Current projects & thoughts

Not posting much lately! Just been pretty busy with the kids, and new school schedules, and getting classes changed, and the house back in order, ya know? My computer is being very glitchy lately, so I'm not uploading any photos as that seems to make it freeze and crash almost immediately. I NEED to get my butt in gear and get an external hard drive and get it backed up and then try to fix it!! So if you don't hear from me for a while, that has a lot to do with it! This is the rug i am currently working on. Working on the border, which is really a fun different border - but pretty tedious! Pulling 5 loops of dark, and then 5 loops of light, and then switching to another light... it requires THINKING!! LOL So it's slow goin! But i'm hoping to finish this one soon, and one other before my camp with Jule Marie at the end of September - so i will be ufo free! And thus more capable of freely creating! I did finish the Beaver Valley rug! (and again, because of my computer, don't have the finished picture!) I even got it bound and steamed after taking this pic!! Can you believe it??? :) He's 26"x36", and was fun to hook! Both of these are my designs and you can find them on my website. The Beaver Valley is an antique reproduction that i fell in love with several years ago, and am making the pattern available. I'm not positive yet what i am going to bring to camp. I "thought" i knew and had decided... but now questioning my choice. Ugh. Donchya hate that? This is the one i thought i had settled on... i have had my eye on it for several years - and would love to do it with a teacher to help me along! Florals intimidate me for some reason.Why you ask? So much color... what's too much? What's not enough and boring? Am i balancing it all enough? Can i make each flower different? And if i do that i think it distracts the eye! So then what? Where do i start? Yah... florals just aren't easy for me! LOL But i LOVE how Monika hooked this - it all works! Everything about it! But i have never been one to copy something identically ! Until i see Monika's rugs and thennnn.... then i fall in love with exactly how SHE did it!! hahaha! Bad, huh? Are you familiar with her wonderful designs and website? If not, go check her out!! http://www.folkartlanding.com/ - just don't blame ME if you "have to have" 3 or 4 of her patterns!! haha!

Anyway... back to the conundrum of what to take to class? My other thought is "Jumping Eagle" by Emma Lous Lais. I have this pattern downstairs waiting for me - and i love it - and WILL hook it eventually! That might be kind of a fun one to do with Jule Marie.

But both of these are BIG rugs. Do i want to start another big one? Well it would definitely last me through the winter! :) I don't know. Sigh. Give me your thoughts? Have you had Jule? What kind of pattern would you take?

And just so ya know... i am one of those people that go to workshops TO LEARN. Yes camp is loads of fun!! But that's not why i go! LOL I truly want to learn from that teacher, i'm on a knowledge quest! Each teacher has their specialties... and have mastered certain things, and i hope they come to TEACH those things, and help further their students knowledge and abilities. Jule Marie is an amazing hooker... she has an incredible sense of color... whimsicals and primitives... complex designs and naive designs... borders... and so much more! I am really looking forward to learning from her!!

This has been my ultimate year in rug hooking camps! LOL I may never go to another one now! haha! Jayne Hester and Jule Marie have both been on my "top 3" list of teachers that i wanted to learn from, for the last 6-8 years!! I was blessed to take Jayne's class this spring, and Jule's this fall!!!! IN THE SAME YEAR!!! Yah.. i was so excited i almost wet myself! LOL!! (I don't admit that to many people. LOL But i know you hookers "get it" !! ) :D

Ok.. i could babble on forever, and that wouldn't be good! So i'll sign off for now!

Hope you have a wonderfully blessed day!

xo Bren :)

