Been MIA since 2010!

Wow, I did not realize how long it has been since I posted! Since I lost my job last week, I will be getting back into crafting and blogging. My sweet husband is working on setting my craft space back up in our new house. So, I will be posting some cards soon!

Brett's Donutz

There's a new donut shop in town. My daughter, Brett has opened Brett's Donutz and it seems to be exactly what Gaffney has been waiting for.

Priceless lesson from Abi

Our sweet little granddaughter, Abi had movie night at school tonight and Brett had to work. So, Barry and I got to take Abi up to meet her friend so they could ride together to the school. The movie, popcorn and a can drink would cost $3 so Barry gave Abi a $5 dollar bill. She was s0 very excited about going to movie night. When the movie night activity was over, Jessie's mom brought Abi back to us. When Abi got in the van with me, she said "Nana, I still have some money left." I said "Well, you can keep it or you can give it back to Papa since he gave it to you." Very quickly Abi added "Oh, I don't have his money anymore. I gave his money to the teacher at school. This is my money that they gave me for buying stuff." So, I told her that she should keep it then and could not wait to tell Papa about it when I got home. What a sweet understanding Abi has about who gets the change. Papa's money is at the school. Grandchildren bring us so much joy.

Abi is 6 today.

I can not believe that I have a 6 year old granddaughter! She is perfect in every way. We had the greatest birthday party for her yesterday at Chuck E Cheese and had the wonderful opportunity to take her and Jack over to Toys R Us where they both picked out some toys. So what if it wasn't Jack's birthday. We are grandparents and we get to spoil them. We love our grandchildren and they bring us many hours of pride and joy.
So, Happy Birthday to Abi today! Nana and Papa love you beyond measure!

Here are the boys studying why this sand is so white and clean that it squeaks. Beautiful secluded beach on the Gulf Shores National Shoreline.

I just loved this when I read it. I am so grateful for both!

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you;


Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.

One died for your soul; the other for your freedom.

Role call for Happy Grandparents..... HERE

Jacob and Lindsay are expecting! Journey will be a wonderful big sister. You should see how she loves on her stuffed Curious George and makes sure he gets a front seat in front of the tv to watch tv with her. We are very, very happy!

No More Little Caesar's for us!

We had a shift manager at the Little Caesar's in Gaffney, SC committ a lewd hand gesture on our family last night as we were leaving from picking up our order from her store. Shocked by her gesture, Barry called her store manager and reported the incident. We have decided that there are other places that, during these poor economic times , might value our business more than Tracy at Little Caesar's does. I will post the entire story as I as typed it to Little Caesar's corporate office sometime tomorrow. I will also update you if we hear anything back from Little Caesar's. Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, House of Pizza, and any other place except Little Caesar's will be getting our weekly pizza order from this point on.

My new ride!

Lookie at what my honey got me yesterday. We are taking a big family vacation this summer and will now be traveling in luxury. It has everything a mom could ask for. The remote headphones allow the kids to watch their movie while we talk or listen to the radio. The leather seats are so comfie. Jack (grandson) does not like the sunroof. Today he told Barry "Close it Papa. It's gonna suck me out." This was the easiest purchase of a vehicle either of us have made. The dealership treated us famously and we were done so quickly. The boys just wanna ride around and watch movies. Last night when Barry had to go to Wal-Mart, I sat in the van with the boys while they watched a movie. I could not believe that they did not want to go in and shop the electronics dept or the toys. This van will save us thousands!

An oceanfront New Year's Eve!

Boys in the (not heated) outdoor lazy river

Boys in the ocean! View from our balcony New Year's Day
The weather has been beautiful at Myrtle Beach this week. We came down to bring in the New Year oceanfront. The Dunes Village Resort is the best place to stay anytime of the year. I have some photos but did not bring my cord to upload from my camera so you will have to wait til I get home and post the photos. (photos posted 01-02-09) Yes, the boys got in the ocean and the outdoor lazy river that is usually heated but not this time for some reason. We spent most of the time in the waterpark under the Dunes which is fabulous and heated! They have put in some new super body slides that are sooo fun. You gotta go!
My honey and I sipped the Sparkling Apple-Grape Juice that my sweet friend Alicia got us for Christmas (along with a truly beautiful cutting board that she and her honey MADE). I bought 2009 champagne flutes and gave them to Barry for Christmas. He packed them and surprised me with them and the juice earlier tonight. So, it was just the 5 of us bringing in the New Year watching the fireworks on the pier from our balcony. Now the boys have crashed on us.
Last year was a scary one for us with Barry going blind in January. We have enjoyed a lot of extras with him being out of work and able to spend more time with me and the rest of our family too. The Lord has been good to us and we are grateful for the blessings we share. We are excited about the upcoming year and more fun changes in our lives. I love being in love with my husband. Happy New Year! Be safe!

