Happy New Year!!!

New Years Resolutions? I try to avoid them since I tend to fail miserably at keeping them but I always find myself making little ones in my head that if I do fail, no one knows--LOL. 2007 was a good year--sure, we had our moments when I wondered, why the hell am I being punished but all in all...pretty damn good.

Accomplishment #1: My sewing business is starting to take off. I've been busy with custom orders and hope for even more with the new year. I was recently invited to join a group on ebay that is just a launch group. We will have launches 4 times a year and looking through the members...I might be getting close to making it to the big leagues. There are some designers in this group that have been doing this for quite a few years and have no problems getting $150-300 for their sets. Association with these girls...well, I just hope it helps my sales that much! I've been working so hard to get my name out there and I am thinking, I'm almost there. I have a pretty good following of repeat buyers and get new followers every time I list a new set. I love designing & sewing...I just hope I can keep doing it for as long as it is fun to me.

Another accomplishment for me this year. I finished my training this spring to be a volunteer advocate for the local domestic violence shelter. I carry a cell phone for the hotline where women (or men) can call 24/7 if they are in any kind of domestic crisis. I am continuing with more trainings & classes and really enjoy the work. I admit, its heartwrenching sometimes and frustrating when the women ends up going back to an abusive relationship but my job isn't to judge, its to be a shoulder and a helping hand when needed.

I have great kids. Thats all...no mommy bragging, just the facts. My kids have grown into respectable young adults (well, except Adalyn--LOL). I hear so often from other adults how awesome my kids are. That they are respectful to their teachers in this crazy generation of disrespect. That they are responsible....all kinds of stuff. They know the value of working for what they want. And I couldn't be prouder of them. And yes, Adalyn is a great kid too. I just get to see that more than most. She is so smart...really!!!! She knows her ABC's...not just saying them but can recognize them and spells a few words too. Can count pretty high (I lost track) and can count in Spanish to 13. You can read a book to her, and she can pretty much absorb most of it and read it back to you word for word. I have a feeling she is gonna be super bored in school...which usually means a troublemaker, right?

Then, there is Jack....what a great guy! Sure, he frustrates the hell out of me sometimes but isn't that the price you pay for having a man in your life at all??? In all seriousness though, he is so good to me. Treats me like a queen. Totally supports what I do and is my biggest fan of all my designs. I love him dearly and with all my heart. How did I luck out on that one?

Well, this is kind of a boring post, I realize as I re-read it. Blah, blah, blah....Oh well, I guess I gotta bore you all once in a while. Where I was going with this was:

Happy New Year to you all & Best Wishes towards a very prosperous 2008!!!!!!

The Wild Kitten--TAMED!

Excuse the bad hair day--lol. Adalyns "wild" kitty decided she (well, actually its a he but Adalyn insists its a girl) loves poptarts.....she got over her fear of people to eat with Adalyn.

Pic of kids!

Not the best.....but I did finally round them all up for a "Christmas" pic together. Dang--its hard to get them all in one place between school, sports, all the other things teenagers got to do--LOL.

The Great Christmas Pageant

Adalyn got to "perform" in her first Christmas program at church yesterday. Oh...how cute! She was supposed to sing "Away in the manger" with all the other kids. She knew the song...she was belting it out all week at home with some slick moves to go with it. Do you think she uttered a word yesterday morning...NOPE! The first half of the song, she even had her back to the crowd until her teacher turned her around--LOL. Oh well, thats what makes these little programs fun, right?

Oh yeah, and then, she got to see Santa after the program....this is as close as she would get to him--LOL. She said she wasn't scared of him. But just didn't feel like talking to him..she wouldn't even take the bag of goodies from him!!!

The Cat Whisperer

Hahahaha.....Jack is such a dork! He got this great idea to bring home a kitten for Adalyn the other day. Well, he found these wild kittens that he was going to catch & tame-LOL. Can you see where this is going? He caught one in a live trap but he couldn't reach the back of the cage to get it out......sooooooooooooo, he sticks his head in too so he could reach it. Well, HELLO.....wild cat and a head in a cage???? Seriously, he wasn't thinking there, now was he? So, the wild kitten attacked his face...scratched all to hell--LOL. I have visions of that crazy squirrel that jumps out of the christmas tree in National Lampoons' Christmas Vacation! Well, he brings home these two adorable little white fluffy kittens...that we can't touch without getting savagely attacked!!!!! I finally caught one (with the help of a stick and a towel) and held it wrapped up for a few hours....it calmed down alot so I get this great Jack-ish idea that it needs a bath--it is stinky, after all! Luckily, it seemed to handle the bath really well...who knew? After that, it seemed to tame down alot and as we speak....he is sleeping on my lap! Woohoo....I am the master cat whisperer--lol. The other one....he got to go back to the wild. He is just a little too crazy...we can't even catch him without alot of bloodshed!

My kid is freakin hilarious!!!!!!

I am seriously laughing so hard I have tears running down my face!!!! I'm in the kitchen doing some stuff and hear Adalyn talking about making a pie....I don't think anything of it. Just think, how cute...my little girl is playing kitchen. A few minutes later, I realize she is being SUPER quiet...so I sneak around the corner to see what she is doing.........she is in the bathroom, with a tampon (not used, thank GOD) stirring some toilet paper chunks in the toilet!!!!!!!! ROTFLMAO....I ask her what she is doing.....she is making pie, she said--LOL. So, how can I be mad at her....thats just funny stuff!!!! One of those great stories to remember to embarrass her with when we meet her first boyfriend, right? And for all of you coming to Christmas dinner.....Adalyn in bringing her latest concoction...Tampon pie :)

Yayyyy...I ran out of THREAD--LOL

Its 1 AM and I have never been so happy in my life to run out of thread!!!! This officially means that I can go to bed now and won't be able to sew my custom orders tomorrow until I get more. And the plus side of living in nowheresville???? There isn't even a quilt store in this town--WOOHOO!!!! So, until tomorrow evening when Jack gets home from work (and his quick stop at the quilt shop--which he secretly loves to do for me)...I don't have to work on orders! Well, I'm easily pleased, huh? I bet all those exes wish they had known all they had to do to make me happy was get rid of my thread--LOL. All you fellow custom designers, you totally know what I'm feeling, don't you???? I'm off to bed.....trust me, I'll be having sweet dreams of anything but sewing!

Christmas is FREAKING me out....

AAAAAAHHHHHHH...Christmas is sneaking up on me and I am STRESSING!!!! How does this happen? I always think..this year, I'm gonna be on top of things...and then, next thing you know its less than 3 weeks until Christmas and I am so not ready! I had this "great" plan to make a bunch of presents to save money on gifts...DUH, like in what spare time? I am sewing constantly to get caught up on all the orders I already have that I need to get out by next week. And then, am I gonna feel like sewing....I doubt it!!!!! And then, there is the added Christmas activities...Christmas programs, parties, and throw in an occasional basketball game..oh yes, I knew I would have time to sew gifts--lol. And Jack is back to working on Saturdays all the time again so there goes our chances to go shopping. Basically, if we don't go on this Sunday...we won't get to go. Oh well, what would Christmas be without the stress, right?