Holiday fun

Hi, guys! Just popping in for a minute. Thanksgiving was wonderful! The food was wonderful, and it was such a sweet time with family! I'm actually just about done with Christmas gifts, if you can believe it. I was able to do some careful shopping, and I was able to get some really great buys, so I'm having to make very little this year. 

God has been taking care of us as always. Sunday on the way into church, we were discussing in the car how we were going to be able to make it through the pay period since Nick had just gotten paid two days earlier, and we were already at the end of our money just with bills and both needed gas in our vehicles, not to mention groceries. We just prayed about it, and when we got to church, our head deacon handed Nick an envelope with his name on it. Inside was an unprecedented, VERY much unexpected check for $750. The church had decided to give a one time Christmas gift (of varying amounts I think) to several of the people who serve in our church, including our piano player and her bass player husband, our youth pastor, and Nick, who runs our sound booth for every service and creates all the CDs and DVDs for our media ministry. This is not necessarily going to be an every year kind of thing, but it was such an incredible blessing this year!

I've also gotten several photo shoots recently, and just tonight Nick got a job for some mechanic side work. God is so very good to us, and I need to get back to posting regularly so that I can share (and later remember!) just how very much He blesses us!

Tonight was Nick's work Christmas party, and while it wasn't the best year by any means, it was still really nice to have a few hours out kid free with him.

Last night I went up to bed a bit early because I had to get up early today for our Ladies Craft Meeting at church. I was still awake though a little while later when Nick came up, and I was pleasantly surprised to feel him curl  around me and began to explore. Next thing I knew, he had flipped me onto my stomach and was giving me a very hot spanking, followed by equally hot sex. Good night indeed. :)

I'm off to bed for now. Have a great night, all!

Lover Our Lurkers Day 9

Hi, guys. I know I'm quiet here lately, and I'm afraid I'm a bit of a lurker myself these days, but I'm still here nonetheless! Today we celebrate Love Our Lurkers Day for the 9th year. This day was started by Bonnie to welcome all our readers and give a bit of encouragement to those who've maybe never said hello to just, well, say hello! These days LoL Day is hosted by Hermione, and who also does a great job hosting The Spanko Brunch on Sundays, also started by Bonnie many years ago. I've participated every year except for LoL6 back in 2011 when my laptop was in the shop and I didn't have a way to post.

I've been blogging here for almost a decade now, and I've met so many awesome people, some of whom are now my friends in real life too! I know that when I first started exploring the spanking community online I was very shy, and I know many of you probably are too. But you won't find a nicer, more welcoming, and helpful group of people anywhere. Come on out and say hi, even if you just want to do so anonymously. I'd love to hear from you!

Catching up, and a birthday spanking to remember.

It looks like it's been over a month since my last post, and you can blame Jamie and Claire. Well, partly. I may be halfway through Drums of Autumn, the fourth book, which means that I have devoured approximately 2700 pages in the last 3 1/2 weeks. But, honestly, I can't blame them entirely. 

I finally found the kids a new pediatrician, something I've been trying to accomplish all year, so I had to deal with well visits and immunization catch ups for Jack and Daisy. Quick(ish) summary: last fall our longtime pediatrician group quit taking our insurance. We decided to go with the one Robert and Faith use, but they wouldn't see new patients till the New Year, so we were in limbo for a bit. When I was able to schedule an appointment finally, they set it for the 3rd week of January for Jack to get his 24 month immunizations. Then both he and Daisy got really sick, and they agreed to see them both early the next morning at 8 AM. But that night they spiked scary fevers, so we took them to an urgent care office. They both had double ear infections and strep like symptoms, and the urgent care place wrote them prescriptions. So first thing in the morning I called the peds office to cancel the appointments, but they didn't turn their phones on till 8:30, 30 minutes after our appointment (weird, right?), and the answering service said they could not get them a message. So I called back when they turned on the phones in the office and explained the situation. The nurse was super understanding and assured me they wouldn't count it as a no show since they were unavailable to be notified. And they told me that they would call me the day before to remind me of Jack's previously scheduled appointment, still several weeks out.

Right before that appointment, our pipes burst, and we spent two days cleaning everything up. The next day (Friday) was his appointment, but I thought it was on the coming Monday, and they never did the reminder call. So on Monday morning I called to confirm the time, and they told me that we had missed the appointment, and they would not see Jack at all as a patient, because this was our third no show. I explained again the situation with the original appointments and told them that I had been assured that these would not be considered no shows since I had done my best to let them know before my appointments. She agreed to ask the doctor to reconsider in light of the extenuating circumstances, but I've never been able to get her to call me back on it, despite bringing it up during every visit with Daisy (who oddly enough could still get appointments). Daisy only saw the nurse practitioner, so I never actually met the doctor. Anyway, I finally had enough and changed to the pediatrician Kelly and Grant use, and we LOVE them!