Seriously lonnnggg post

Well it looks like we have a winner! haha... the last one i expected! :) So I guess this bright, glitzy, razmataz will stay.. for a while anyway! LOL ! It IS fun though, isn't it!? :D Well no pics today.. i'm having enough trouble just typing tonight - so gonna stick to the basics! It's been a whirlwind of a few days, to say the least! My oldest son, Gavin, turned 18 on tuesday!! WOAH. WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?? I think someone must have done the math wrong!! Just doesn't seem possible!! But regardless... according to most people's math, he IS 18! And of course knows EVERYTHING. (don't all 18 year olds??) AND he's a GUY... which means his ego/vanity/superman complex/and cockiness are all battling for top slot, and which one will rule on any given day is something to lay bets on! Sigh. But ... all that aside, he's a GOOD kid!! That other stuff will all tone down over time, but good morals, character, common sense and intelligence will last a life time!! I'm very very lucky! I've learned a LOT from him!! (and questioned my sanity many times over the last 18 years!) And i know he will be great out on his own! No qualms! Yes... the basic mom things... a few concerns here and there... yes i'm going to miss him something fierce... but i can deal, and i know he'll be great stepping out into the big bad world! He's got sooo much going for him, so many things i totally admire and am proud of! Several things i know he is going to have to learn from the school of hard knocks... and i just hope that he learns them sooner, rather than later... and that the knocks aren't TOO hard! haha! But don't we all hope that for our children? I had been "collecting" a bunch of little things... kitchen utensils and gadgets, pot holders, can opener, silverware, you know.. all the things you need and don't realize how often you use, until you don't have them?! As he's been talking about moving out "on his 18th birthday" for sometime now. And since guys don't get "hope chests", a laundry basket filled with neccessities is as close as i could come! LOL But things changed about 5 days before his birthday. New things came up... other ideas we hadn't heard about before, possibilities turning into realities... things that made Dan and I both irritated and frustrated and surprised! So we put our heads together and tried to figure out the right approach to all this daunting new information. It was Sunday afternoon and it finally hit us!! Some of the new information was that he was thinking about moving to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands! He has a buddy that moved down there with his family a while ago. His buddy and him WERE going to be roommates, until buddies life was turned upside down by parents moving to the virgin islands! LOL Then buddy followed and loves it. Buddy has been egging Gavin on to move down there and room together. Buddy lined up a job for Gav, buddie's parents are going to house them both for a month while they save money and get their own place. All this 5 days before Gav's birthday, and he shared he was planning on moving in with his biological father. (won't even go there!) He was also trying to buy a car AND change jobs while moving. No stress, huh? Boy was i ever confused!!! LOL His "plans" all sounded contradictory to one another.. although he was heart set on doing them, and wouldn't listen to wisdom. We were hoping we had made the right choice in what we had decided to do! So... i was somehow lucky enough to hang out with him for half the day on saturday, and then again most of the day Monday! (he NEVER chooses to just hang out with his mom!!!) And of course since i was running around trying to get things in order for his birthday on monday, he decided to velcro himself to me and not leave my side!! I don't think he was too thrilled with all the "apartment stuff" he got... lol... BUT that had been his plan up until a week ago! And we had only decided to do what we did after hearing of his change of plans! I think we FLOORED HIM. We bought him a ticket to St. Thomas. For any date he chose, any time before December 15th. So he could choose his own time frame. Stay for a few months and save money... move in with his dad.. whatever. And still have the ability to follow his dream before the responsibilities of "real life" and living on your own stole it out from under him. We told him we loved him, and we supported him in whatever choices he decided to make, and wanted to help him get started on his first adventure! Yah... we floored him. LOL :D Well ... can't believe it, but he decided to "chill" with him mom all day today also! The kid actually had a few days off for the first time in forever, and he chilled with me?! Lil' ole me?? Yes... i'm smiling. Yes, i thoroughly enjoyed his company! Yes.. it's been far too long! And yes, now i'm going to miss him even more! LOL Once he got over the shock of the ticket, and decided NOT to buy that car... and why move out, just to move 10 days later? And got his head around it, he said... let's book this baby!! "If i'm gonna do it, i gotta do it BIG!" lol He's leaving in 3 weeks. We booked it today. :) He's so excited he's coming out of his skin!!! I'm sooooooo excited for him!! AND he's already scheduled to take some classes at the university there! Praise God! He's not totally walking away from schooling! LOL And talk about a life experience! Holy cow! I think i'm jealous!! hahaha! We got home, got dinner on the table and then headed out to back to school night for 2 hours for our middle schoolers. And we have to change three of their classes early next week... so have to get in and get that hammered out. HOly shamoly, it's been A DAY! I is one tired puppy! And tomorrow morn/afternoon is my hooking group that meets monthly! ahem... and i have no idea what i am bringing to work on, since i just finished my beaver valley rug!? No clue. I have 3 more that are in the works that i need to finish before the end of September. But they're all pretty labor intensive, with LOTS of different wools, and i just can't cart them down for the day. Too confusing! LOL Sooooo... i dunno? Mebbe i'll just bring the BV rug to start whipping? OH AND i heard from Jule Marie today!!!!!! Camp is Oct 1 !! VERY excited!! :D Man... soooo much on my brain right now... and being very ADD to boot... well i am having a hard time staying focused on any one thought for very long right now! I don't know if ya'll will hear from me much in the next few days. I need to remember to breath. And hopefully just take it all one step at a time! LOL It's my full time job to be pulled in 30 different directions at once by 5-10 people at a time. But somehow right now it seems three times as hard as normal! Breath IN. Breath OUT. Repeat. Or is it breath IN, breath IN, breath IN, breath out? And then look for a paper bag? LOLOL See ya'll soon! xo Bren

#3 wild side!

LOL !

Ok... this is soo NOT me... but then again it IS !!