Stocking Swap goodies from Ruth

I got this great package in the mail last week. I was a good girl and gave it to my husband so he could stuff my stocking with all the goodies inside the box. Boy, Ruth really loaded me up with some great stuff. See the one hour photo album, the fragrance diffuser, the penguin slipper socks (who told Ruth that I LOVE penguins) the snowman potholders and the snowflake dishtowel, a 2 year pocket planner and some candy. The stocking swap was arranged by Tara and might become a yearly thing so add her site to your favorites: http://www.thewell-roundedwoman.com/ so you can participate next Christmas.

Service at the Gaffney Soup Kitchen

My church sponsors The Gaffney Soup Kitchen. Our family serves there once a month. In December we were blessed to be able to serve twice. We heard that they would be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so our Bishop arranged for us to serve lunch on Christmas Eve. The above photo is of some of our youth serving at the buffet (two boys on the left are my sons, Michael and Barron) Below are the youth helping in the kitchen. That's my sweet son, Adam standing on the bucket so he can help wash dishes. A priceless photo for a mom to sneak!

My sons really get a lot out of this service. Their hearts are so big and full of love for the sweet people that we serve. They amaze me when it's our Saturday to serve. They wake up early and keep asking if it's time to go yet. The Lord has truly blessed me. It broke my heart that we ran out of chicken this week before everyone was fed. We continued to serve the final 30 minutes with no meat. There were a couple of us in the kitchen with tear filled eyes. I want to make sure that does not happen to us again somehow! We did have an unually large number of people to come on Christmas Eve so we were not as prepared as I like to be. We fed over 70 people!

Tastefully Simple

I just signed up to be a Tastefully Simple consultant>>>>see the Logo to the right>>>>>>>
I went to a friend's party and loved the stuff. I went searching info online and found Liz Baxley. She and I had dinner Monday night and she gave me so much information and the great advice to wait until today to sign up. I get some extra goodies for signing up today. So, I will begin to party in January. Hosts get double benefits in January! Call me if you want to book your party before anyone else!
Ooopps letting time get away from me. Gotta go get the kids at school.
Be back later.

Stocking Swap

I got my package in the mail today from the Stocking Swap. I handed it over to my husband to stuff my stocking on Christmas Eve. It was so hard not to open the box up but I want to get some surprises in my stocking on Christmas morning too. Tara arranged the swap. See her blog here http://www.thewell-roundedwoman.com/2008/12/start-shopping-for-tiny-treasures.html and then bookmark her site so you can participate next year. It is very exciting!
Thanks Ruth for the package. I can hardly wait! Thanks Tara for having such a great idea and doing all the matching for the swap. I will post a photo on Christmas of all of my stocking goodies so check back.
I also went to Asheville, NC again this year to see the Food Network Gingerbread houses from the 2008 competition. They were all awesome. The contest is held at the fabulous Grove Park Inn. You can tour the Inn and see the gingerbread houses and Christmas trees on several floors. It's FREE! We took a group of teens from our church and some adults to help chaperone. I think everyone had a great time. I will post some photos later too.
I have to get to church. We are taking our youth singing to some shut-ins tonight.
Thanks for checking my blog and see ya later.

Family Fun magazine

The greatest kid crafty magazine will be $4.59 a year tomorrow only at http://bestdealmagazines.com/ . There is a deal a day this week so you can check each day for the deal of the day. Woodcraft is one and so is Daily Walk which looks like a good magazine. I love this website and have been a customer for years. I used to pay full price for Family Fun but I have ordered from here now for about 6 years.
Sorry that I didn't get around to posting the photos yet. I will do it real soon. The camera is in my purse all the way across the room! I am snuggled in bed watching PS I love you with my DH.
Got the boys 2 puppies today. Really cute puppies! I have to take some photos of them to post too.
Lights out the movie is getting good!

Stocking Swap

http://www.thewell-roundedwoman.com/2008/12/stocking-swap.html
This is such a great idea. It's like the old Secret Sister fun we used to have at church.
I signed up for this. I hope I remember this next year so I can do it locally with some friends.
Are you ready for Christmas?
Jacob and Lindsay are heading to NYC for her audition for Fiddler on the Roof. Y'all keep them in your prayers. This is a call back from the open audition that she went to last month.
Jacob came down this morning to borrow my punch fountain and I got to cook breakfast for Journey. She is talking so good now. I took some photos of her last Wednesday when we all met up at Scrapbook Creations and then went to lunch together. I hope to post them tomorrow. She had on the cute little coat that I got her several months ago and the sweetest little boots I ever saw. She is a total doll.
My cousin's wedding was beautiful today. The reception was awesome too. We had a great time. The band was terrific and Cherokee National was never decorated so elegantly. It's always nice to see a couple start their lives together.

Hobby Hut

Here is a photo of the new hobby cabin that my sweetheart bought for me last week. I think he may have just wanted all of my stuff out of the house! Barry worked nonstop to insulate, panel and wire my cabin. I have a phone line and satellite tv too! The fall flag was a Christmas gift from my daughter last Christmas. It says "Steph's Hobby Hut" The benches on the front porch were made for me by my friend Shannon's Dad. They fit perfectly. There is a Welcome sign on the front wall (hanging in the shadow beside the front door) that was a gift from my Mom when I got my first apartment in 1986. Yep, I hang on to things! My friend Vicki was here yesterday. She said she would dig up some flowers out of her yard to landscape around my porch. I am so blessed with great friends and family!

