Peterson Creek

Giveaway...

2011-03-08T19:56:00.003-05:00

Super cute giveaway from room*6 Boutique!!

She makes the cutest stuff! Like this:

Spring Fever

2011-03-07T18:51:00.000-05:00

CSN.com Giveaway

2011-03-07T18:07:00.000-05:00

CSN.com $35 giveaway

There are some things I miss about living in the country.

2011-02-12T19:40:00.002-05:00

You could park right at the door at the little country post office. The PO was full of personal touches...plants, etc. The postmistress knew my name...you could pick up your mail without a mailbox key. She asked how my sick FIL was doing. Today, when I went to the PO in this city I live in now, there was a line waiting for a parking space. The country PO has 2 parking spaces and it was sufficient. Now, my local PO has 30-40 spaces & it isn't enough.

When I got inside, there were at least 35 people in line!! At the country PO, if you had to wait in line, it was usually behind an old farmer, catching up on gossip. He would step aside, let you go in front of him but all the while stand beside you and keep talking.

Tonight, at the grocery store, there were at least 11 people in line to rent a movie from a Red Box. In my country town, a huge percentage of people didn't even know how to operate the Red Box movie rental thing, which set outside the McDonald's. Or, they didn't have a credit card to use it because they always pay cash.

I miss the rolling hills, the farm land, the wild animals...the librarian who let you check out books without your library card...here if you forget your card, they charge you $1 to look up your number...

But as a praying Christian family, we know God called us out of our comfortable setting and moved us to a sometimes uncomfortable place. We are changing and growing. But, no matter how much I change and grow, I hope someday, God will "call" me back to the country!

I won! And other stuff...

2011-02-03T00:16:00.000-05:00

Per my previous post, I was holding my breath, hoping to win the $15 credit at Embraceable Lace on etsy.com. Well, I won!!

And here's what I chose:

It's black and white silk ribbon roses on a black metal headband. I LOVE it! I've worn it umpteen times since getting it! I have waist length hair and in this pic I had it curled and pinned up.

Other stuff...we've had an ice storm the past 2 days and I'm over it. LOL We've had tons and tons of snow and now the ice. Spring, where art thou?

I did get out of the house a little while today, only to find everything closed. Even Michael's was closed! BOO! lol

Our road is 3 inches of solid ice...

My cutie pie daughter has been entertaining herself by laying in a kitchen cabinet and coloring! lol

and baking cookies with Mama

I love this pic I got of her last week while we were riding in the car:

My 2 year old diva! LOL

I hope you're staying warm and well!

Embraceable Lace Giveaway

2010-12-14T01:49:00.001-05:00

I just came across a giveaway that I'm crossing my fingers AND toes to win!! LOVE these headbands, etc. Read all about it here, The Days of a SAHM blog: Giveaway

Will you follow me on over?

2010-11-20T14:12:00.000-05:00

First off, I saw a picture of this awesome staircase and had to share it! Love the sentiments too!

photo credit: Keith Scott Morton

Nextly, (is that a word?) I am starting a new blog that will chronicle our journey in making our new house a home. I'd LOVE it if you'd follow me on over to At Home on Orange Blossom Trail

I hope to concentrate more of my time over there this winter. I've already posted "Before" pix of the house. For the first time in AGES I'm not going all primitive, so decorating has been a real struggle because I don't own much "non prim" stuff. Maybe you'll have some ideas to share?

Happy Thanksgiving to all my awesome friends! I hope to "see you" over on Orange Blossom Trail!

Oh! Here's one more pic I took of the neighbor's tree. I took it with my cell phone, so it isn't the best, but I loved the sunlight streaming through!

And...one more...my goofy little girl! lol

So thankful the miners are ALL out!

2010-10-13T21:51:00.001-04:00

What an amazing thing to see unfold on live television...the rescue of ALL 33 miners! Thanks be to God!

My $12 Goodwill find! woohoo!

2010-10-07T14:39:00.001-04:00

Boboli Pizza Grilling Party!

2010-09-27T15:13:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, I applied to host a Beat the BBQ Boredom Boboli pizza party at Houseparty.com. It was my first attempt at applying to host one of the House Parties and I was chosen! WOOHOO!!

Right away Boboli Fed Ex'd us a package containing the coupons we'd need to purchase the pizza supplies as well as coupons for our guests plus recipe cards, reusable Boboli bags, magnets, etc.

We fired up the gas grill and then made several types of pizzas! I don't think we had any leftovers at all!!

Who knew grilling Bobli pizza would be SO YUMMY? This is definitely something we'll be doing often!!

Thank you to Boboli & HouseParty.com for this awesome opportunity! We had 9 guests!

Helloooo

2010-07-16T18:18:00.000-04:00

Hello out there! How's everyone doin'? Are you having a sweltering hot summer like we are here in Hoosierland? UGH! I don't wanna rush things, but you might get me to admit I'm nearly ready for fall! It's too stinkin' hot to enjoy spending time outside!

So, we're all moved in to our new house. Except for the stuff stored in our large storage unit. And the small storage unit. And my in-law's garage. And their RV. OK! And their shed too! Sigh. How did we accumulate so much stuff???

Anyhoo. Haven't had a chance to do much decorating or anything here yet. Well, especially since most of my decor is stored in that RV I mentioned. Between my baby turning 2 on July 1, our 17th anniversary on July 3, a teething child and me having strep throat...well, I haven't gotten much of anything done, it seems.

I'm actually sitting on the floor, typing this, on our home computer (not a laptop) in a empty upstairs loft because we don't have any furniture in here yet. That's OK. I need the exercise of getting up and down off the floor. LOL What a sight to behold!

Still trying to adjust to living in a neighborhood with actual people as neighbors instead of raccoons, foxes, bunnies, deer and what not that we were used to before. But, it's actually just what I need. I'm working on some personal growth and I've spent way too many years keeping to myself, not having friends to do things with, etc. I'm also really shy, so that only added to my isolation. I've been talking to our new neighbors and even went for a walk through the neighborhood last night. People are out everywhere! Walking, play, mowing, swimming, gardening, bike riding. It's amazing. At our old house in the country, I could mow for 2 hours and never see a car pass by!

Well, I'm all talked out for now. LOL I hope y'all are having your best summer ever!

My baby turns 2 today!

2010-07-01T23:03:00.002-04:00

Moving!

2010-06-15T23:10:00.002-04:00

We've found a new house and we're moving this weekend! Woohoo! I've started a new blog called At Home on Orange Blossom Trail to chronicle our journey in making this new house a HOME! I hope you'll come over and check it out and follow us on the journey!

Super cute Mother's day craft!

2010-05-06T23:13:00.000-04:00

Super cute Mother's day craft!

2010-04-28T21:03:00.001-04:00

LoVe this Clip It!!

2010-04-27T23:21:00.000-04:00

Saw this on Facebook & I have to make one!! Or two!!

My 2 besties!

2010-04-27T19:27:00.002-04:00

My hubby & baby girl!

Scrapbook paper Flower Tree

2010-04-07T22:56:00.001-04:00

In the corner of the waiting room at my DR's office, there's a gorgeous spring-y tree with flowers made from scrapbook paper! The lighting in there is terrible, so my pix don't do the tree justice, but I thought it was too pretty not to share! The colors are very vibrant in person! I might have to make one for my daughter's room or my future craft room. LOVE it!

The base is a large flower pot with foam in it and a green tissue paper cover. The branches are real tree branches and the flowers were hot glued to the branches. The center of each flower was a ribbon-tied button.

Inspiring!

2010-03-30T20:07:00.001-04:00

Gooseberry Patch Download...25 Mac & Cheese Recipes!

2010-03-22T16:37:00.001-04:00

25 Mac & Cheese Recipes by Gooseberry Patch

Today...

2010-02-01T20:12:00.000-05:00

Today, my baby girl is sick w/ a temp of 103.5. Today, my FIL got very sick @ radiation & we got more bad news about his cancer. Today, I found out a friend had a miscarriage. Today, my BIL was taken to the ER w/ a nasty kidney stone. Today, a young cousin is in the hospital for an impacted bowel. Today, I can still say that this is the... day that the Lord has made & I will rejoice & be glad in it! Just thankful I KNOW Him!

Wynter Blahs Swap! Come sign up!

2010-01-07T16:49:00.003-05:00

I've decided to host a Wynter Blah's Swap. Outside, the snow is swirling & drifting, it's bitter cold, I just want to nap but my baby won't let me...LOL So I am creating a swap and I hope you'll join in the fun!

Guidelines:

~We'll be swapping random things that you already own or have the supplies to make.
~Everyone will submit a list of their likes and dislikes, hobbies, etc.
~I don't want anyone to go out & buy something new for the swap, unless it would be supplies to go with the supplies you already own to make something with. (For example, if you decide to make some notecards, but don't have a certain color ink pad, it's fine to buy one).
~This swap does not have a particular theme...you'll be matched up with a swapper & will pull from the list they submit.
~Let's get those creative juices flowing!

To get things started & to give you an idea of things to list, I'll post my list here so that you can get a feel for the swap.

What about a price limit of $10-$15?

OK...
Michelle's list:

Likes:
Hot chocolate mixes
cookies (someone send me some homemade cookies! LOL)
chocolate
Prim/Seasonal note cards & stationery
Snowmen
Food scented candles
Christian fiction (say you have a Christian fiction book you've already read, pass it on in this swap!)
stickers (sheets or cut stickers...doesn't matter)
Bath stuff (anything but florals!)
Christian & country music (have a CD you bought & don't care for it? Pass it on here!)
Crystal Light drink mixes
Scrapbooking

Dislikes:
Floral scented candles
Dark chocolate
Rock music
Coffee
Don't need any boy-themed scrapbooking stuff

Hobbies:
Reading
Writing letters
stamping
scrapbooking (esp. for baby girl)
Internet
making addy labels
shopping

OK...so you get the idea!

Sign-up's will go until Sat. Jan. 16 & the swaps will need to be mailed by Jan. 30 WITH Delivery Confirmation number emailed to me by Jan. 31!

If you cannot fulfill your obligation in the swap email me at least several days before Jan. 30!

Email your likes/dislikes/hobbies to me at fnpmlp (@) aol(dot)com

Let's swap and banish those Wynter Blahs!!

I'm baaack! lol

2010-01-04T16:55:00.004-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year Celebration! Our holidays were nice but I'm so ready for the fresh start of the new year!