So when I took Daisy to her well visit a couple of weeks ago, it turned out that one of her ear piercing sites was infected. They had to get the earring out so it could heal, and it was terribly painful and traumatic for her (and me watching!). (But the doctor and nurses were fantastic). The plan was to get it re-pierced after it healed, but she ended up being so afraid of it getting infected again that she's opted to wait until she's older. Ah well, at least when she does get them redone she'll have plenty of earrings on hand, because she got about 40 pairs for her birthday.

So what else? Kelly's birthday was the 29th, and I made her a couple of pairs of earrings. Will's birthday was the next day, and I made him a Dopp kit. Then Daisy's birthday was the 5th. Five years old! I can't even believe it! I made her several pieces of jewelry (but no earrings lol), and we bought her a baby doll that looks just like Grant and Kelly's baby girl Madison. 

We also got her a couple of other things, but we didn't give them to her till the 11th, when she had her very first official birthday party! We've always done little family celebrations, but this was the first one with friends invited, and it was awesome!

All the girls attendees got to adopt a baby doll and take home lots of dolls accessories besides, and the boys all got stuffed animals. It was a pretty cheap party to put together, and she had the time of her life!

My birthday was Friday, and it was a pretty good day! Usually my birthday kind of sucks, but not this year. My friend Ann stopped by to see me and brought pumpkin spice lattes and donuts, and Nick had some gorgeous flowers delivered! I got some cool craft supplies, some clothes, and a gift certificate for a manicure. Yay! And my parents even kept all three kids so Nick and I could go out for a birthday dinner.

And Sunday night...I got a birthday spanking! The last time I had a birthday spanking was 2007! But this year I got up the nerve to send Nick a text telling him what I wanted out of it, and I hit send before I could chicken out. Here's what it said:

So here are my thoughts on a birthday spanking. I know it's a silly and sometimes sexy little tradition, but I think that's not what I need. I think I need something that is more of a course setter for the year to come, something to help me refocus and recommit. So I am happy with 37 (or 38 as the case may be), although if it goes farther I may not be completely opposed. But I'm thinking maybe the spencer paddle (or maybe that's a mistake) over jeans, at least as long as I can cooperate. And holy crap I'm almost 11 years into this, when the heck am I going to stop feeling so shy and awkward trying to talk to you about it? Sorry, I'm a huge dork.

That was Saturday, and one reason I sent it then was because I knew one of Morgan's friends was spending the night that night, so he wouldn't be able to do it right away. I needed some time to acclimate myself to the idea. Sunday night though we sent the kids to bed at 9:00, and I went upstairs to shower and to spend some time in the 18th century with my Kindle while Nick watched a show I wasn't interested in. 

After the show went off, he joined me upstairs and asked if I was ready for my birthday spanking. Of course by then I had totally chickened out, it having been over a month since my last spanking, and knowing that I had basically told him I wanted this to be a rather more serious experience. I did a bit of reasonable arguing, and told him that after all, I hadn't actually done anything, so we could really just skip it. Fortunately he refused to let me back out of it, telling me that either I could take my birthday spanking or he could come up with a few good reasons why I actually deserved a hard spanking and punish me for those. It's true enough that he had a few of those to hand, so I wisely opted for the birthday spanking instead, and he told me to get the paddle. I balked at this, because well, by now I was truly nervous, but he insisted, and when I asked which one he wanted, he asked me did he need to read the text to me. So, resigned, I pulled out the Spencer paddle. 

Per my text, he allowed me to keep my jeans on, but he seemed quite determined to make it a memorable experience. He spanked hard enough for me to lose count, but he said he stopped at 38. Then he said, "Unless you wanted TWO to grow on -" and gave me an extra hard swat that had me squealing and twisting. Then he let me do a bit of complaining about how terribly hard he'd spanked me and how much my bottom hurt, but I went on a bit far, and, not quite half playfully he decided another session wouldn't come amiss, and he spanked me again, this time even harder. 

He then had the nerve to go on about how easy he'd been on me "pants still on, not that many, and not all that hard." He was teasing me a bit there, watching my reaction, especially to the "not all that hard" part, and I actually had to shove my face into the pillow to keep from protesting his assessment. I've no doubt at all though that had if I had opened my mouth to disagree I would have found myself getting spanked again. 

After the birthday spanking was over, he said, "Okay, that's the birthday spanking, now for your punishment."

"What?!" I yelped, whirling away from him.

"Well, I did tell you to put away the laundry on the chair downstairs, didn't I? You weren't supposed to have it there in the first place, and you said you would put it away last night, but it's still there, isn't it?"

Yes, sir," I admitted grudgingly. "But you just spanked me, and my bottom is really sore! Please don't punish me right now!" I could see then that he was teasing me again, at least about spanking me for it right then, although he was serious enough about the laundry. He told me he wasn't going to spank me for it that night, and he told me to take my pants off. At that point things took a rather delicious turn, but those memories are just for me and him.