I think it might suit my friend Tammy better... as she indulges her glitzy girly wild side and loves things that sparkle! :) LOL But... how does one say this? My tastes and my personality don't always "go together" ! Maybe the reason i actually really like this funky background is ... it is sooo my personality! LOL No.. not my taste, that's something completely different! Ha!

Thought i would flash you guys for a day, while i learn something from Tammy and indulge in my whimsical side! :)

Don't forget to vote for your favorite!!

Brown and Cream?

What do you think about this one?

Simple. Brown and Cream. hmm and a very light pink :)

Sorry i got it up late today.. i will wait until midday tomorrow to try the other one.

I guess i was just beat and slept all the way until 9:30 am this morning!! Been getting up normally around 6 - so that was a huge sleep in! LOL But we leave for church at 10 - so it was rush central trying to pry these tired eyes open and get myself presentable and out the door!

I've been fighting several migraines this last week, and they just exhaust me when they run for days at a time. So praying they are on their "way out" now!

Hope you have a very blessed day today!

hugs,

Bren

Brown and Pink?

OK, this is making me laugh. I didn't realize i was SO picky about stuff like this!!

??? why i wonder ??

Going thru the available backgrounds AGAIN. LOL

That one's too busy, that one's not "me", too prissy, too dark, too stark, etc etc!

haha... reminds me of a dr. seuss book about hats!

So i'm not a big "pink girl". I don't detest it by any means. But i'm more of a dirty pink kinda girl! And i love browns, and i love them together! But i don't know if either of the two i have picked are really me? lolol How dumb, huh? It's just a blog!!

So here we go... new template today! Browns and pinks.

Tomorrow we will try the other pink and brown one. and then the next day we'll try the BRIGHT hot pink and lime green!!

(haha... ok... little side note here... lol.... i LOVE POLKA DOTS!!! I heart them, yes i do! Dunno why? But have always loved circles and polka dots. Strange i know! And... i have a love affair with lime green!! Go figger!)

Lemme know what you think of this one!

The one with the most votes on Weds wins and stays!

hugs,

Bren :)

New! Fun? Staying?

Soooo.... Jacque over on "The Doodles of My Mind" put up a link this morning with "The Cutest Blog on The Block" - so of course I had to follow it and check it out! The background you now see may or may not stay. LOL I'm trying to decide! They have over 200 free background templates for you blog - and there are sooo many cute ones!! (Tammy i totally thought of you on several of the fun pink ones!! Go see!!) Anyway... I spent far too long playing with this this morning - thank you Jacque! And it seems all the ones i am really drawn to, with reds, or pinks and browns, or or or... have a neato texture in the middle!!! Well... once installed on my blog, it makes it so much more difficult to be able to read - and i don't want to do that to you guys! Cute or not, that's no fun!! So i'm trying to stay with ones that don't have DARK backgrounds, or texture under the words! Anyway... it was just fun to play and experiment with it! Tomorrow i may have a new one up for the day to see if i like it better! LOL Tell me what ya think!

A great day all the way around!

First day of first grade!! Wow. She's gotten soooo big!

She had an awesome first day!! Loves her teacher, loves school, saw old friends and made some new ones. Yay! I love seeing that love for learning and excitement shining in their little eyes!

But yes... sad (for me) at the same time. My last one is now full time in school. whaaaa!!! sniff sniff. My constant sidekick is no longer glued to my side! Holy cow... will take a little adjusting.. but it will be a good thing!! I have been looking forward to it and dreading it all at the same time! LOL!!

And as always, I make chocolate chip cookies on the first day of school. Yum!

Bailey and I spent the day together yesterday. It was soo nice!

We had to go get him some new tennies and some new track shoes. While we were there we saw these humongo shoes - size 13 and Bay was just marveling over them and just HAD to try them on!! hahaha! I was sad i didn't have a camera and then remembered my phone! I just wish you could actually see the true perspective on the size of these things!