We moved! Our beautiful home on 5.5 acres sold in 12 DAYS. Seven weeks later, we closed on it and we had to be out on Christmas Day! We frantically searched for a new home to buy in Indianapolis (an hour from our old home) but it didn't work out. The first house we made an offer on...someone else's offer was accepted first. The second house we loved, we were scheduled to see it a second time and had plans to make an offer on it, but the morning of the showing, my hubby checked on Indiana's Sex Offender Registry and found out a convicted child molester lived 2 doors down from the house we wanted to buy!!!!!

SO....we are in a short term lease apartment. Having a terrible time adjusting...Ryleigh is 18 months old and the noise from the upstairs apartment causes her a lot of anxiety. We run 2 fans and a CD player constantly, but it's still a problem. Management is trying to help us though.

Ryleigh isn't sleeping much, which means we aren't either and that's a real problem! lol

Anyhoo...I hope to get back into the swing of things and start reading blogs and posting again. I miss everyone!

Our new temporary home! See the brick arch w/ the #'s on it? Our place is the bricked area to the right of the arch, on the first floor.

My nephew Nathan, niece Hannah & my daughter Ryleigh
We had this pic taken for my mom...it's her 3 grandchildren. =)

Hubby, Me & Ry

Ry is so stinkin' rotten! LOL

Silly face! LOL

Happy New Year!!

If you were a Giveaway Winner last week....

2009-11-17T11:08:00.003-05:00

I AM SO SORRY! I just realized last night that I didn't have my Christmas graphics on my site for you to choose from for your address labels!! Wahhhhhhh!

I have them loaded on there but not named yet. But that's OK, if you see something you want on your labels, just describe the graphic to me.

If you'd already emailed me with your choices, please look again and let me know if you'd like Christmas labels instead.

Again, I am so sorry! I feel so stupid!

Follow the link to go to my selling blog...Peterson Creek Mercantile
to see the Christmas choices.

Giveaway Winners!

2009-11-09T23:02:00.002-05:00

Well, now, I said that I would draw 5 names as winners, didn't I??

I've decided, since I'm in such a give-y mood, that since only 7 people signed up, ALL 7 of you are winners! WOOHOO!!! What do ya think about that??

So, check out my site (link is in previous post) and comment me or email me with your choices! You get 2 sheets of labels, so feel free to choose 2 different graphics. If you only want one graphic, I can do both sheets the same.

OR if you would like to have 4 graphics, I can do 15 labels the same on each sheet, the other 15 with something else etc. Clear as mud?? lol

CONGRATS EVERYONE!!

A Giveaway!

2009-11-05T16:24:00.002-05:00

I'm in the mood to give something away!

I think I'll give away 5 sets of 60 address labels using any graphic from my site Peterson Creek Mercantile. There will be 5 winners & each winner will get 2 sheets of labels (60 labels total). Perfect for your Christmas cards, etc!

Just comment me to enter! I'll randomly draw names on Wed. Nov 11.

Just in case you're a winner, go ahead and check out your options HERE.

Let the giveaway begin! LOL

Updates & a CuTe autumn project

2009-10-23T22:38:00.003-04:00

Thought I'd better get busy and post another update! The days go by in a blur!

Since my last post, my mom has been in the hospital again...and is back home...again. Bless her heart! She is still doing physical therapy 3 X a week and is on oxygen at home.

We've rec'd bad news concerning my father-in-law's cancer. It has spread quite a bit, including in his lymph nodes and bones in his pelvis as well as his spine. He started chemo again this past week and it's been 100 X harder on him this go-around. He was very, very ill today and his oncologist insisted he go to the emergency room, so he did. He was admitted tonight. His white blood cell count is very low.

I've been having a lot of pain still where my right ovary was, so I went to the OB/GYN on Tuesday. He froze off a spot below were my uterus was...there was a spot that had over-healed and was kind of like a skin tag that was very painful and causing blood in my urine. But, for the other pain where my ovary was, I had a CT scan yesterday. Hope to get the results soon and I'd better NOT need surgery again! lol

My baby girl is growing by leaps and bounds! She is up to 25 lbs now. I can barely keep up with her!! LOL Here's where I caught her last night! She used 2 forks to bang on a pot. When she was done, she put the forks back in the silverware caddy, climbed off the dishwasher door, stood up and closed the door and laughed, said GOOD GIRL! while clapping her hands!! She is so stinkin' cute and funny!

I took this pic today, between rain showers. I was standing in our garage, looking down our driveway.

I can't remember if I posted that our house is for sale or not...but it is!! We want to move to Indy to be closer to our families!

Tonight, I discovered Pleasant Home and I love it! I found the cutest project on the site...see the pic below...

How adorable are these Tic Tac containers?? You can read the super easy Tutorial (the pix are awesome!) HERE-Easy Peasy Tic Tac Holders I think these would be adorable for Girl Scout projects, cheerleading teams, trick or treat goodies for older kids, etc.

Ryleigh is going to be a lady bug for Halloween this year! Can't wait!

News!

2009-10-05T14:28:00.005-04:00

Hello All and Happy Autumn! It has arrived in Indiana in full force! The news said it's 10-15* colder here than average....Brrrr...Love me some autumn though! lol

We've been out of town...went to a water park resort in Ohio as well as Dresden, home of the Longaberger Basket company...

The above picture is Longaberger office headquarters...it's an actual building that is the largest basket in the world!

This basket above is a basket in the town of Dresden.

Driving by the building...

How would you like to work in a basket??

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We've been making trips to see my mom. She is 2 hours south of us...after spending 84 days in the hospital and nursing home, she is back home! She thought she would be happy at home, but she isn't. She's finding it very hard to take care of herself. It's a difficult situation for all of us, at best. She finally got out yesterday...she wanted to go to KFC for dinner....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A couple weeks ago, my father in law got bad news concerning his prostate cancer. Waiting on results of latest bone scan. Maybe I'll post more later on that...
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It's official!! Our house is for sale!
Where we live now, we have no family near us. Since Ryleigh's arrival, having family and friends around is now more important than ever! We plan on moving to Indianapolis when our house sells...we'd then be close to my hubby's family as well as mine.

You can view our house listing here:

http://idx.cblunsford.com/showdetails.idx?&MinBed=3&script=res&mls=7&MaxPrice=200000&sortby=PRICE&City=NEW%20CASTLE&orderby=DESC&ElemSchool=BLUE%20RIVER&HighSchool=BLUE%20RIVER&Show=5&MinPrice=190000&MinBath=2&Property_Select=res&Page=1&mlsnumber=39564

We're keeping our fingers crossed that it sells before the snow flies! lol
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I'm so honored to be featured at Down the Handmade Path
for the hand-did cards & addy labels I make and sell at
Peterson Creek Mercantile.
Thank you!!
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I had joined a Harvest swap over at The Pickled Pepper Patc h and I received this awesome pumpkin from Judy at Season of the Heart 2nd Generation. Thank you so much Judy!!

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And lastly, my little munchkin is doing great! She turned 15 months old Oct. 1!! Her 14th & 15th teeth are coming in! She is so super busy and into everything! She is such a joy though!

Well, that catches me up on my news, I think! lol Hope you are all well!

My Goodwill Finds!

2009-09-11T17:14:00.002-04:00

My first find was the chair for $6.99. More than I would've like to have paid, but I really needed it, so I went for it. I've already got the first coat of black paint on it. I have a built in desk in my kitchen and needed a chair there...but didn't want an office chair, although that is what the previous home owners used.

Then next find was the star mirror! It's actually quite large and painted in a pale yellow. It was $4.99. I might sell it if anyone is interested. I just couldn't leave it at the store! LOL

I found the penny rug/sheep plate for $1.99!

The large P is perfect for us! (Peterson). It's black with mustard yellow underneath. No need to change it up! I paid $5.99. It weighs as much as my 14 month old baby. It's going to go on the mantle, I think.

Then, lastly, I found the snowman "Winter Tyme" crock. It's by Roseville and was $2.99. Too cute!

I'll post more pix once I get my goodies settled in their "new homes". LOL

I never find these kinds of goodies at our GW, but my in law's just moved to Indianapolis and they have at least THREE GW's within 3 miles of their house!! I've only hit one of the GW's but plan on going to the others ASAP.

My Baby Girl!

2009-08-17T19:36:00.001-04:00

Addicted!

2009-08-17T19:08:00.000-04:00

I am totally addicted to FaceBook & Farm Town!! Yikes!

Catching up...

2009-08-05T15:15:00.002-04:00

Where's the summer going??? A friend's children started school today even! WOW!

It has been a cooler (for the most part) summer around here. I haven't even gone swimming once.

I've been keeping busy chasing my little one around! That is a full-time job!

My in-law's bought a house in Indianapolis, so that's exciting! They'll be living only an hour away from us now! Woohoo!

I'm thinking about having a yard sale! I have SO much stuff to get rid of, including tons of prims! When I first started collecting primitives several years ago, I bought anything and everything, even if I already had two of the same thing at home. So, I'm thinking it all has to go! It's just all in storage in totes. I have TONS of old kitchen things.

Did I say TONS? lol

Hope you all in blog land are having a wonderful summer!

Where've I been??

2009-07-23T22:22:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it's been a whole month since I've blogged!

Where've I been??

Well, around the time of my last post, my MIL was here with me for about 10 days or so. Then, we had my little one's first birthday party on June 27...then we celebrated on her actual birthday, July 1. July 3 was our 16th wedding anniversary...July 4 celebrations..

.July 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 my mom had a heart attack! She didn't even know it, that's why we aren't sure of the date! July 4 she went to the ER with breathing problems (COPD) and was diagnosed with pneumonia and sent home. July 6, she was taken from home in an ambulance and asked to go to a smaller hospital. The paramedic thought mom was having heart problems instead of just breathing problems, so they rerouted to a larger hospital, where she was admitted.

All her heart tests came back abnormal. Meanwhile, she's being treated for pneumonia (which we find out later she didn't even have!). July 13 (still in hospital) she has a routine heart cath surgery. There's one artery blocked 95%, so she gets two stints. Somehow, during this surgery, another artery is nicked, although it isn't known at the time. Post-op, she was feeling pretty bad, but we thought that was normal. We made the return 2 hour trip home. Mom continued feeling bad and through out the day, she BP steadily dropped. My sister lives about 30 minutes from the hospital. She was almost home and was called back to the hospital. They stuffed her in a waiting room by herself and quickly pushed me into the ICU.

Tests showed mom was bleeding around her heart. We'd been home for 2 hours when my sister called at 10:45 PM to say mom was headed to surgery. We jumped back in the car and was back at the hospital at midnight.