Today my bottom was quite sore and a little bruised, and sitting was painful in a very good way. It was just exactly what I needed. Just before we went to sleep I asked him if he was really going to spank me again the next day for the laundry, and he told me that depended on me. If he came home and the laundry on the chair was still there and the dirty clothes upstairs had not been carried down, he would give me a spanking, sore bottom or not. Needless to say there was nary a sock in sight when he got home today. :)

A New Addiction

So it was only a few days ago that I was introduced to the Outlander series. I had heard of it in passing, but it honestly didn't sound interesting to me. Then I read a post by Rogue where she mentions it along with showing an art poster depicting a rather interesting scene from the first book. Needless to say, my interest was piqued, so I did some research and thought perhaps checking out the TV series would be worthwhile. Fortunately we have Starz on our cable package, and I was delighted to see that there were already 6 episodes available. I really wanted to watch the series with Nick, but he didn't seem too interested. Fortunately he gave it a chance for me, and after the first episode we were both truly hooked. We watched the first 4 hours last night and the next 2 hours tonight. And now we're trying to reconcile ourselves to the fact that we have to wait till Saturday for the next episode. I'm holding out very little hope that any of the books will be available any time soon at our library, so I'm thinking I may need to head to our used book store sometime soon to trade in some old books for a used copy of as many of the series as I can find.

Nick's heritage is Scottish, and when he was a kid his grandparents took him to the Highland Games every year. I admit, Jamie and Claire have me quite stirred up with fantasies about my own rugged Scotsman, and I've let Nick know I'll have him in a kilt before it's done. :) 

As I've not read the books yet, I'm not sure, but I think the episode where Jamie spanks Claire for running away must be coming up relatively soon. I know that at the very least it's been filmed already. And yes, I'm looking forward to it, although I'm a little nervous to watch it with Nick. Not because I'm afraid it will stir him to reenact it :), rather the opposite actually. I'm afraid it may appear abusive, when what I've read of the scene doesn't come off that way to me. It seems to me that she ended up with a much longer and harder spanking than she had to because she refused to cooperate, something I've done myself many times, and I think she deserved every lick (as did I). I just don't want Nick to see something like that and it make him feel like that sort of thing is brutal and it maybe color his view of spanking in our own relationship. That's probably a silly fear almost 11 years into DD, but the last spanking I got ended probably before it should have because he felt like he was being too hard on me. Truthfully, I was rather unhappy in the moment, but even at the time I knew I needed more, and I wasn't even tender 5 minutes after he stopped.

Anyway, I'm off to see if I can find a source for his clan's tartan. :)

An Answer

So. We didn't get the house. Which is a disappointment, but also not. Because I know that, however sad I am about not getting in this house, God has something else, something inevitably better, in mind for us. This morning the guy called me and told me that he had misfigured (by quite a bit it seems), and our payments would be about $200 a month more than the absolute most, stretching-it-maybe-even-more-than-we-should payment we could afford. And he still really wanted to sell it to us (but not badly enough to lower the price apparently lol), but I had to tell him that we just have to walk away at that payment amount. In a way, it's almost a relief that it was so far out of reach, because if it was like $50 too much, then we would have been really tempted to still buy, even if it put us in a precarious place financially. So anyway, it seems that's God's answer on this, and we're just going to continue to trust in His timing and provision. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Just dying over here a little...

Oh my gosh, guys - this is killing me! Sorry for the lack of update, but I don't really have one yet. We met with the seller Monday evening, and it seemed to go well. We told him what our payment had to be and what our house should bring him in rent. He was cautiously optimistic that he could get the numbers within our budget, and he made plans to come see our house yesterday. Monday night we went home and cleaned like mad, and all day yesterday I polished and dusted and hung curtains and did everything I could think of to make the house as appealing as possible. And he never showed up. Finally around 6:30 I called him. He apologized and said he had been covered up all day and had meant to call me but hadn't had the chance, and promised to come by today. A little while ago my mom called to tell me he had called her for my phone number (which we gave him, but I guess he didn't have it on him), and that he had to run an errand first but plans to come by afterwards. So right now I'm just trying to contain the kids and keep the house clean till he gets here, and please pray, pray, pray that he likes our house and can make the numbers work for us if this is what God intends. Hopefully I'll have an answer soon.

A Forever Home

Guys, I know it's been ages. Life has been so busy, but very good for the most part. On August 26 our sweet Daisy girl asked Jesus into her heart, which has been the BEST news!

She's such a precious girl, and I'm so proud of her. Today after church she decided she wanted her ears pierced (something she's been toying with for a while), so we took her and got it done, and she was SO brave!