Anyway it was making us both laugh! Then we went home and we were going to go for a bike ride down this cool path to the resevoir that i just discovered. About 1/4 of the way there his bike totally broke! The rear gear shift flew out and then back into the spokes in the wheel and as the wheel was still going, it wrapped itself around everything and then snapped off. OH man! Talk about total sadness on this boy's face! :( It broke my heart on the spot! In my opinion, a boy needs his bike. Period. It's like an extention of their body at this age!! And in his eyes yesterday... his bike (very very important) broke and was not fixable, it was the official "last day of summer" and he wanted to be doing something COOL, and him and his mom were going out on a ride JUST THE TWO OF US - (majorly important and doesn't happen nearly as often as it should!!) and poof all that was "taken away" when that gear shift went spaztic!! Bless his heart!! He couldn't keep from crying, he didn't know how to handle all the emotions that this brought out. Seriously. Talk about heartbreaking! (i dont' want to make this tons longer, but Bay has been working with his Dad most of the summer. Earning his own money for the first time - for "real". And we've been teaching him how you tithe straight off the top, then put half in long term savings, then like a 70/30 split to short term savings and your pocket cash. He's been amazing at following this plan and has saved over $600 in the bank this summer!! He tithes every week on what he makes, and has spending cash, as well as a pool saving for something he wants, and loves it! LOL) So... trying to show him it wasn't the end of the world. Pointed out that we had several options. Asked him how much was in his short term savings - $30 he said. And Grama had just (20 minutes before) given him $60 for school/shoes that we had JUST bought that morning, timing had ended up being wonky, and we figured we would put it toward a hoodie and a new outfit - but he said "i don't really NEED it right now, so we can wait." It was wonderful to point out on his level, that wasn't it funny that that money had just shown up 20 minutes before? And how even though he didn't really believe me about short term savings and how it adds up - how God had totally provided him with the ability to get a new bike?? Provided for HIM - not to us as parents to go out and get one for him - but directly to Bailey!! It ended up being an incredible God glorifying, teaching moment on how we are supposed to rely solely on God, and how He WILL take care of us - every time, all the time!! It was awesome! And it really hit home for Bay! We went down to Walmart and he picked out a new bike. Paid for it himself, and couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day! We went on our bike ride, out to the resevoir.. his bike was sooo smooth, he couldn't get over how awesome it was in comparison to his old (very beat up) bike! We talked to the ranger for a while and found out about fishing restrictions and decided to go out there next weekend to fish :) Then we rode home together and made chocolate chip cookies for Calli. All in all - it was a WONDERFUL day with my son!! I recognized that i need to start making more time for just individual one on one times with each of them, and not let the business of life get in the way! Easier said than done.. yes. But sooo important! I hope you have an incredibly blessed day with one of your loved ones and just take the time to relax and enjoy one another! xo Bren

School Starting

School starts today....

I have been running around trying to get my kids geared up and prepared...

One would think you'd just need some folders, papers, pens and pencils..... Don't even get me started!!
AND THEN each teacher wants 2 or 3 of these....

And of course 2 or 3 of these....
And i might as well take out stock in THIS company for as many as i have to provide the school with!!
And hand sanitizer by the gallons... which by the way is pretty scary in itself that children are using this stuff!!!

Take a second to read this:
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/sanitizer.asp

As a mom of 4 i shop ONLY the major sales on school supplies! I start in June when they start putting them on the shelves and putting on massive sales. I HAVE to!! Last year school supplies alone - no clothes - ran me $330 ON SALE!!!!! Can you believe it??!!!

What kills me is how the school is now putting their budget constraints on us, and expecting us to buy their chalk, dry erase markers, wipes, supplies, and LIGHT BULBS!!!??

What's next? Are they going to start sending us their electric bill too?? Sooo NOT cool!

I don't mind helping here and there, but hitting us parents with these huge quadruple whammies right at the start of school - and then if you don't have ALL that was on your list, the teachers start haranguing the children. To the point of "you have to stay in for lunch until you bring in your paper towels (or insert whatever they are missing!!!!) THAT doesn't fly with me!! Last year after spending wayyyyy above our budget to try and make sure our kids had everything they needed... we were short on a few things - specifically for one class. For a 7th grade middle schooler (we're not talking college here people!!). This one class demanded that each child have an oversized binder, with a pencil pouch full of markers, crayons, colored pencils, highlighters, dry erase markers, erasers, etc SOLELY for THAT class - to be left in that class - so those supplies would not be allowed to be used across the board for all their classes!!!

HELLO?

So we were expected to buy doubles and triples of these things. That in my opinion is just wrong! We personally cannot afford to stock the school supply shelves, much less get all our kids stocked, feeling confident and excited about school! I don't mind a box of kleenex here or there, or a bag of snacks, or even a mid season request of extra paper or whatever. But over $150 in school supplies PER KID is rediculous!! Especially when most of the KIDS don't even TOUCH those supplies - they go to supply the rest of the school needs!!!

ARRRGGGGHHH

This is hugely irritating to me. And i will stop here (for fear of running on and on and on for the next three days and getting myself all worked up into a tizzy!! LOL)

School starts today for Calli, and tomorrow for Bay and Em. We have "most" of the supplies. The rest is going to have to wait until i have an extra hundred bucks or two! And if that doesn't happen... well TBSS!!!

(carefully climbing down off my soap box, so i don't trip and end up with both feet in my mouth)

xo bren