The Chief of medicine and a heart surgeon came to talk to us and said the sac of blood around mom's heart was preventing her from breathing well. They'd considered drawing the blood out with a needle, but decided against it. He said it was a wait and see sort of thing and they'd hold off on the surgery. 45 minutes later, the surgeon came to get us. He took us to mom's ICU room. I can't talk about that much just yet (too difficult), but we had to sign emergency open heart surgery papers. My sister signed them, then vomited. The surgeon said that more than likely, he'd have to saw through mom's chest bone to clean out all the blood since it was probably clotted by then.

At 4 :30 AM, the surgeon came out and said the surgery was a success and in his opinion, saved mom's life. Going into surgery, her BP was about 79/50 (+/-) and once the blood was cleaned out, her pressure instantly rose.

We couldn't see her post-op. But, we saw her the next morning. She was on a ventilator and sedated. It was so scary. My sister and I just couldn't stop crying. Skipping over some here....about 3 days later mom was removed from the vent...had a collapsed lung...eventually was moved to Cardiac Critical Care. She was there for a week.

Two days ago, she was released from the hospital and sent to a nursing home for 2-3 weeks of rehab.

It has been an exhausting month. I've just shared the highlights here...so much more happened with mom, but what matters is that God touched her and she is ALIVE!!

MERRIE...New Winner!

2009-06-24T21:14:00.003-04:00

UPDATE...it's been 15 days and I haven't heard from Laurie, so the NEW winner, drawn randomly is MERRIE!
Please contact me here with your info!

....well, I'll tell ya in just a second!!!

This is the first chance I've had time to post the winner!!!! Phew!!!!! Busy, busy days!!!

So, my dear hubby randomly drew and name and the winner is:

Laurie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATS TO YOU, LAURIE!!!!

Please give me your mailing address either by leaving a comment or by emailing me at fnpmlp(at)aol(dot)com.

I'm having a giveaway!

2009-06-18T10:59:00.002-04:00

In honor of summer and one of my favorite holidays, Independence Day on July 4, I am having a giveaway!

I have a brand new, hand-painted primitive table runner by Park Designs and a new pack of
4" X 6" American flag recipe cards by Saltbox Illustrations!

Leave a comment here for one entry, put a link on your blog to this post for another entry!

Good luck!

The winner's name will be drawn on June 23!

An awesome giveaway!

2009-06-10T20:18:00.001-04:00

Farmhouse Primitives is having an awesome giveaway just in time for Flag Day! Register here
The winner will be announced June 15!

Love my new project!

2009-06-06T21:20:00.004-04:00

I found a really cool project at Bless Our Nest...Shannon had taken a silver tray and painted it with chalkboard paint. You can see her result here

I decided to give the project a try as well. I found these two trays at Goodwill for $2 each. I bought a can of chalkboard paint at Walmart for $10.
Here's my results:

I got so excited doing these projects that I hunted around in the garage for something else to paint and found an old board I'd been saving for eons, not knowing what to do with it but loving it too much to chuck it. I love the beveled edge on it. I covered the whole board in chalkboard paint and here's the results:

This sign will stay on my covered front porch for the summer and I'll prolly change out the saying when I get a whim.

If you decide to do this project, let me know! I'd love to see the results!

A Freebie! Inspirational Word Labels Collage Sheet

2009-05-28T01:08:00.004-04:00

UPDATE: Someone has said the link to this is no longer valid. Email me/comment if you'd like me to send you the download, because I saved it to my computer last night. =)

I found a link for a free sheet of vintage labels, etc. and the Relax label you see on the bottle is an example of what's included. You can find the free down-loadable sheet here. The labels include different words and pix of vintage ladies. the possibilities are endless!

A new project & an antiques shop find

2009-05-25T16:11:00.007-04:00

I decided to try a new project, so I got some tulle, elastic and my scissors...

and this is the result:

I'm selling custom tutu's on my selling blog: ryleighemajane

I found this old wooden tool carrier at an antiques shop for $12.
This is what I've done with it so far:

And here's some pix I took last week. It was almost dark when I took them:

1st Birthday party ideas needed!

2009-05-24T23:10:00.000-04:00

Ryleigh's first birthday is coming up on July 1! I need some help with a party theme! being July 1, we could go with a red, white and blue theme, but I'd love to hear your ideas!

Ry in her 1st Jacuzzi last week! lol

Ry & I went for a walk today!

2009-05-23T20:23:00.001-04:00

It felt so good to get a shower, put on "real" clothes and get out of the house!

I'm home!

2009-05-21T23:26:00.004-04:00

Pre-Op. I was so relaxed that when they came to get me for the surgery, I was snoring! LOL

I had my surgery on Monday and came home on Tuesday! The surgery went great! Doc removed my right ovary, tube and uterus. The right ovary had a lot of scar tissue from my ovarian disease. The left ovary had some blood vessels starting to grow on it so he clipped those. He wanted to leave the left ovary if at all possible so that I didn't start menopause now.

The most painful things have been my back and then the catheter. During surgery, I guess they sort of have your head down towards the floor with your lower body up in the air and the position hurt my back so bad! I have a degenerating spine and arthritis in my spine. Post-op, I had to have morphine and toradol (sp?) just for the back pain!

Then, the catheter hurt so bad I cried and when I mentioned it to Doc he said it was more than the catheter...that he'd used a scope in the same spot to check for scar tissue, etc. Once that tenderness went away, I did fine with the catheter.

The surgery lasted about 2 hours and I think I was in my own room by 2 PM. By 3 AM Tuesday morning, I was eating pudding and crackers & drinking Sierra Mist! At 6 AM, I'd already been up walking, used the bathroom on my own and was released by the DR! I think I slept until about 11:30 AM though and had hubby pick me up then. I could have stayed as long I wanted, but thought I would rest better in my Temper-Pedic bed! I was right! lol

I got a shower today and rode to town with hubby. It was so nice to be out in the sunshine! I did well, except felt a little car sick. We had called the surgeon prior to my little excursion, just to make sure it was ok.

Post-op my BP was too low. I know it was 98/51 at one point. They kept me on oxygen the whole time almost. I also had to do breathing treatments to get the air flowing.

With the da Vinci robot doing the surgery, I am stitched up from the inside out, so there's very little "pulling" when I move, which is awesome! I have NO pain when I cough or sneeze! I'm just amazed!

The swelling is going down from my face, hands, etc. All the swelling is from "standing on my head" during surgery. lolSO swollen post-op!!

I have 5 incisions. This one is in my belly button.

Here are 2 more incisions. These are on my left side. I have two more on my right said.
This is it! Can you believe how far hysterectomies have come?? My mom's scar from her 1970's hysterectomy is from "stem to stern!".

For pain, I'm only taking 1/2 a Vicoden twice a day!! Woohoo! LOL

The very hardest part for me is not being able to hold or lift Ryleigh. I have just cried tonight because I couldn't lift her out of her crib and she cried and clung to me, not understanding why mommy wasn't helping her! UGH! I can't lift her for 4 weeks!! But, these weeks will pass quickly and we'll get on with our summer!

I'm so happy to be on the other side of this surgery! Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers!

The Big day!

2009-05-17T22:52:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is the big day! I'm anxious to get the surgery over with and get back home! lol
Please help me pray for a quick recovery! Everyone hold the fort down! I'll be back ASAP! LOL
Hugs to all!

Pre-op...a robot?!

2009-05-13T20:29:00.004-04:00

I had my pre-op appointment this morning with the OB/GYN.

My surgery is Monday at 9:30 AM...have to start the yucky prep Sunday. Yeehaw.

He said I may come home Tuesday, but that we would decide when Tuesday gets here. My in-law's will be here to keep Ryleigh and Fred will be able to be at the hospital with me.

He's going to take my right ovary and tube and uterus and is hoping I get to keep my left ovary so that I don't have to start menopause right now.

I'm having the surgery done with the da Vinci robot and apparently recovery is much, much quicker! I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I'll actually be sewn up from the inside out!

I'll be laying on the bed like in the 3rd picture with the robot arms over me while the DR controls everything, as shown in the first photo. YIKES! LOL I'll have 5 incisions.

Scrambling around the house now...trying to get everything in order because I'm in that wedding this weekend in OH. Which, I'm thankful for because it will be a good distraction from the surgery! My surgery is the very next day after we get home!

And, my in-law's will be here beginning tomorrow for at least 5 days. Lots to do, lots to do! lol

Surgery & a wedding

2009-05-12T20:07:00.002-04:00

6 more days until surgery! Yep, I'm having the hysterectomy after all. Not looking forward to the overnight hospital stay, etc. but I am looking forward to feeling better in the long run!

Gotta be a bridesmaid this weekend in my nephew's wedding. Hope I don't trip going down the aisle!

I'm excited about the rehearsal dinner! It's gonna be in a castle! I'll post pix!

Lovin' my new door decal!

2009-05-07T13:07:00.002-04:00

I ordered this "Welcome" vinyl decal from www.ScribbleItOnline.com and I'm loving it!!

Candlelight in a box

2009-05-03T20:02:00.003-04:00

I saw this project HERE and thought it was so clever!

Primitive Button flowers & 3 visitors

2009-04-30T16:17:00.003-04:00

We've had some visitors lately...3 roosters that belong to the neighbor. We always have several of them in our front yard, way up near the road, but these 3 got brave enough to go all the way to our back yard! The closer I got to them to snap their pix the faster they ran! lol

I went to a local craft shop yesterday that takes items on consignment and saw these gorgeous button flower stems! Here's the primitive colored ones:

and then here's the brighter colored ones:

They are only $1 per stem and I bought 5 of the prim ones, but I'd love to have a whole bouquet!

Pix of us

2009-04-27T10:23:00.003-04:00

Our little one, Ryleigh, who turns 10 months on May 1

Ryleigh, me & hubby at church 4/26/09

Ry & me in our front yard playing. Had to let the hair down! lol

Thrift Store finds!

2009-04-22T18:26:00.003-04:00

It seems like forever since I've been able to get out and go junking or shopping for something besides diapers and formula! lol

Today, we finally had a day with sporadic rain instead of downpours, so baby Ry and I drove to Indy and went to a couple Goodwill stores. Here are my finds for the day:

A blue/green Ball jar lamp for $2.99
The Ball inscription doesn't show in the photo.
The glass is wavy with bubbles in it! Just like I like it! lol
It was filled with red candy sweet-tarts which I promptly threw away! lol

Love this! It's in hunter green. Cost me $2.99

Got this black paper towel holder for $2.99.
It's been sanded to show the red paint underneath.

Can't wait to use these fun finds!

Still here

2009-04-22T00:45:00.002-04:00

I'm still here...just going through some stuff & haven't felt much like writing.