I got spanked last Saturday morning. Housework stuff again, although there way have been some other stuff mixed in there. He woke me up digging in the toy chest for the doggin bat, and within a few seconds I was over his knee with my panties down. I can't say I was terribly cooperative, but it was a rather rude awakening.

We have had to deal with some drama with Morgan recently. There's this kid who goes to her school. We'll call him Joe. Joe is 13, but he's major trouble. He's been an on again/off again boyfriend to Morgan's best friend Allie, and just through his interaction with her he's proven himself to be manipulative, mean, unfaithful, and a liar. In fact, there have been several occasions where we've curtailed the time Morgan and Allie spent together because of Joe's influence on Allie. Well, last week we found out that he had been grabbing Morgan's breasts on the bus, despite her telling him to stop, and also spreading some nasty rumors about her when she wouldn't agree to some explicit requests he made of her. We immediately contacted the school about the breast grabbing, and because there were witnesses, they suspended him for 5 days. She's riding the bus while he's on suspension, but we plan on driving her in and picking her up once he comes back. I would appreciate everyone's prayers though that he doesn't try to harass her any further (and also that her friend Allie will finally see the light about him!).

There's another matter that we seriously need and would really appreciate your prayers on. Okay, (somewhat) quick back story: A bit less than 5 years ago, a few months after Daisy was born, there was a house that came up for sale. This house was much bigger than ours, and it was located just above my parents' house (a positive for us). We loved just about everything about the house - the style, the room, the lot. It was also originally built by a contractor as his personal home, and he went far above and beyond the requirements for making the house well built, sturdy, and well insulated. It was a foreclosure, so there was the thought that maybe we could get it for less than it was worth, which would have to be the case for us to afford it. I remember walking around the yard, holding hands with Nick and telling God that we would really, really love to have this house, but that it would absolutely have to be His doing for it to happen.

It turned out that there were a couple of problems. First of all there was something wonky with the way the title was filed, causing some issues with buying it. Then the bidding went completely out of our range at that time. But the guy who bought it was a title lawyer who was able to untangle the title issues, and we thought, well, maybe this is God's way of clearing the way for us to buy it down the road. So we kind of put it out of our minds. 

A year later, the guy sold the house to his father-in-law, who is in real estate, and also happened to be the guy who bought my Papaw's farm from my mom after he died. He lived in the house for a couple of years, and he did some landscaping we would have wanted to do, and put in beautiful real hardwood floors. Then last year he offered to sell it to us for a great price if my mom would write off the balance of the money he still owed on the farm. Beyond the fact that my mom just couldn't afford to give away what was basically her retirement to help us get the home of our dreams, we would have never let her do that. So we let it go again.

But now the guy wants to retire and move back home to the county he's from, and he wants to be out of the house by the first of the year. And he's interested in selling it to us. And he is willing to buy our home from us to use as a rental property as part of the deal. And we want this SO SO SO much. And God has worked some serious miracles in the past few months to put us in a much better position to be a contender for this house. But there are so many things that will have to go just perfect for this to happen. First of all, he's going to have to come down on the price by a good bit. Which sounds like a huge obstacle (and it is!), but we happen to know what he has in the house, and if he would just come down to that, then we could afford it. He claims that he will be happy to get back out of it just what he has in it. The problem is, he's kind of inflating the number he's giving us for what he's spent on it, and although we know better, calling him on it is not going to work in our favor. He also has to agree to buy our house for a decent price, which we're not too terribly worried about. 

And there are things that favor him in doing this deal with us. Like he will get a rental property out of it, and he also won't have to worry about selling his house on the open market (which is not so great right now), possibly delaying by months or longer his plan to move back home for good by the new year. But he's a guy who likes to make money (not criticizing), and this deal would not be a real moneymaker for him.

We would benefit by far more than he would. Not only would we be be getting our dream home, but we also wouldn't have to worry about getting our current house market ready, although there are a few minor repairs we would take care of anyway. But a cash buyer (which he would be) means no inspection process and having to fix every ding and scratch. It would also put us very, very close geographically to my parents, which is not such a huge deal now, but likely will be in the coming years when they will start to need assistance on a day to day basis. My mom is not in great health as it is, and I would like to be convenient to her should she need me to be, a likelihood I don't like to contemplate but can't deny. It will also make it easy for Nick to mow their yard for them when the time comes. 

This would be our forever home. As it sits it has the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms our current house has, but there's a huge finished basement the size of the rest of the house, already plumbed out for another bathroom and just waiting for us to turn it into a master suite, a laundry room, a bathroom, a craft room (!!!!!) and a small guest bedroom, all of which we could do with minimal cost and the help of my father-in-law the carpenter and my dad the former plumber.

