryer, it's still full of water! i took the battery cover off & water poured out! and the little red mark that tells the phone people that it got wet is BRIGHT RED! they put those things in there on purpose, ya know. and i have a sick feeling it voids all insurance!

it's dead as a doornail. (what the heck IS a doornail, anyways?????)

it wasn't anything fancy, just a "dumb phone". but the owner is even dumber!

and i'm trying to remember if i got the insurance??? doesn't matter. even with the insurance, whenever you have to replace a phone, it still costs you close to a hundred bucks just to walk out of the store!

i don't want to buy a new phone.
i don't have the money to buy a new phone.
i don't want to have to learn how to use a new phone.
i don't want a "smart phone".
i just want my old "dumb phone".
my old "dumb phone" worked just fine.
it was a PHONE. that's all i need.

i hear the new "dumb phones" are pretty smart.

but i don't care! i just want a PHONE.
a dumb phone.
for a dumb girl.

now i've got no phone, 2 headaches & a sick stomach, but i learned something today---

a dumb phone in the pocket of a denim shirt in the dryer sounds a lot like tennis shoes.......or a brick!

AND, it won't be ringing in the middle of the sermon tomorrow!!!

i wish i could just re-wind this day to about 5:30 pm & have a do-over!

CA - RAP!!!!

view of a couple laundry rooms

i've had a few busy busy weeks at work -- that's GOOD because the days go by quickly when i'm busy. i hate having nothing to do at work -- makes me wish i could be home doing projects! this week i've been so busy that i've been exhausted when i get home. i've gone to bed at 8:30 3 of the 4 nights so far this week & on sunday too!!!!

ME? the one who can't sleep & stays up practically all night??? yes!!! and i've slept almost all night too!! i've woken up a few times to check the time but have been able to go right back to sleep.

but when the alarm goes off at 6:30 i'm still not ready to get up!!!! i am definitely a night owl & NOT a morning person!!!!

ever since i posted about cleaning the dryer lint, i've meant to post pictures of my laundry room. i like my laundry room -- everyone should have a pretty laundry room! i don't spend as much time in it anymore now that everyone's gone but me, but it's still nice to have something pretty to look at when you're messin' with dirty clothes.

so, here's my laundry room -- it's tiny, just 6.5'x 6.5'. i wish it was big enough to have the ironing board in there & a sink would be nice too.....but it works & that's all that matters! LOTS of pictures for such a little space!!!!

this is the wall that the door to the hallway is on. i like sunflowers & cows! the "country kitchen" sign was given to me by a friend a long long time ago. i didn't have anyplace for it in the kitchen so i hung it here to hold a tote bag that houses all the plastic grocery bags that i use for trash bags! been meanin' to paint it to say "country laundry" but have never got around 'tuit'!

moving counter-clockwise around the room, here's the garage door

i love this poem - when the kids were little, i'd read it EVERY time i went in the laundry room. "it's not always easy, but it's always right."

this craft show sign is over 20 years old! see the barbed wire handle? i've always loved barbed wire!!!

i made this watermelon angel when i had my craft business

the little galvanized tub came from my sister in law. it holds homemade laundry soap & stain remover. the "dresser scarf" on the dryer used to belong to my mom -- it used to be on a table with houseplants in our living room.

view from the hallway.

mammy doll that i've had for over 20 years.

texas towel rack & cross-stitched bluebonnet towel that i made a 100 years ago before i had kids & had time to cross-stitch!

close up of mammy doll - i love her feedsack apron!! i've had her forever too!

love these old faucets!!!

the little girls in this picture look EXACTLY like suzanne & an old friend's daughter when they were little!!!! EXACTLY!!! eerily exactly!!!! this picture used to hang in suzanne's bedroom. "she's" the one on the left.

seasonal door decorations hang behind the door when not in use

today at lunch i was reading one of the blogs i regularly read, "all things home" by amy kinser. she posted her laundry room -- i love it!!! loved it so much that i asked her if i could feature it on my blog! she emailed me back & said i was welcome to!! i love her rustic country style. i could move into her house & be very happy. (wonder how long i could be there before she noticed!?!?!?!!)

afterall, she has an antique "dorothy" towel just hangin' there waitin' for me!!

oh, i wish my room was big enough for an old hutch!!!

i LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!!! she's got an old door laying across her washer & dryer for cute "counter space"! can't do this with a top-loader!! love the galvanized bucket too! (i collect galvanized buckets!)

she has an old textile factory bin/basket for her hamper! how COOL!!!!

amy, thanks for letting me feature your laundry room -- and if you don't have any extra bedrooms or a guest room, i'll be just fine living in your laundry room! i'll bring my own pillow!!!!

(click on "laundry room" here or above to go & see more of amy's laundry room & blog.)

i'll think i'll go to bed now! i've managed to stay up til almost 10:00!!!