My hysterectomy is rescheduled for May 18. I'm ready for it so that I can sleep for a week afterwards without any guilt! lol My hubby will be home to take care of our little one.

It has rained day in and day out here. I snapped this pic with my cell phone today. I was so thankful for a glimpse of the sunshine and blue skies!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-04-09T15:19:00.004-04:00

FOR TODAY April 9, 2009...

Outside my window...the sun is shining & it's up to 57*! Woohoo! lol

I am thinking...that I'd Love Love Love to take a nap!

I am thankful for...being able to get out of the house today for a while...hubby took Ry to work with him for a lil bit. =)

From the kitchen...Ry & I will be dying Easter eggs...her 1st Easter is coming up!

I am wearing...denim skirt and blue shirt

I am creating...Easter goodie bags for family.

I am going...to try out a craft project I saw on a fellow blogger's blog

I am reading...a historical Christian novel

I am hoping...that we have beautiful weather on Easter Sunday!

I am hearing...the dog licking his foot and my little one waking from her nap

Around the house...there are signs of all my hobbies/projects! lol

One of my favorite things...the buds on our trees

A few plans for the rest of the week: mowing the yard on Saturday for the 1st time in 2009.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

My baby girl, sleeping in my arms

Bears Mill

2009-04-06T11:08:00.002-04:00

My MIL and I went to Greenville OH Saturday for a bridal shower. We happened upon this old mill and I just had to stop and check it out! I took the pix with my cell phone. The mill had closed at 5 PM so we missed it, but a peek inside the window showed a large variety of jams, jellies, milled grains and more. We'll definitely go back!

Bears Mill

There were several walking trails, including one that led to a Vietnam Veteran Memorial. This old bench sits at the head of the trails.

A cool looking birdhouse was underneath!

This path led to an old barn

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-04-01T12:48:00.005-04:00

FOR TODAY April 1, 2009...

Outside my window...the sun is shining, the sky is blue and the wind is blowing fiercely!

I am thinking...that once my baby girl drifts off to sleep I'm going to take a nice hot bath!

I am thankful for...our precious baby girl that we adopted at birth. She turns 9 months old today! We were there for the delivery and I cut the cord!

From the kitchen...a bowl of Banana Nut Oatmeal this morning for breakfast

I am wearing...denim skirt and black shirt

I am creating...Easter cards to mail out to family & friends.

I am going...to go buy a bridal shower gift today for my niece-to-be.

I am reading... an Amish fiction book

I am hoping...that my baby's DR's appointment goes smoothly tomorrow.

I am hearing...the hum of the computer

Around the house...I'm cleaning and getting ready for my in-law's coming this weekend.

One of my favorite things...the renewed hope that spring brings

A few plans for the rest of the week: cleaning house, making treats to take to the DR's office, go to Ohio to a bridal shower.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

My silly baby girl, Ryleigh. She turns 9 months old today and her 9th tooth is coming in already!

Old Farm & Sunset

2009-03-31T19:39:00.004-04:00

Someone we know owns this old farm. They don't live in the house, but I think it's been in their family for many years. We drove by it today and I just had to take some photos! I took them with my cell phone, in the rain to boot, so the pix aren't that great but I wanted to share them nonetheless.

This old wagon sits in the side yard.

In the barn, I saw the remains of this old rocking chair and old linolium flooring.

This sign was in the barn too. I have no idea what a sea oat is, but I loved the sign!

Outside the old barn

Another old wagon. This one is in the back yard

Old railroad ties rack hanging at the back door.

This is sitting on the front porch

Light fixture at front door.

I took the sunset pic a few nights ago here at home. This is overlooking a neighbors field. Took this with my cell phone too.

Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-03-26T18:59:00.004-04:00

FOR TODAY March 26, 2009...

Outside my window...things look so much clearer because my niece cleaned the windows, storm windows and screens today! Makes me want to sing the Sunday School song, "Let the sunshine in...face it with a grin...smilers never lose and frowners never win..." lol

I am thinking...that having my 23 year old niece here this week to help me catch up on housecleaning and things has given this tired mom of an 8 month old very busy baby girl a much needed boost!

I am thankful for...my Godly husband. I am blessed beyond measure to have him. We'll celebrate our 16th anniversary July 3.

From the kitchen...the dishwasher running and sparkling clean countertops, all done by my hubby as I napped this evening!

I am wearing...my comfy red white & blue pajamas

I am creating...my baby's first scrapbook

I am going...out for dinner in a few minutes with hubby & baby.

I am reading... "Love Letters" by 4 authors compiled into one book...plus lots of gardening magazines!

I am hoping...I can fit into the bridesmaid outfit that I have to wear in May!

I am hearing...the song "The Scarlet Purple Robe" by southern gospel group The Lewis Family. My little one sleeps to that. It is on repeat 24/7. It's a song about Jesus Christ "who wears a crown of thorns blood stained red and a scarlet purple robe." As a newborn, this song was often the only thing to calm my screaming baby!

Around the house...are my baby's toys...I think there's a little something of hers in each room!

One of my favorite things...is blogging. I love to blog and read others thoughts as well.

A few plans for the rest of the week: catch up on laundry, catch up on pen pals, go to church on Sunday.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...

My niece Hannah and my little one Ryleigh
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Visit the Simple Woman's Daybook here
to learn how to get your own Daybook

Spring Cleaning

2009-03-25T17:10:00.006-04:00

My 23 year old niece Hannah is here all this week. She is helping me declutter & clean the house. WOOHOO!! With an 8 month old baby, it seems like I don't get much done these days! lol

She's on her way with a truckload to the Goodwill. We've hauled a ton of stuff out to the garage. I think we've pretty much got the decluttering done, so now the cleaning begins. Yehaw! lol

She's been helping me so much with Ryleigh too. I've had a couple naps this week and I've had a shower 2 days in a ROW!!!!! LOL

We bought Ry a high chair and Hannah put that together for us too.

Fred's been taking advantage of the warmer weather and has been doing some landscaping in front of our living room window. It's a 79 foot space across the front of the living room and around the porch. Here's the start of the project:

I'm so anxious to plant things in it! We can't plant until after Mother's Day around here, but that will be here before we know it! Ahhhhhhh!!!! My very first Mother's Day...at 38 years old! Er...young! LOL

One Hot Mama

2009-03-22T18:05:00.002-04:00

I recently found this picture of my mom. It was taken in 1979. I was 8 so she would have been 34. She looks pretty cute in her little white pants! LOL Mom is now almost 63. Where does time go???

Zinged up my front doors...

2009-03-18T12:28:00.003-04:00

We have a big covered front porch and have two 'front' doors. They were both the same color as the siding...gray...and blended in so much that they were blah.

So...since it was 74* yesterday, I zinged up the doors by painting them to match our shutters! I love how they turned out!

I want to sweep the porch real good before I put the rugs back down.

For Sale or Trade

2009-03-16T17:33:00.007-04:00

I have two HUGE dolls that I'd like to sell or trade. I paid about $50 each for them, so I think I'd like to get $25 each, plus shipping. They are quite heavy, so I think shipping would be about $20-$22 for both in the same box. However, if you only want one, just let me know.

The first one is a black doll that is about 35" tall. Her face, hands & feet are stiffened & grubbied.
She has yarn braids. She is holding a pineapple and she's wearing a cheesecloth apron. She's got bog 'ol feet! lol Stitched nose & mouth

This next doll is about 28" tall. She has a stitched nose & huge lips! lol Wooden button prim necklace.Her dress is blue & burgundy & tan. Tan & burgundy homespun bloomers.

For this pic below, I opened the tape measure to 1 foot so you can get a picture in your mind of how tall they are. They both have sand in their bottoms so they sit up on their own. =)

I am open to selling them together OR separate. I'm also willing to trade. Things I like include:

Stamping & scrapbooking supplies
Cricut cartridges
Altered art items
LOTS of things....I'll have to do some thinking and add to the list! lol
CANDLES! I LOVE candles! lol

I found two more things to sell or trade! lol

The above is a print of prim raggedys! No frame...just a print. I have two.
I'll take $5 for each, which includes shipping. Unless you want the dolls above too, then I'll take $2 per print. Make sense? lol The prints are 1 foot wide and 5" tall.

Here's a smaller framed version. It's 9.25" X 5.25", frame included. $7, which includes postage. If I include it in a box with the doll(s), price is $3.50.
Buy or trade!

Spring at Target!

2009-03-16T15:53:00.005-04:00

I needed to get out of the house today so baby Ry and I walked around Target. We found ourselves in the Easter section and ooooooo the colors of spring were all around us! I couldn't resist taking some pix w/ my cell phone!

Bring on the springtime!!

Question about sewing

2009-03-13T16:31:00.006-04:00

There's something I want for Ryleigh but don't want to pay a ton of money for...so I went and bought myself some fabric and a sewing machine! I'm not gonna tell you what it is I'm making....I'll be posting pix!! LOL

My question is....what's the trick to getting your thread to go smoothly on the bobbin? I think I wasted half a spool of thread yesterday trying to get it right!
I continued to hold the tail end of the thread while the bobbin was spinning the new thread on. Am I supposed to let go of it? I tried to go slow and easy on the foot pedal, but....lol
All the thread ends up at the bottom of the bobbin in a big wad. Help! I "sew" have no clue what I've doing! hahaha
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Additional Pic:OK, see how terrible the thread is on the bobbin? Also, see how horrible the stitches are on the piece of fabric? The piece you see is the underside of my project. Is this happening because the bobbin is such a mess?
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Justina has been kind enough to send me personal emails about my sewing mess, so I'm going to share them here in case anyone else needs help. Or, maybe it's just me?? LOL
I mean, have you ever seen such a mess of thread?? I was so exasperated yesterday, that I got up from the table where I'm "sewing", walked into the kitchen to get something...came back to the sewing table and realized I'd strung thread somehow from one room to the other and back!! The hubby comes home and walks into something in the "air" and says "What in the world??" yep, it was a web of tangled pink thread from the dining room to the kitchen. I mean, Really! Am I the only one talented enough to use up a whole spool of thread in like, 15 minutes?? Then, later, hubby walks around with a trail of pink thread stuck to his shoe like toilet paper! hahahaha
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Justina wrote: Yikes! I'd say unravel all that thread and start over... Yes the underside may look like that because your bobbin is a HUGE (I may say) MESS! LOL! When you get it all nice looking on the bobbin, try again. If it still looks like that you may have to adjust the tension. send me a pic of the sewing machine.. the tension is most likely a knob on the front with numbers. I always have mine set at 3. Also when you put your bobbin in it's holder that goes underneath the needle plate thingie.. take the thread and guide it through (it should kind of slip underneath a metal clip thingie:0) make sure you give your thread a tug. The bobbin should turn counter clockwise. :0) confused yet?