This is not an impossible deal, but it will definitely be God working if it goes through, and we know that if it does not happen the way we're hoping, it's because He has a better plan. Worst case scenario, it doesn't happen and we stay in our current home, for now or from now on. And it's warm and solid and cozy, even if it is a bit cramped. We are so very blessed either way. So what I'm asking is for you all to pray that God's will be done here, and that if that plan does not include us getting this house, that Nick and I will be filled with peace and contentment and the assurance that He is still in control.

In about 17 hours we have a meeting with this gentleman, and hopefully we will know then whether or not we need to let this dream go. We're going to lay out for him what we hope to do and what we have to have to make that happen. If he doesn't agree, then we have to walk away. Please, if you are a praying person and don't mind do so, set an alarm on your phone for 7 PM EST and send up a prayer for God's sovereign will over this meeting and the whole situation. Love you guys!

Life lately and a meme

Ohhhh, this drives me crazy! I had this whole post typed up, then it disappeared. Like I have all this time to post and all! Anyway, let me try to hit the high lights:

Texas was great, lots of fun - Houston Museum of Natural Science, NASA, Kemah Boardwalk, TopGolf, shopping, swimming, bowling, eating, movies, hanging out with family. We left here July 26, the day after VBS and got there just after midnight Sunday morning. We left Texas the following Saturday afternoon and got home early Sunday morning. It was a wonderful trip!

Friday night Nick and I got to have a real live date night while Robert and Faith watched the kids.

My mom had a heart cath yesterday morning to check for blockage. She's had sudden, frequent weak spells for the last few months, and they were afraid it was her heart. The great news - not her heart. The not so great news - we still don't know what's causing them. So the search continues.

No spanking anytime recently, although heaven knows I tried to make it happen Friday night! But we ran out of time, and Nick is aware, so maybe it will be on the agenda sometime soon.

I found this meme over at Bonnie's new blog (Aren't you exited she's back? You didn't know? You should go check her out!) Anyway, I love memes, so I thought I'd play along.

1. Would you have sex with the last person you text messaged? I think that was my sister-in-law, so that would be a no.
2. You talked to an ex today, correct? Incorrect, and that's sort of a presumptuous way to ask a question, don't you think?
3. Have you taken someone's virginity? Nick and I lost our virginity together on our wedding night.
4. Is trust a big issue for you? It's certainly very important.
5. Did you hang out with the person you like recently? I sleep with him every night
6. What are you excited for? Some prints of pictures I took of the kids to arrive.
7. What happened tonight? I fried up a whole lot of chicken.
8. Do you think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted? Yes, have some respect for yourself!
9. Is confidence cute? Absolutely
10. What is the last beverage you had? Sweet tea
11. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust? I would say 4
12. Do you own a pair of skinny jeans? I do, but I don't know that they technically qualify as skinny on my non-skinny body.
13. What are you gonna do Saturday night? Nick has to work that day, so probably just hang out and unwind.
14. What are you going to spend money on next? probably groceries.
15. Are you going out with the last person you kissed? if by going out with you mean being married to, then yes.
16. Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months? probably in some small ways. I'm working on getting more organized.
17. Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything? Nick
18. The last time you felt broken? I would say a couple of months ago
19. Have you had sex today? Nope
20. Are you starting to realize anything? There are a lot of these questions
21. Are you in a good mood? Sure, I guess so
22. Would you ever want to swim with sharks? I don't even like to swim with blue gill!
23. Are your eyes the same color as your dad’s? No, mine are blue and his are hazel
24. What do you want right this second? A large grape cream slush with Nerds candy from Sonic (Try it. You'll thank me.)
25. What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy? Depends upon the circumstance
26. Is your current hair color your natural hair color? Well, it's what my natural color used to be before I started going gray, if that counts.
27. Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh? Fortunately, I don't have that problem
28. What was the last thing that made you laugh? Something Nick said.
29. Do you really, truly miss someone right now? Yes
30. Does everyone deserve a second chance? Most do, but not everyone
31. Honestly, do you hate the last boy you were talking to? Boy? That would be Jack, so no.
32. Does the person you have feelings for right now, know you do? After all these years, I certainly hope so
33. Are you one of those people who never drinks soda? No, but I generally only have it if we go out to a nicer restaurant.
34. Listening to? The dishwasher running
35. Do you ever write in pencil anymore? Very seldom, although I do enjoy a freshly sharpened pencil.
36. Do you know where the last person you kissed is? He's asleep in our bed
37. Do you believe in love at first sight? Maybe not real love, but I do believe you can have an instant connection. I definitely had that with Nick, and he tells me he had it with me too.
38. Who did you last call? My mom
39. Who was the last person you danced with? Jack.
40. Why did you kiss the last person you kissed? It was a goodnight kiss.
41. When was the last time you ate a cupcake? Um, April maybe? I think it was at Morgan's birthday party.
42. Did you hug/kiss one of your parents today? Yes, both of them
43. Ever embarrass yourself in front of a crush? Sure, many times.
44. Do you tan in the nude? I don't tan. I burn and peel, so I try to stay out of the sun unless I'm well protected.
45. If you could, would you take back your last kiss? No
46. Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night? No
47. Who was the last person to call you? My mom.
48. Do you sing in the shower? Occasionally
49. Do you dance in the car? Sometimes with Morgan
50. Ever used a bow and arrow? Yes
51. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? By a professional photographer would be the day Jack came home from the hospital.
52. Do you think musicals are cheesy? Some are, some are not
53. Is Christmas stressful? It has been in recent years, but I'm hoping it will be less so this time around.
54. Ever eat a pierogi? Yes
55. Favorite type of fruit pie? blackberry
56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? A wife and mom (winning!)
57. Do you believe in ghosts? No, but I do believes in angels and demons
58. Ever have a deja-vu feeling? Yes
59. Take a vitamin daily? No, but I should.
60. Wear slippers? No, but I wear flip flops pretty much always unless I'm in bed or in the shower.
61. Wear a bath robe? No
62. What do you wear to bed? panties and a tshirt.
63. First concert? Metallica, 1998
64. Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? Target for fun stuff, Walmart for practical stuff
65. Nike or Adidas? Whichever is cheaper at the time.
66. Cheetos Or Fritos? Cheetos
67. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? honey roasted peanuts
68. Favorite Taylor Swift song? I'm not a huge fan, but I do kind of like that one that was in The Hunger Games movie.
69. Ever take dance lessons? No
70. Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing? I think I'll hang onto my mechanic husband. Although he did get offered a job teaching auto mechanics at a local high school the other day. It was too much of a pay cut for him to consider, but I have certainly enjoyed entertaining a few fantasies about my husband the stern teacher!
71. Can you curl your tongue? Yes. Jack learned to do it the other day too, and he was so proud of himself!
72. Ever won a spelling bee? Yes
73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy? Sure
74. What is your favorite book? There are so many, but I'll always love Gone With the Wind.
75. Do you study better with or without music? Probably without
76. Regularly burn incense? Not regularly, although we used to when we were first married.
77. Ever been in love? Yes
78. Who would you like to see in concert? The Avett Brothers
79. What was the last concert you saw? I can't even remember
80. Hot tea or cold tea? Iced
81. Tea or coffee? Tea
82. Favorite type of cookie? Milano Lemon
83. Can you swim well? Reasonably so
84. Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? Yes
85. Are you patient? I try to be
86. DJ or band, at a wedding? We didn't have either
87. Ever won a contest? Yes
88. Ever have plastic surgery? Nope
89. Which are better black or green olives? Black on pizza/other dishes, green to eat by themselves.
90. Opinions on sex before marriage? I'm glad we waited.
91. Best room for a fireplace? Living room.
92. Do you want to get married? Not again

