I'm a winner! I won the CUTEST 4th of July paper cake decoration from daisysanddots.blogspot.com! Trish is an absolute sweetie pie and makes the cutest things! Stop by and check out her shop at daisysanddots.etsy.com. Thanks Trish- my cake is happily decorating my dining room table! I feel so festive!
Pure adrenaline rush. Take your husband/boyfriend/best friend to go see it. I forgot all about the popcorn and worked on remembering to breathe...
I finished this book in two days. From the opening page I guarantee you will be unable to put it down. I was reading until late in the night and even waking up in the middle of the night to read it! Such an amazing look into a part of life that I pray I never have to experience. Now I am looking forward to reading The Tenth Circle. While I was exercising on the elliptical tonight the movie was on the Lifetime channel. I reallllly wanted to watch the whole thing, but since the book is always better, I restrained myself. Have any of you read The Tenth Circle yet? What did you think? How about The Pact?
I walked into the garage this afternoon to get something and realized it was quiet, the temperature was just right and my May issue of Country Home magazine was begging to be opened. So I thought, why not? The garage door was open and I was able to listen to the rain fall and my daughter singing as she walked through the puddles. I sat in the car for about 15 delicious minutes (with my toes on the windshield) and was inspired by the words and pictures. Sheer bliss. No one needed me or called for me. Or maybe they just didn't know where I was? Anyway, I highly recommend the garage if you need a tiny escape from the real world for while. Who would have ever thought?
Golden sand on the beach... How I wish I was there! But seriously, I really need some input... I just finished this bracelet (I do my best work late at night!) and am trying to decide which picture(s) to put in my etsy shop. Is the first one too busy with the flower pattern in the background? I really want to show off the gorgeous freshwater pearls... There are over 100 beads hand wrapped and I am tired. Please let me know what you think. I am going to bed. Night night.
Lucky me, I got three packages in the mail today! There is nothing like a package to put a smile on my face.:-) This treasure trove was from my Favorite Things Swap buddy, Miriam. What a sweetie pie! She sent me the most wonderful solid shampoo from Lush! It smells just like honeysuckle- mmmm. Let me tell you, Lush has the most incredible scents and their products are divine! She also sent the yummiest cookies from Trader Joe's. We had to open and sample them right away and, yep, we are hooked. Good thing there are no Trader Joe's close by! The newest copy of Real Simple magazine was also in the box. The one magazine I DON'T get and absolutely love! How did you know, Miriam?? Last, but not least, at the bottom of the box was the softest chocolate brown blanket! I feel so completely spoiled!! Thanks so much, Miriam!:-) I will be sending your package very soon....
Oh Joy!!!!!! Look what I got in the mail today! I was the lucky winner of a custom made joxlette from Joy-full-ness!
I am so in love! I put it on my hat and then I tried it on my straw bag AND later I will even try it on a dress! It adds so much to everything it touches. Kind of like the cherry on top!:-) Thanks so much, Joy! I will definitely be buying some more in the near future! You must stop by her blog and etsy shop..... 
We had so much fun with my friend, Alicia, and her family last night! We met for dinner and spent a fun evening visiting, playing "Hangman" and discussing the joys (or not!) of making your own laundry detergent.:-) 
My girls are attending History Camp this week. It's amazing all that they are doing and learning. On the first day of camp the girls made sun prints, old fashioned toy telephones, tintype pictures, ice cream and on and on... I love the way the pictures turned out! A local artist showed them how to do this. Today they learned about the Civil War and made butter and hard tack (tough biscuits that the soldiers used to eat- NOT a new favorite). Tomorrow they will be learning how to make lace friendship bracelets. It makes me wish I could still go to camp. How about you??
Here's a sweet treat to make without heating up your house. I got it from my friend, Lisa. Go ahead and make it. You know you want to.....:-)
Yes, ladies and gentleman I have joined yet another swap. They are just too much fun! I love meeting new and wonderful people (they usually end up turning into great friends!) and, of course, I love getting packages in the mail.:-) Today is the last day to sign up for this swap so hurry and check it out! thesimplewoman.blogspot.com. You must send something new, something of your own you would like to share and something thrifted to your partner. Easy enough!:-)
I love it when my girls are best friends.:-) Mandy is sharing her Ipod with Katie in this picture. See how they both have one part of the head phones? Just had to take a picture....
Here's a sneak peek at my Too Silly Sisters Etsy shop!
This is part of my "little princess" collection. They are one of a kind pieces and so sweet. I love creating jewelry for little girls. The tricky part is that my girls want to keep everything! That makes for a very empty Etsy shop.:( If you can't wait for my shop to open, these lovelies are available for purchase- today! Feel free to e-mail me at toosillysisters@cox.net .:-)Do you have "American Girl" fans at your house? We are big fans here and can't wait to see the new "Kit" movie! It's coming out on July 2nd- just around the corner! We have not yet read the Kit books, so you know what we will be doing over the next few weeks.:-)
We have started reading the most wonderful set of books by Mildred A. Martin. They are entertaining and each chapter explains and illustrates a passage from the book of Proverbs in the Bible. The stories are character building and inspirational. I am learning along with my children! The book we are reading right now is called Wisdom and the Millers, but there are many others to choose from. You can buy them new from Christian bookstores and used through amazon.
Katie is my little dancer. Everything is fine as long as you don't ask her to get in the water- lol! (See "Swim like a Fish" below) She excels in ballet and gymnastics (I'm allowed to brag because I am her Mom.:-)) and now is trying Irish dancing. I love Ireland, don't you? Today was her second class and I think that she has found something that is going to challenge her. It's unlike anything she has done before. By the end of class today she was starting to get the hang of things. I hope she doesn't ask me to help her practice as I don't have a clue as to what is going on! I just know that I like to watch her and I enjoy the music... I can't wait to buy her some ghillies (soft shoes- see pic.). They are so cute worn with the poodle socks! The little girl next to her has a pair on. Lisa, I'll be calling you to get the scoop!
I was so proud of Katie today. She took her first swimming lesson even though she is quite afraid of the water without her Dora "donut". She can really get around in that thing, but it's not true swimming. So, she listened to her teacher and performed remarkably well! She was very close to tears a number of times (It was so hard watching her face crumble, eyes pleading "Please help me!") but she endured. She was quite the trooper! A few times today she said to me, "You know, Mom, I don't like swimming lessons that much." I explained to her that it was important to know how to swim, and maybe (if we are REALLY lucky) we will be able to get a pool in our backyard. I told you my husband rocks.:-) I wonder how tomorrow will go, but as for today I could not have been prouder. Good job, Katie!
First of all I have to say that my husband should win Dad of the Year. He absolutely rocks. He makes sure my gas tank is full, helps home school our girls after work, can fix anything, cleans out the cat's "glitter box" (even though he barely tolerates the cat), treats me to a cleaning lady, watches "chick flicks" with me, and the list goes on and on. Living in a house with 3 girls, he indulges us all constantly- with no (or very little) complaints. He takes us shopping, to the movies and, oh my yes, out to eat. The two things that he loves to do (that are not my favorites) are ride his bike and go geocaching. He manages to squeeze these activities in occasionally, but for the most part he lets us do "girl stuff".:-) 
I just found out about the really fun Summer Reading Swap at vermillionrules.blogspot.com! You send your partner a great book (does not have to be new- just in good condition) and a snack or two to enjoy while she reads it. That's it! Sounds great to me!:-) Sign ups are only until midnight tonight, so stop by her blog and sign up- before it's too late!!