OK- I've made a beautiful bobbin full of thread, thanks to guiding the thread on with my left hand. I adjusted the tension on the bobbin holder thingie per the instructional manuel. I adjusted the top thread tension as well. I STILL get the wads of thread on the bottom of the fabric!!! HELP!

A more serious post...

2009-03-09T23:02:00.004-04:00

If you're not in the mood for a more serious post, just pass this post right on by! lol

As a child, I had very severe leg pains. I was finally diagnosed with juvenile arthritis, but for a long time we were told it was "growing pains". I remember being 5, 6 and 7 and lying in bed, writhing in pain while my mom rubbed my legs. The 24 hours before a storm were the worse. Still to this day I have horrible leg pain a day or two before a T-storm comes.

Growing pains are, well, very painful sometimes.

For years now, every time I pray, somewhere in my prayer I say, "Lord, create within me a clean heart. Renew within me a right spirit. Make me more like You." I never ever pray without saying this, a tiny bit out of habit but more so out of a sincere desire to be pure in heart and to be Christ-like.

Little did I know that praying to be more Christ-like would cause such growing pains.

A few years ago, we found ourselves in a situation that was clothed in turmoil in many different ways. Some at the surface, some under the surface. We held on as long as we could and then began praying for God to remove us from this situation because the people causing the turmoil had no intentions of changing. We prayed to be removed from the situation. God said no. We continued serving and continued asking. In the meantime, this person causing the turmoil wrecked havoc in many ways that affected many people. As I prayed for this person, I prayed about the qualities in this person that I did NOT like (no one did!) and it was like God turned His mirror around, so that I could see into it. And after praying for this other person and all these things in this persons life that I didn't like, I looked up into the mirror and I saw myself. WHAT?? I expected to see this other person, not myself!! I wasn't praying about me! And as I looked into that "mirror" I saw so many of the qualities in my own life that I didn't like in the other person's life! And the growing pains began.

As I began to pray about these things in my own life and make a concentrated effort to change, the pain was great. It was unexpected. It hurt my feelings. It shook me up. But, I had, after all prayed hundreds of times, "Lord, make me more like You."

This continued on for 3 years until finally, the Lord removed us from the situation. And even though we're removed from it, the pain still lingers.

The time since has been filled with pain as we try to sort out things in our minds and hearts of the why's and how's and wish we could've's and so forth. It's going to take time. Sometimes we say in frustration that we should have just removed ourselves from the situation, but then we recall that we prayed about it and God said to stay and so, we take comfort in the fact that we were obedient.

I heard something today on the radio that really helped me. A lady said, "God doesn't waste your pain. Something will come out of your pain that gives Him honor!"

This lady said 3 years ago, she lost her farmer husband of 46 years in a tragic accident. He died in a grain bin. She said one thing she's learned through this tragedy is that God will not waste the pain we go through. He will use it for His glory.

Once again, I find someone in my life who has some real issues that are affecting everyone and everything. This person is the way he/she is because of pain from the past, but my goodness, it makes life difficult now. And, once again, as I pray for the things in this person's life that are causing the pain and that are the results of the pain, I find myself looking back into that same old mirror and seeing things I didn't want to see in myself and the growing pains start all over again.

But this time, I'll go through the pain remembering that He won't let me feel these growing pains for nothing and maybe in a little while, I'll be just a little more like Him.
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Our assistant pastor, Tim Pedigo wrote a song that sort of became a prayer of mine over a decade ago. It's called "Make me in Your image". The lyrics are:

Looking in the mirror of Your Word it's plain to see
That I don't always measure up to what I should be
I take a few steps forward and it seems I'm gaining ground
So easily I falter and again I'm falling down
Lord I want to be a witness and I want to prove I'm strong
But I find each day the strength I have comes from you alone
So I give myself away
Lord, do what You must do
Take my life and make me more like You.

Chorus-
Make me in Your image
Wash me white as snow
Purify this heart of mine
Lord, I'm giving You control
Let me be a vessel
One that's worthy to be used
Make me in Your image, Lord, make me more like You

Help me to look forward
With my eyes upon the prize
And keep Your holy purpose always focused in my mind.
Help me catch the vision of what You would have me be
And realize I'm not just here to fulfill my hopes and dreams
I give up my ambitions for the cause I've found in You
I willingly laid down my life for what You've have me do
So with all my heart I say
Do what only you can do
Take my life and make me more like you

Make me in Your image
Wash me white as snow
Purify this heart of mine
Lord, I'm giving You control
Let me be a vessel
One that's worthy to be used
Make me in Your image, make me more like You

Take all my treasures
Make my heart new
I just want to be more like You

Make me in Your image
Wash me white as snow
Purify this heart of mine
Lord, I'm giving You control
Let me be a vessel
One that's worthy to be used
Make me in Your image, Lord, make me more like You

A minister put together a one man drama set to this song. You can see it here: video
The minister doing the drama is Terry Vik. The man singing is my assistant Pastor, Tim Pedigo.

Time away & A Giveaway & A Selling Blog!!

2009-03-03T18:10:00.015-05:00

Hubby, baby & I went away for a couple days to Nashville, IN. It's about 2 hours south of us. It isn't far from where I grew up. It's an artist village full of fantastic shops!

The motel or "inn" we stayed in was a place we've stayed before. We had a separate living room and kitchen, so because of the extra space we had, we invited my mom, sister and Grandpa up to see us on Sunday afternoon. They hadn't seen Ryleigh since Christmas, so it was a lot of fun!

Then, the next day I surprised my mom by showing up at her apartment in Bloomington so that she could see Ryleigh again. Grandpa was there. He is 95, I believe. Here he is with my baby girl, his great-granddaughter. He always says she's a "cute little feller!" lol

Grandpa is my last living grandparent. He is a WWII Navy veteran. He has the funniest sense of humor!!

The above table and chairs is the exact spot hubby and I had our first date...it was in September 1991! It's at a little restaurant in Nashville and we ate there again today. AHHH...the memories!! That first date, we sat there for 3 hours...talking and talking and talking. It was wonderful! Right afterwards, we took a horse and carriage ride around town.
This July, we'll celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary!

The above photo is of the outside of my favorite shop in Nashville. It's called Michael's Flower Shop. I'm always SO inspired when I go in there. It's a total sensory overload experience that never fails to encourage and inspire me. This photo was taken on the side of the shop. There's a little trail that wonders around back.

This is the countertop at Michael's! They cut out photos from magazines and redo the counter every season! This is only a small portion of it! It's FAB!

A small glimpse of a section in Michael's.

Stacks and stacks of quilts in Michael's.

Loved these dark red pieces in Michael's.

Some Easter goodies in Michaels

Loved the sun coming in through the window. The sun just made these glass bottles and vases sing!

A snowman corner in Michael's.

Prim stitcheries all lined up

This corner held an eclectic mix of things. I couldn't resist taking a photo of this bright and funky chandelier!

Another bright chandelier mixed in with some Easter goodies

A corner of prim/country Raggedies

The front entrance to the shop

My Michael's purchase: a wool penny rug and ornament:

The photo below is of the Story Inn. It was built in 1851. It still serves FABULOUS food! Please take a minute and read about the Inn here

The next 2 pix are the outside of another favorite shop. It was closed so I didn't get
to go in this trip.

Next 3 pix were taken outside the General Store.

We always eat at the Artist Colony Inn. The decor is awesome! We sat by the roaring fire and by the window shown below in the second photo.

As always, we had a wonderful time away. But, it's always good to come home!
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Making Lemonade Design Team has an awesome giveaway going on! Check it out here!
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And, my final piece of news for the day is I've started a selling blog! I'll be closing my web site in a day or so and I'll be listing my items on my selling blog. It's called Peterson Creek Mercantile. I hope you'll check it out!

Birthday Sale today!

2009-02-27T10:20:00.002-05:00

Today, February 27, is my birthday and I'm celebrating by giving you a 27% off coupon to use today only at my site, www.PetersonCreekPrimitives.com

No limits! No minimums!! use coupon code: BIRTHDAY

Tomorrow will be the last day for my web site, so I'll hope you'll have a chance to stop by and see if there's anything you'd like to have before it's gone!

Update on surgery

2009-02-26T14:17:00.002-05:00

I talked with my surgical nurse yesterday morning and based on just hearing how bad I sounded, she agreed I was too sick to have the surgery Monday morning. The DR called me in some antibiotics and I started those yesterday as well.

I'm getting a lot of grief from people around here who think I need to do the surgery NOW. But, it's my choice and everyone else will just have to deal with it! LOL

Don't know what to do

2009-02-24T22:13:00.003-05:00

My hysterectomy is scheduled for this coming Monday.

I'm just not sure. About having the surgery right now, I mean. I know I need it and I'm having some mild pain in my right ovary, as usual.

But, I have been sick for over 2 weeks with a bronchitis/sinus infection mixture and I just don't feel well.

When I had all my ovarian procedures done in August 2007, I breezed through the surgery. I went into the surgery with some sinus problems and within a couple days of the surgery, the sinus problems got so much worse. My temp spiked to 102*. At first they thought it was a surgical infection. I was out of my head and thought I would die. I was so sick. I get the worst sinus and ear infections known to man. After allergy testing, it was determined I'm allergic to 33 things!

Now here I am facing surgery again and having more sinus problems. I was even supposed to have sinus surgery a year ago but didn't because I was so traumatized by the sickness I had in 8/07.

I called my DR yesterday to get some antibiotics, but they never called back. There were out of the office today. I called my OB/GYN that's doing my surgery today for the meds, left a message with the nurse; no one ever called back.

All this just adds to the anxiety I have felt since scheduling this surgery.

Hubby has already taken vacation time next week in anticipation of my surgery.

I don't know what to do. I'm not usually someone who doesn't have peace about something...one way or the other, but this time, I have none.

Goodies!!!

2009-02-22T22:08:00.005-05:00

I have been SO blessed with goodies lately!! I won Char's stove top cover. I chose the primitive black one, since all my appliances are black, etc. The photos I took don't do the cover justice and my apologies to Char! It's just gorgeous and I know my SISTER is going to try to talk me right out of it when she sees it!!! LOL

Please check out Char's blog at http://charsethman.blogspot.com/ and her etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6150762 You'll want one of everything!