July so far...

Did everyone have a nice 4th of July? Ours was quite lovely. We actually went to my parents' house the day before for a cookout, and it was a lot of fun having all 6 of their grandkids under one roof, especially since 5 of them are 4 years and under. :) Of course they're all together every week at church, but it was nice to have them where they could get down and play and make lots of noise. The actual 4th we went up to Nick's grandparents' cabin on the lake. It was wonderful! We had great food, fishing and swimming, and when it got dark, some of us went out on the pontoon boat and watched the fireworks going off all over the lake. 

I've really missed the cabin. We spent our honeymoon there, and every June for years we would go back for a family June birthday party and then stay for several days to celebrate our anniversary. For the last three years Nick has used his free week of vacation for church camp, so we've not gotten to stay for the week since 2010, and in 2011 we just had a weekend there. This was the first year at least as long as we've been married that they've not had a June birthday party, which was sad.

This year he gets 3 weeks vacation, and we were so looking forward to having a week there again. Unfortunately, since Nick's grandfather passed away, his grandmother has been getting more skittish about life in general, and she told us at Easter that she didn't think she was going to let anyone stay up there anymore. When Nick's dad opened the cabin up for the season there were some plumbing problems that had appeared over the winter, and I guess she's paranoid that someone will tear something up and Nick's grandfather is no longer here to fix things. This is disappointing to be sure, but we're hoping and praying that she will come around. 

Saturday we took the kids to the mountains and just walked around and had fun as a family, which was such a precious gift. God has been so good to provide us some financial ease recently, and it was wonderful to be able to have time with family on all three days and not have to scramble for money for gas or food to take to the celebrations.

Another blessing was that my parents found a killer deal on an upgraded washer and dryer a few weeks ago, and they passed their old set on to us. Obviously it was used, but definitely an upgrade to our washer and dryer, both of which were close to wearing out entirely. We were hoping to make it to next income tax return time so that we could buy a new set, so this was a real blessing. It's actually made laundry a much more pleasant chore. :)

I did end up getting a spanking after all. He planned to get to it Friday night after the kids were in bed, but he fell asleep on the couch. Then he planned to handle it Saturday night, but we got home late, and when he was ready to do it and go to bed, the girls were still awake (although they were in bed). So he decided that he would set the alarm early and do it before church. He was quite prepared to wake me up and paddle me (a rude awakening indeed), but his alarm also woke the girls up, and they came piling upstairs (saved by the bell!). 