Below is the corner for my Revolution station and my embellishment collection (well, some of it)

This is a view of one of my windows. I have 3 windows and each has a fabulous view of the fall colors on the trees outside right now. This summer, I will be able to see the kids in the pool from one of the windows too. The curtains were nearly a steal from Pottery Barn. They were 70% off Saturday! Great since I had to buy 4 to cover 3 windows and the door. Under the window is my collection of Stampin Up ink pads. I have to break down and buy the turnabout thing for those soon! There is quite a collection of Sizzix dies and Stampin Up stamp sets on the shelves to the left. My Cricut, light box, and paper trimmer are on the rolling storage drawers which contain all of my punches and some other goodies within reach. See the beautiful yellow and orange maples out my rear window! I keep this curtain tied up when I am in here!
Below is the other shelf on the other side of the rear window. It has paper blocks, card idea magazines and more embellishments in baskets. In this photo, you can see the cord for the light that I hung over my table this morning. I will have to have an extension cord for the shop light. Then the cord can be hidden in the rafters for the loft. I have 2 loft areas for extra storage. Barry is putting me a small refrigerator in this weekend. Drop by for a cold beverage sometime!
Let me know you are coming! Because I also have an alarm on my building. My silly son said "Mom, nobody wants your craft stuff" Well, I ain't taking no chances! See ya soon.
Thanks for looking. Hope you are having a wonderful day.

Welcome Nancy Lopez!

Hi Nancy, if you find your way here to look at my cards! See the column to the right and click on cards. That will show all of my entries with cards in them. I plan to contact you soon to set up a Stampin Up class for you. It is a lot of fun. You, your daughters and friends will love it.

1000's of dollars in blog candy!!!!

Get entered today here: http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com/2008/09/heart-to-heart-blog-candy.html
There is a GREAT cause and you can make a card that helps. Good luck.

The Water Nazi

is Draytonville Water Works. A story I gotta tell!
We left home Wednesday morning after taking good, hot showers and spent the day in Spartanburg. As we came home, we passed some fellows working on the water on our road. Now, we were not notified that there would be NO WATER all day Wednesday! So, I cooked dinner, made jam and made quite a mess of dishes. At 5 our water came back on, finally. So, when I got home from church, I had a sink full of dishes and kids to get baths before bed. Guess what? NO HOT WATER! The breaker had shut off the power to the water heater. Barry switched on the breaker and we waited 30 minutes, an hour, two hours and still no hot water. I emptied my closet (cause some idiot thought it would be a good place for a hot water heater )so Barry could hit the reset button on the hot water heater. We thought we would have water in the morning so we did the sponge bath thing with boiled water added to very shallow baths. Thursday morning, still no hot water. Now we thought, Draytonville Water Works while working on the water lines up the road unintentionally drained our HWH tank and caused the elements to burn out. So Barry called them to inform them. Of course, here is what he was told "You must have done something wrong when you got home to blow out your own HWH elements". We, the homeowner, were never notified of any work being done before or after the fact. The only reason we knew about it was because we saw them on the roadside. What could we have done wrong? So, we rode by Draytonville Water Works and was talking to a nice lady at the window when from out of her corner, the Water Nazi appeared with her hands on her hips and in a very nasty tone of voice barked at ME " Our men went down and checked your meter and you have a leak on your side of the meter box so this is your fault". Now, they check our water meter every month so if there was a leak in that box, it should have been reported to us. I know this is how politely the City of Shelby water employees are. I have seen many work orders that have hand written notes by the meter readers that say "Please notify homeowner of a leak on their side of the meter". Instead, they never told us and knowing that could have saved our HWH. I pay my water bill every month to keep water coming into my house. They were aware of the leak. If they knew that cutting our water off would cause our HWH to drain and thus burn out the element. Why are they not responsible? I hate it when people do not take pride in the job that they are holding. Some people just take up space within a company and draw a paycheck. I am glad that I took care of my customers while I was employed. If I am ever employed anywhere else, I will not treat anyone the way I was treated yesterday by the Water Nazi at Draytonville Water Works. Maybe she has corns, maybe she had a migraine or maybe she is just like that all of the time. I hope I never have to deal with her again. We are talking about how nice it would be to have our old well back or even the old pump house that used to feed the best spring water up the hill to my Papa Bo's house long before the Water Nazi ever got her job. And in that time, I remember that people were glad to have the jobs they had and were friendly to folks no matter what. Maybe I was just a kid then and did not see anyone behave like the Water Nazi did yesterday but I would like to think that there was a time when people just really did try to serve one another with a smile. And I pray that someday that time will come back around.
Also, my fabulous BIL came down and helped Barry replace the element in our HWH last night. So we are clean and we smell good. I know that the Lord will bless Chris for his kind deed.
Barry, the boys and I are making and serving lunch at the Soup Kitchen tomorrow. Tonight, it's PMS night for the ladies at the Gaffney Senior Center. We'll have pizza, music and stamping!
Y'all take care and see ya back here soon.