And then, Justina had my name in a Valentine's Swap and WOOHOO! I got some awesome goodies! Again, this pic doesn't do the things justice!
She stitched up 2 of the cutest prim dolls (LoVe the square head nail used as a nose on the wallhanging Raggedy!)...she even stitched up a little sampler with my baby girl's name on it! LOVE it! The yummy smelling candle is to die for! Her hand-drawn card is so kewl! What you won't find here is a picture of the Dove chocolate bar...as that's Loooooong gone! LOL

Thank you Char & Justina, for making me feel so special! Prim hugs to you both!

Helping, daddy's way

2009-02-17T02:07:00.001-05:00

If you're in the mood for a good laugh, head over to my baby blog to read how helpful my hubby was tonight:

http://mydaisybelle.blogspot.com/

Catching up

2009-02-13T16:58:00.003-05:00

An early Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!! I hope everyone has a great day!

We're not gonna do anything special, I don't think. I have been SO sick this week. I'm one step away from full-blown bronchitis and am taking prescription meds. I have coughed til I thought my throat would bleed and my head would explode! UGH! Baby Ryleigh is sick too and hubby has a sore throat. So, I'm sure we'll do everyone a favor and stay home on Valentine's Day! lol

I am, at least, sitting up today and moving around a bit. Big improvement.

We usually don't do Valentine's Day in a big way as far as buying gifts. My hubby does sweet things for me all year so I can't see having him pay $70 for a dozen roses, you know? I mean, on Feb. 15, those same roses will cost $16.99!

Now that we have a little one, I'm sure we'll step it up as far as doing special things on 2/14 in the future. Do you have any special Valentine traditions you share with your children? Like heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast? lol I hope to create a lot of wonderful traditions for Ryleigh. If you haven't checked it out in a while (or never!) my adoption blog is at www.mydaisybelle.blogspot.com/ The name Daisy Belle was my great-grandmother's name and she was awesome! lol She died in the late 70's at nearly 100 years old. She loved to chew 'baccy! lol Anyway, I hope you'll check out my other blog to see our beautiful baby girl!

All that snow we had is gone, finally. We had several days of warmer weather this week, including some T-storms and tornadoes! A tornado touched down about 7 miles from here! We didn't even know about it until a co-worker of hubby's (Chris) texted him and said his uncle's barn had been hit by a tornado. Thankfully, none of Chris's family were hurt!

Well, I'm gonna take another Benadryl and hopefully get some sleep!

Free Giveaway

2009-02-07T16:47:00.001-05:00

Stop by http://imjustaguywhoquilts.blogspot.com/ and go to the Feb. 1st post to sign-up for a chance to win these free giveaways! Awesome!

Bummed...

2009-02-05T15:10:00.002-05:00

I'm feeling bummed this afternoon.

I mentioned in a post in December that I went to my DR for severe abdominal pain and he did the CT scan immediately and it came back fine. Then, he did a colonoscopy and it came back fine, for the most part.

Last week, he sent me to the OB/GYN who did my surgery in August 2007 (uterine ablation, tubal, d & C, drilled 50 holes in my ovaries to relieve the pressure from the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome cysts) and.... I need a hysterectomy. The intense pain is possibly from scar tissue on my ovaries from the cysts. He said because I can't take hormones due to blood clot risks, he would take my right ovary and my uterus, leaving the left ovary so that I wasn't thrown into menopause.

I don't have the pain all the time, but when it hits, it's debilitating. I can't stand straight, can't walk or sit, can't take care of my baby...it's a burning, searing pain that takes my breath away. I take 800-1000MG of pain meds at a time to get relief.

I've had a couple of episodes of the pain since I saw the OB/GYN and so I figure I need to go ahead and have the surgery. I don't want to. I hate surgery.

It's scheduled for March 2. I go for pre-op Feb. 26, the day before I turn 38.

They're going to use the da Vinci robot to do the surgery, so I'll only have to spend one night in the hospital if all goes as planned.

Not sure why I'm so bummed...it's not like I didn't already lose my ability to possibly have children in Aug. 2007 with the surgeries I had then.

I don't know. It's just one of those things.

Fun (??) in the snow & the letter L

2009-02-04T21:20:00.004-05:00

I tho't our mailbox was in a bad way yesterday or a couple days ago...whenever I took those pix in my previous post. We got another half foot of snow yesterday on top of what we already had and then the snow plow came by...
When we came home this afternoon from eating out, I told hubby it'd be fun to "play" in the snow in our side yard, so we went a couple rounds...then got stuck! You can't really tell it, we were on an incline, leaning left.

I was sitting in the truck, looking towards our house

Hubby has an older 4 wheel drive truck that he was using to try to pull this truck out with. I was in the new truck. I ended up further down into the trees!

Branches smashed against the window

Then we tried the 4 wheeler. Nothing. Then, he got our neighbor who has a big Dodge Ram with big tires. Nothing. This guy even got stuck in our yard. So, they went and got another neighbor who has a Bobcat. The Bobcat was able to pull the truck out after clearing out a lot of the snow. It took almost 3 hours to get unstuck...all for 2 minutes of fun in the snow!! lol
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I enjoyed reading Birgit's list of things she is thankful
( http://theprimitivecountrybug.blogspot.com/ ) for that begin with the letter "N" and she's given me the challenge of coming up with 10 things that begin with "L" that I'm thankful for...

1. LOVE...The love of God and the love of my husband has brought so much healing to my life through the years. Unconditional love is a priceless gift. And, there is no greater love than the love of God.

2. Library...I lOvE my library! Going there on a weekly basis is for me like a vacation or a shopping spree! LoVe it! I read daily...or I did until my little one came along and made me a sleep-deprived zombie! lol

3. Laughter...is better than any medicine! I love to laugh and I love to hear my hubby and baby girl laugh too!

4. Life...I'm so thankful to be alive! Many years ago, I lived in such turmoil and emotional pain that I didn't care if I lived or not. That was before I knew God personally. Not only did He help me in this life, He gave me NEW life!

5. Liberty...I'm so thankful to live in a country where I have basic freedoms that people in other countries couldn't fathom having.

6. Labrador Retrievers...I'm so thankful for my black lab, Snoopy. For over a decade, he filled a void in my heart when I couldn't have children. Once, my allergies were so bad, the DR said Snoopy had to go. All I said to the DR was, "But he's my only child" The DR nodded his head and never said a word, as he'd walked down the painful infertility pathway with us. Snoopy stayed. So did my allergies. lol

Snoopy was 4 weeks old when we found him along the highway. He fit in the palm of my hand. He's over 12 years old now.

7. Land...we have 5.5 acres of rolling hills, woods...beautiful land! I love to mow, plant flowers, plow snow...you name it!

8. Leaves...in autumn! Love the colors, the smells, the crunch under foot when I kick up a path walking through the deep fallen leaves

9. Learning....I'm so thankful for the ability to learn about new things. I love to learn about historical things such as the wagon trains that moved westward, the Underground Railroad, folks that lived in the Smoky Mountains and Appalachians in the late 1800's and carved a life out of the land. I love to learn about God's goodness. I love to learn new recipes. I love to learn, learn, learn! lol
I live less than one hour from the Levi Coffin Home: A part of the legendary Underground Railroad for fleeing slaves of pre-Civil War days, this registered National Historic Landmark is a Federal style brick home built in 1839.

Levi and Catharine Coffin were legendary in helping many former slaves escape to freedom in the North. Levi is often referred to as the President of the Underground Railroad.
Levi & his wife helped over 2000 slaves escape slavery by hiding them in their home.

Escaping slaves were well hidden for their travels in this wagon when grain bags were piled around the hiding area.

Escaping slaves could be hidden in this small upstairs room and the beds moved in front of the door to hide its existence.

10. Lighthouses... I'm fascinated with lighthouses and their keepers. How lonely it must be for a lightkeeper. I'm thankful for the guiding light they provide though. I have 4 navy men in my family...from WW2 to present day. I wonder if they've ever needed the guiding light of a light house?

We saw this lighthouse in Michigan while on a boat on Lake Erie:

The next 2 pix are of the last lighthouse we saw (2006?) and it's the Marblehead Lighthouse in Ohio. Beautiful!! We even drove a few miles away and saw the old lightkeepers home.

Marblehead Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse in continuous operation on the Great Lakes, has guided sailors safely along the rocky shores of Marblehead Peninsula since 1822.

In 1819, the fifteenth U. S. Congress recognized the need for navigational aides along the Great Lakes, and set aside $5,000 for construction of a light tower at the entrance to Sandusky Bay. Contractor William Kelly built the 50-foot tower of native limestone on the tip of the Marblehead Peninsula. The base of the tower is 25 feet in diameter, with walls five feet thick. It narrows to twelve feet at the top with two-foot thick walls.

Through history, fifteen lighthouse keepers, two of whom were women, have tended the beacon. The first keeper was Benajah Wolcott, a Revolutionary War veteran and one of the first settlers on the peninsula. He and his family lived in a small stone home on the Sandusky Bay side of the peninsula. Each night, he lit the wicks of the thirteen whale oil lamps that were the original light fixture. Sixteen-inch-diameter metal reflectors helped project the light across the lake. Other duties of the lighthouse keeper included keeping a log of passing ships, noting the weather conditions, and organizing rescue efforts. Upon Wolcott's death in 1832, his wife, Rachel, took over these duties.

The whale oil lamps were replaced in 1858 by the light from a single kerosene lantern magnified by a Fresnel lens. This specialized, curved glass lens created a highly visible, fixed white light.

You can read more at http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/marblehead/tabid/763/Default.aspx
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So, that's my list of things I'm thankful for that start with "L". If you'd like to give it a go, leave me a comment and I'll send you a randomly chosen letter for you to create your own list!

Our Mailbox today

2009-02-02T22:53:00.001-05:00

We have to dig out the area in front of the box almost daily!

More snowy pix

2009-01-29T15:12:00.005-05:00

We got just over a foot of snow yesterday, which resulted in a Snow Emergency for our county. Ryleigh and I stayed in all day, but today, we got out for a few minutes. I can only go so long without a fountain Diet Pepsi, you know! lol

I'd turned into our driveway and our house is barely visible in the distance

Across the road from our house

Snowplow nearly buried the neighbor's mailbox. At least the box is still attached to the post! lol

Our road today

The road has almost drifted shut again. I wish the sun had been shining.

Neighbor's critters

'Nother view of our road

Snowed in

2009-01-28T14:03:00.002-05:00

We have just over a foot of snow!

Looking out our window this morning

Looking down the hill in our front yard

Our buried fence on the left, which is at the top of our drive, near the garage and looking out at our long driveway along the left treeline

Snowy Scenes from my neck of the woods

2009-01-18T14:08:00.005-05:00

Picture above was taken at a park near us

I took this picture while standing in our garage, looking out at our long driveway. It was snowing very hard.