Finally Sunday night the stars aligned and he took me upstairs to meet my fate. Forty or so swats with the Patty paddle from Cane-iac over my jeans might not sound so bad, but 4 months is a long time to go between spankings, and I was definitely on fire from the start. But it was exactly what I needed, and I've rediscovered my motivation for housework since lol. Now if I could just rediscover the same motivation to get to bed on time!

Anniversary Week

How's everyone doing? It's been a busy couple of weeks for us. After camp I had to get 4 photo sessions finished, as well as an Etsy order filled, and several birthday gifts made, some of which I'm still working on.

Mine and Nick's 16th anniversary was on the 26th, which was a Thursday. He had to work that day, and that evening we had a memorial service to attend for a friend from church who lost his battle with cancer earlier that week, so there wasn't really any time to celebrate. But after the memorial service, my mom and dad did take both Morgan and Daisy home with them, so we took Jack and went and had a lovely dinner together.

The next day Nick told me to meet him after work for a surprise. I took the kids shopping at a Burke's Outlet and found a cute outfit to wear on our date for a great price. Then I dropped the kids off at my parents' house and headed out to meet Nick. He surprised me with a yummy dinner of fish tacos and an art class! It was one of those places where you all paint the same thing and follow along with the instructor, and you can bring food and drinks to enjoy while you paint. I did one of these classes a couple of years ago with a girlfriend and had a blast, and I'd mentioned several times how much I wanted to do one with Nick, so this was an awesome surprise! The instructor offered an option to split the painting with your partner so you didn't take two mostly identical paintings home to the same house, so I painted the left side of the scene on my canvas, and Nick painted the right side on his. The painting we did was loosely based on Van Gogh's Starry Night, which I've always loved. We'd love to do this for our anniversary every year if we can. How cool would it be to someday have all those paintings to represent our years together?

Theoretically, there's supposed to be a spanking in the near future, but honestly I think he may have tabled it. He first mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, and I think maybe by this point he's decided not to do it, which is fine with me!

We've got VBS coming up in a few weeks, and I'm in charge of crafts again, which should be fun. And after that we go to Texas! Yay - I can't wait! Anyway, I'm off to bed. Have a great 4th of July!

Hello, remember me?

Gosh, it's been over a month since I posted here! Life has been full and very blessed. God really showed up in a big way at the end of last month and put some things in place for us financially that I could have never imagined. I can't go into details here, but suffice it to say we have a bit more breathing room now.

We just got back from a week at church camp, and it was awesome! We had 13 kids saved, and many more make renewed dedications to Christ. One of the girls who got saved is one of Morgan's very best friend, and I couldn't be more pleased with what a change it already seems to have made in her!

Jenni commented a couple of weeks ago and asked if there's been any spanking lately. The short answer is no. There was one kind of threatened before we went to camp, but I think he's probably let it go since he didn't have a chance to deal with it before we left. Also, I've been a bit sick since we got back, which always seems to happen when we go on vacation of any sort.

Right now I've got some catching up to do here at home, as well as work on some photo shoots and make some birthday gifts. Hopefully I'll get a chance to pop back in here before too long. :)

Mother's Day, etc.

Hi, guys. I know I've been really absent here lately. I've not forgotten about the blog - I've just been really busy. Morgan's party went really well. There were tons of crafts, and everybody had a lot of fun. 

Easter was spent at Nick's grandmother's house, which was nice. I made Daisy's Easter dress, which turned out surprisingly well, along with a matching one for a doll, and she loved them both.

At the beginning of the month Kate and Will went to the Kentucky Derby and left Maddox and Kit here with family for the weekend. They actually came in on the 1st, and Kelly went into labor the same day. Kit and Maddox were supposed to stay with my in-laws, but they had Logan at their house while Kelly was in the hospital. Maddox is 4 and can be kind of a handful, and Logan is 19 months old and right in that crazy toddler stage, so they had Maddox stay with us, and Morgan stayed there with Kit and Logan. It was fun to have him stay with us, but exhausting.

The new baby girl is precious and perfect, and I even got to be there when she was born, something I didn't expect.

I've been doing some things to further my crafting, which I won't go into here, but it's keeping me busy.

Mother's Day was...kind of sad. Money is non-existent for us right now, so I didn't expect any gifts from Nick or the kids, and I was really, truly okay with that. But there wasn't much in the way of celebration at all. Morgan was frankly sullen when Nick told her to load the dishwasher so I could fix lunch.  I made Mother's Day gifts for Faith, Kelly, and Melanie, which I do every year, or at least as long as they've been pregnant or mothers, which started two years ago for Kelly and last year for Faith and Melanie. And I don't do that because I expect something back - I really don't. But I had to ask each of them later on if they opened their gifts before I even got a thank you, which made me feel a little...unappreciated. 