I took this pic standing in our driveway, looking towards the west side of our front yard.

The road we live on. We live just over the hill you see in the distance

Another pic taken at the park

You can't see the details in this pic, but the stone bridge in the park is so awesome! The stream under the bridge was frozen and snow covered and you could see little animal prints right on top of the frozen stream bed

That's when the fight started...

2009-01-16T18:16:00.000-05:00

A friend sent me this and I loved it!

My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels.
She asked, 'What's on TV?'
I said, 'Dust.'
And then the fight started...
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary.
She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3
seconds.'
I bought her a scale.
And then the fight started...

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace
expensive... so, I took her to a gas station.
And then the fight started...

------------ --------- --------- --------- ------

I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my
order first.
"I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please."
He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?""
"Nah, she can order for herself."
And then the fight started...

------------ --------- --------- ---

A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror.
She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband, 'I feel
horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.'
The husband replies, 'Your eyesight's darn near perfect.'
And then the f ight started.....

------------ --------- --------- ------

I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95.
Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95.
I told her the beer would make her look better at night than the cold
cream.
And then the fight started....

------------ --------- --------- --------- -----

My wife asked me if a certain dress made her butt look big. I told her
not as much as the dress she wore yesterday
and then the fight started.....

------------ --------- --------- --------- ------

I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary? "
It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation.
"Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said.
So I suggested, "How about the kitchen?"
And that's when the fight started....

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- ----

My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have sex?"
"No," she answered.
I then said, "Is that your final answer?"
She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying "Yes."
So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."
And that's when the fight started....

I won!! Thank you, Char!!

2009-01-13T19:25:00.003-05:00

I can't tell you how excited I am to have won Char's stove top cover!! WOOHOO!!!!

I chose the distressed black color, since my appliances are black and my counter-tops are black with flecks of color in them.

Head over to The Pickled Pepper Patch to see what I won!!
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/21298477

While you're there, check out the awesome primitives wares Char makes and sells!

Love this!

2009-01-13T19:20:00.000-05:00

The Lord is my Shepherd ----- that's a Relationship!
I shall not want ----- that's Supply!
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures ----that's Rest!
He leadeth me beside the still waters -----that's Refreshment!
He restoreth my soul ----- that's Healing!
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness --that's Guidance!
For His name sake ----- that's Purpose!
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death--that's Testing!
I will fear no evil ----- that's Protection!
For Thou art with me ----- that's Faithfulness!
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me -----that's Discipline!
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine
enemies------that's Hope!
Thou annointest my head with oil ----- that's Consecration!
My cup runneth over ----- that's Abundance!
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of
my life----that's Blessing!
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord -----that's Security!
Forever ----- that's Eternity!

Christmas at our house 2008

2009-01-06T18:15:00.001-05:00

Digital Scrapbooking Questions

2009-01-01T16:52:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking about dipping my toe into the world of digital scrapbooking. I know nothing...or almost nothing...about it! I'd love to hear from you if you'd tried it...whether you like it or you don't.

I don't have a printer that would print a 12X 12 page, so where would I be able to print my pages out? Even if I create the pages online, I'd want to print them out and put them in an album, I am almost certain. I'm wondering if scrapbook stores have printers large enough to print out pages from my media disk?

I'd love to hear your opinions & knowledge of this creative outlet. Thank you!

HappY New Year!

2008-12-31T23:31:00.002-05:00

I want to wish all of you a very happy, blessed 2009!! Aren't we all ready for a new year, a fresh start?? I know I sure am!

I am so thankful for each one of you! Here's to fun and friendship in 2009!

How can we explain such a man?

2008-12-25T21:32:00.001-05:00

A baby asleep in a manger, yet He is the Savior of the world. A man who drove merchandisers from the temple, yet He willingly laid down His life for the same. The King of all kings Who came to die as a lamb. The One who owned it all yet laid it all aside. How can we explain such a man? We can't. We must stand in awe and worship Him.

--Marie Norton

Merry Christmas from the Petersons!

2008-12-24T22:45:00.002-05:00

Long week

2008-11-27T17:42:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone! I've been absent for a while...I broke a finger and have been having a hard time typing! lol My hubby's truck is kind of tall...or I'm kind of short?? and I was trying to get into the truck and rammed my finger into the door hard enough I saw stars. It's been in a splint that makes life difficult. LOL Trying to change my baby's diaper has been both frustrating and amusing!

Earlier this week my hubby's last living grandparent, Grandma Peterson, passed away. She would have been 90 on December 18. The funeral was last night, about 2 hours away from us. Then, her burial is in Michigan tomorrow.

It's been a tough week. Some things happened with family and we ended up staying at home today for Thanksgiving. Not out of spite or anger. We just couldn't please everyone at the same time and my hubby said we just wouldn't go anywhere and we'd just stay home and rest. And we did. Seeing as how this happened at the last minute, I didn't have a turkey thawed or anything as we weren't having our dinner until Saturday, but we're not hosting one now since Grandma's passing and the burial being 7 hours away, etc.

So, because of the things that transpired yesterday that caused so much hurt, I sat up well after midnight sobbing. You know, I've spent most of my adult life trying to please everyone around me, to my own expense. I don't do that anymore, as it nearly destroyed my health in various ways, and now I'm paying the price for not pleasing everyone else.

I've cried until I don't think I can cry anymore and prayed about it and I'm trying to have a nice holiday with my hubby & baby girl. For our Thanksgiving meal, I had chicken strips from McDonald's and hubby had a chicken salad sandwich from Wal-mart cause he didn't want McD's. I don't want to feel sorry for myself, but I kind of do. My chicken wasn't that good! LOL

I've poured myself a tall Diet Pepsi, wadded my hair up in a clippy and I'm going to start dragging out the Christmas decor. Yes, I think I will.

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

PS- We're so thankful for our very own miracle through adoption!!
Ryleigh's first Thanksgiving:

Daddy's Girl

Mad at Wal-mart...lol

2008-11-18T17:04:00.005-05:00

Has anyone else noticed that Wal-mart doesn't carry as big a selection of things as they used to? The last several times I've gone there looking for something in particular, they no longer carried it.

Today I went there in need of some black embroidery floss. I went up and down all the craft aisles at least twice. When I asked about it, the lady said they stopped carrying it over a year ago and would not carry it again. Huh?? They used to carry a rainbow of those 20 cent things of floss. She also told me they were doing away with their fabric department! I asked if they would still keep all the other crafty things like yarn, beads and so forth. She said they would be keeping some of the smaller items but not all.

New Castle is a small town. What makes me so mad about Wal-mart cutting back on their offerings is that in the past couple of years or so, in part thanks to the Super Wal-mart, Ben Franklin closed, Big Lots, Jo-Anne Fabrics & our one and only scrapbook store have all closed. Now that all these smaller businesses have closed people rely more heavily on Wal-mart in our town as that is the ONLY store around here (we have a couple of grocery stores). I needed that floss to finish up a project but I'm not driving 20+ miles somewhere for a 20 cent thing of floss.

I've got black paint and dental floss. Do you suppose......LOL Just kidding!

If you rely on your Wal-mart for fabric, etc. you should ask next time you're in your local store if they plan to do away with their fabric department. When I told my mom, she was like "OH! They carry Elvis fabric!!" She'll prolly be hiding under the Elvis fabric display, waiting on them to mark it down!! lol

Is it just me?

2008-11-12T16:48:00.005-05:00

Is it dark and deary and wet and cold anywhere else? Is anyone else in a yucky mood besides me? lol. It's been a long week and it's only Wednesday!

I took this picture from my living room window at 4:50 PM tpday. The view is our driveway and front yard. DREARY!

I'm so thankful for our Veterans

2008-11-11T16:46:00.002-05:00

May God bless our Veteran's-those who are still living and those who gave their lives to ensure our Freedom.
My Grandpa Russell Cox is a WWII veteran and my father-in-law Fred Peterson a Vietnam Veteran. I'm so proud of them both!

Whatcha workin' on Wednesday

2008-11-05T16:49:00.007-05:00

It's been kind of a lazy day around here today. My baby girl decided to take a nice long nap late this morning, so Mommy did too!

I had my colonoscopy Monday morning. NO cancer! NO polyps! What I do have is spasms in the bowel and I've been given prescription meds for that. However, they don't seem to be working. I still have lots of pain. The DR said if they don't work, then that will help to rule out the spasms as the cause of my pain. He said I may have endometroisos and would have to undergo further testing to make sure.

So, since I haven't been feeling so chipper, I've been catching up on some paper crafts. I made these cards below for a card swap. I usually don't make cards that aren't primitive or more country, but I got a great deal on some card kits last year after Christmas. These kits were originally from Target and I got them at Goodwill for 49 cents for 10 cards & envies!

Also last year, I bought 4 huge punch-out kits at an after-Christmas sale and I thought I might as well do something with them. lol It took about 4 hours total to punch out all the pieces from all 4 12 X 12 kits. I enjoyed the time though. I did one or two kits a day while catching up on my Dr. Phil episodes. lol This mess on the floor is just from one kit!

Some of the larger pieces were pillow boxes, Chinese take-out boxes, cards and other types of containers.

Some of the pieces from 2 kits!

Last night and this morning I made 50 gift card containers. Our church sells gift cards as a fundraiser all year long, so I plan to donate all these containers to them to sell along with the gift cards. Our church is in a multi-million dollar building program, hence the fundraisers.

A couple weeks ago I painted an old cabinet & a rocking chair black. Here's some new photos:

The black cabinet houses our trashcan, brooms, mops, bulk paper towels, trash bags, etc.

It's kind of a unique set-up. Our kitchen is on the right of the small wall, the dining room to the left. Our kitchen has tons of counters and cabinets. We have 37 cabinets & drawers! It's wonderful! But, there's no empty wall space in the kitchen, so there's no place for the trash can, etc. Things might look weird in the pic, but it really does look nice in person and the flow is good.

Election Day

2008-11-04T19:20:00.000-05:00

I hope you exercised your right to vote today! We went to vote about 8 AM. We live in a rural area and the wait was less then 10-15 minutes. I think there were 8 people in front of me.

The news on TV is saying that some people in Indianapolis have waited 5 hours in line to vote. Would I wait that long?? I don't know. I can't imagine I would stand in line that long. Maybe if they gave me a chair? lol Would you wait that long to vote?

I propose a new candidate for President! She certainly gets Mommy and Daddy's votes!

2008-10-30T02:28:00.003-04:00

My DR's office called Wednesday afternoon and have moved my colonoscopy up to this coming Monday because they had a cancellation. I'm kind of glad so that I can't get it done and over with. I go to the DR at 1 PM today to meet with the surgical nurse and get my pre-op stuff. Yehaw. lol

Ryleigh (my 17 week old baby girl) hasn't been sleeping much at night this week and I've been so exhausted! My DH had the afternoon off so I beggd for a nap! I laid done about 4:30 or 5:00 and woke up at midnight!! That would be why I'm blogging at 2:30 AM! lol

We met my in-law's today in a nearby town for lunch. While we were eating, in walked a group of 4 ladies and I screamed "LYDIA!!!" and scared everyone! LOL One of the ladies was a dear friend of 16 years that I haven't seen in at least 4 years! She and her family had moved to TN (from IN) and happened to be back up here visiting some of her family. What a FUN surprise!!!! She got to meet our little one for the first time!! We're going to try to get together tomorrow. When I screamed, my MIL said she thought I'd seen a rat! lol

Some GREAT news...my FIL went back to the oncologist yesterday for the results of a recent bone scan. The DR said the scan was 100% clear...not even a shadow on it!! Praise the Lord! So, no more chemo for this year. He goes back Dec. 16. They'll watch his PSA level and will decide on future chemo after the first of the year, I think. What a nice break for the holidays though!

Just gotta add a couple pix of our baby Ryleigh over here, even though I have a baby blog. She was 17 weeks old this Tuesday.

I'm so in love!! She just takes my breath away!

A thank you for the Autumn Giveaway

2008-10-29T11:34:00.001-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I gave away the stitched pumpkin wallhanging. I got the sweetest thanks today from the winner:

Michelle,
My gosh, I have had the worst 5 days ever. I developed a virus and it has settled in my back making things almost unbearable. I am toughing it out here at work but this thing is really taking me for a beating. If I don’t take an Alieve then I am in a lot of pain.
Well imagine my surprise when I got home yesterday and there was a package lodged in the door! I totally forgot about putting in for your free giveaway and I was so thrilled that I sat on the couch and cried! I have been feeling so miserable and that put back some joy in life again. I can’t wait to go home later & hang it up! It is even better than what the picture looked like! I can’t thank you enough for it. Jerri Sikel

Awwwwww!

Award

2008-10-27T10:20:00.002-04:00

I've received an award from Peper Creek Gatherings. Thank you!!

I'm supposed to list 6 things I love and then award this to 6 other Kreativ Bloggers.

Here goes...

1. I love the crisp air of autumn.

2. I love the smell of a campfire.

3. I love the first snowfall of winter.

4. I love my baby girl Ryleigh.

5. I love the Lord.

6. I love too many thing to just list 6! lol

Whatcha workin' on Wednesday

2008-10-22T13:40:00.003-04:00

Well, I cannot tell a lie. lol My biggest, most important project today was to take a bath!! hahaha

I am a new mom and let me tell you, for someone who loves her long soaks in the tub, this is tough!!

I tried to take a bath last night. Ten minutes into my soak, Ryleigh started screaming. Of course, it was daddy's night to work late. So, I got out, got her bathed and changed and fed, got back into the tub and was way too tired to even care so I got back out!! lol I hadn't had a shower since Sunday, but life goes on, huh?

Last Wednesday, I started working on an old cabinet. I painted it black. I'll post pix soon. While out on the porch painting the cabinet, I saw my old rocking chair that I've been meaning to paint for a while, so I painted that black too. Well, I couldn't very well not paint the little blue bench black, so I painted that too!!

This is a before pic of the rocker. It was blue w/ a prim star painted on it. Nothing wrong with the blue, etc. but it was a color scheme I used at our last home and I wanted a change.

Does anyone else get paint all over them like I do?? lol

Little blue bench I got at Goodwill for $2.99. It is now black! And, dust-free! lol

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My colonoscopy is scheduled for Nov. 17. I hope I can go that long. I was awakened last night from a dead sleep in so much pain I thought I'd have to go to the ER. It's weird how the pain isn't consistent.

Autumn scenes

2008-10-21T18:53:00.002-04:00

I love this old truck. It sits out by the highway and is used to announce the Ratliff Pine Retreat that is down the road from us. Check it out here: http://www.pineretreat.com/

I have an old pew sitting out in the back yard at the entrance to our wooded trails.

test results

2008-10-18T22:13:00.001-04:00

Thank you to everyone for all the prayers! I SO appreciate them!

My CT scan came back normal, so the next step is a colonoscopy. =(

I will know the first of the week when I go for the test.

Prayers, please. =)

2008-10-17T14:40:00.002-04:00

I went to the DR yesterday with bad abdominal pain. He ordered a CT scan and blood work STAT. I'm waiting to hear what they found out.

If I take 800 mg of pain meds, I can function, otherwise I'm in so much pain I'm bawling.

I also started antibiotics the first of Oct. for another chronic sinus infection. The meds haven't really helped much.

Please remember me in your thoughts and prayers! I'll keep you posted!

Going back home

2008-10-15T23:16:00.007-04:00

I talked about my grandparents home in a post a couple weeks ago...about how they didn't have indoor plumbing until 1981 and so on.
Read that post here: http://petersoncreekprimitives.blogspot.com/2008/09/tagged.html

I've only been back to my grandpa's house 3 or 4 times in the past 20 years. However, just a day or two after reminiscing in a blog post, we took an unexpected trip to his house to deliver a bed for him.

Nothing, nothing, nothing has changed in his house. It all looks exactly the same from my childhood in the 70's. And, it has many of the same elements as when my mom was a child in the 40's. Same floor in the kitchen, etc.

I think my husband nearly passed out while we were there (lol) and I nearly choked to death from the dust, but I was able to look beyond all the junk and be transported to my childhood days spent at this very house. We didn't have toys there-we used our imaginations! We made mudpies, slept out under the stars (tried to anyway, until we got too scared!), ate apples straight from the tree, walked in the woods, walked to cousins' houses, walked walked walked. Never thought about sitting in front of television. Speaking of television, my Grandma always kept a clothespin on the TV's electrical cord at the wall plug-in to remind herself to unplug the TV when not in use. It'd been struck by lightning once and she didn't want it to happen again. She also kept a clothespin in her car. Whenever she turned her headlights on , she put the clothespin on the "knob" so she'sd remember to turn her lights off later. Of course, that was back when you had to pull a knob to turn your lights on and the high beam thingie was on the floor and you clicked it with your foot! lol

I took lots of pictures while at Grandpa's. My mom was mortified I think because to her, all the junk represents something she never wanted to be. I think it is why she hates the primitive look. She doesn't understand why someone would intentionally distress furniture, etc. I understand her feelings. She lived in this. I just visited and had fun! lol

Before I get started on the photos, my Grandpa's father, John Crockett was the nephew of Davy Crockett! His mom, Daisy Belle Crockett was a spitfire. Short little thing that chewed 'baccy! lol She lived to be almost 100 and passed away in about 1980. My great-grandma Daisy Belle is the inspiration for the name of our adoption blog, www.mydaisybelle.blogspot.com/

My grandpa Russell (Jack) Cox meets his great-granddaughter, our little girl Ryleigh for the 1st time. Papaw said "HE's a cute little feller!" LOL

Papaw is 95. He is a World War 2 veteran, serving our country in the Navy. He still remembers the name of his ship but rarely talks about details.

The blue box sits in the living room. It used to store coal but now stores wood. He'll have it heaped up pretty soon. All his coats and hats still hang above and around the wood box.

The woodstove that sits in the middle of the living room, by the blue box.

There's a cupboard behind this old curtain. They store canned goods and things in this. I think it's the same curtain mamaw hung there in the 80's. The old door to the left of the cupboard leads to papaw's room.

The only cabinets in the kitchen. I peeked in them the other day and there's stuff in there from the 60's and 70's. Old medicine bottles, spices and so on. Ugh.

This is the wall behind the stove. Yes, I'm serious. The curtains hung in our house in the 70's and have hung in papaw's house since about 1980. They've never been taken down and washed. Double ugh. The spice rack has been there from at least the 1970's. The white thing in the bottom right corner is a calendar. There were calendars everywhere! I think this one was from 2004.

The front porch.

A string of old canning jar rings hangs from a nail on the porch.

Other stuff hanging in the porch

Still using the same phone.

Old cracker tin

This is the very sink I refered to in the previous post!

The outside of the house, looking at the front porch. In the center, you can see that dark thing leaning to the right...that's the old separator I brought home.

This window belongs to my mamaw's old room. She passed away in 1987 when I was a senior in high school. As a child, I always slept on a cot in her room when I visited. Each night, we would do the same things...rub on some Ben Gay on whatever ached and suck on Halls Menthol cough drops. LOL Then, we'd pray "Now I lay me down to sleep...: and we'd sing a few old songs. My favorites were The Mockingbird Hill, Gene Autry Songs, Patsy Cline songs & "I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill". In warm weather, we'd open this window...and I can still hear the whipporwills calling out to this very day. I rarely hear a whipporwill these days, but when I do, I'm immediately transported back to my carefree childhood days of summer spent on the little cot in Mamaw's room at night.

Here's the outhouse my mom got bit by a snake in. I think she was 14. She's now 63.

My Uncle Don lives at home. He was telling us a story about his dog chasing a skunk the day before and the skunk turning around and chasing the dog!

Remains of an old fence in their yard

I'd also mentioned in that previous post about being baptized in a horse trough at a country church. We stopped by the church. The trough was just beyond the white railing. Mom said they have a baptistry in the church now.

The back of the country church.

Going "home" last week was good for my soul. Thanks for coming along with me on the journey!

Whatcha workin' on Wednesday

2008-10-15T14:34:00.003-04:00

Well, I've always got too many projects going on at once, but my main ones are trying to figure out what to do with the separator (see an earlier post) and then re-doing this old wardrobe cabinet.

I've drug it outside on the front porch and plan to start working on it in a few. It's hot out and so humid! Ugh! It's never this warm in Oct. in Indiana! lol

I got the cabinet a few years ago. Our church was having a community day rummage sale. A friend had her booth right next to mine. She had this marked $75. I told her I loved it...and she said I could HAVE it!!! We went round and round. She said it had been in storage for eons and she just wanted it gone. WOOHOO!! Remember how people put wallpaper inside these way back when? This still had the dry brittle paper on the inside walls. The wooden rod is still there. I can't imagine this being someone's "closet"!

Anyway, I've been using it "as is" for too long now. It sits right outside my kitchen and houses the trash can, brooms, mops and other supplies.

So, I'm gonna grab me a diet Pepsi and head out to the garage to see what color paints I've got out there. I'd better have me some black! lol