To be honest, it wasn't that bad of a day. Even if my sisters-in-law and my friend didn't remember me on Mother's Day, my sweet mom got me a stationary set, and my in-laws got me a geranium, which was precious and unnecessary. And God has blessed me so very much. Right now there is a family on my Facebook feed living the final days of their five-year old son's losing battle with cancer. There's a blog I'm following written by a midwife who just spent her first Mother's Day missing her baby girl who lived 6 hours and died in her arms a few months ago. She's facing a return to her job this month where she will work every day caring for women with healthy pregnancies while she mourns the loss of her own child. We may not have been able to go out for a fancy Mother's Day lunch or dinner, but there was food to put on the table, and it was delicious, even if I had to cook it.

I told Nick tonight that I really think what would help tremendously is for us to have more date nights. We've actually not had one since last year, which is not great considering we're almost halfway through May now. But my parents have been watching Robert and Faith's baby Liam a lot. He's not crawling yet, which makes him an easy baby to watch right now, which my crazy two year old is certainly not. Not that Jack is poorly behaved - he's not. He's just, you know, two. And Morgan of course watches herself but she's not really much help with the other two. Daisy wants my mom to actively play with her, and well, there are three of them in all, and it's just a lot more work.

Nick's dad and stepmom have never really been great about babysitting for us, although they love the kids. But even so, they babysit Logan for Grant and Kelly quite a bit, and with the new baby girl they've been helping even more, which leaves no time for us, should they even by willing. A couple of weeks ago when Nick came home Jack was literally hanging off my neck and Daisy had thrown herself into my lap where she was trying to rock herself like a baby in my arms. He took one look at me and told Morgan she was watching them for a few minutes while we took a walk. We just went around our neighborhood and Morgan complained about it on Facebook while we were gone, but that 20 minutes alone with Nick did me a lot of good. I think we need to try harder to carve out more stolen moments like that.

Anyway, how have you guys been? Anything cool happen for Mother's Day for you?

Happy Easter!

source

Happy Easter, everyone! I know I've been absent around here. I've had my hands full, but when I get the chance I'll pop back in. The party went great, and I've got lots of things to report. See you soon!

Answered prayers

Thank you so much for all your prayers. God did indeed come through for us. My mom and dad were able to let us borrow the money we needed, and they even gave us an extra $100 to go on that does not need to be repaid. 

Another item on my prayer list lately was that God would provide a way for us to make it to Texas this year. As I've mentioned, we go every year to spend a week with Kate and Will and their kids. It's always a dear luxury, because gas alone is usually $500-$600. Add in possibly a hotel on the way down (it's about a 15 hour trip), not to mention snacks for the road and a meal or two on the way, and we're in pretty deep financially just getting there and back. One year Kate and Will flew us down, one year we drove down with Grant and Kelly and split the gas, and the last couple of years we've been able to take out a loan from Nick's 401K to make the trip. But this year we're still paying back previous loans, and we're struggling more than ever to just make ends meet. 

We had talked about it, and come to the realization that we were more than likely not going to be able to swing it this year. This was an especially big disappointment, because it was going to be just us this year. Because Kelly's baby is due this month and they will have two babies under two, she and Grant decided to skip the trip this year. We knew we would miss them, but we were also really looking forward to having Kate and Will all to ourselves for the first time ever. 

A couple of days ago Nick was talking to Kate, and he let her know that we would not be able to make it this year. She immediately told him to go ahead and ask for the time off and that they would make sure we were able to come. He told her that it was not a plea for money (and it wasn't! But we did need to let them know sooner rather than later so that they knew they wouldn't be hosting us that week). In the end he left it as planning to go down with the stipulation that we would let her know if we needed the help.

It's been hard for both of us to let go of our pride when it comes to accepting help, whether from my parents or his sister or anyone else. But God has certainly humbled us over the years, and taught us that often when we are in a position to need the help, He's using the situation to also bring blessings to the people who are following His lead to provide that help.

Anyway, I'm headed up to bed soon. Love you guys!

Prayer Request

Hi, guys. Things are good here, just working through my still growing to-do list. :) I do have a favor to ask of you. If you're a praying person, I sure could use your prayers this weekend. Tomorrow I have to go pay a car payment. Monday I have to pay a house payment. I don't have the money for either one, and I have no idea where it's coming from. If I can pull together $300 this weekend (somehow??), it will cover the car payment, but that leaves the (even bigger) house payment, and I am OUT OF TIME on both. Nick's next check also has more than usual that has to come out of it, and it will be short a day through no fault of his own, although that's a story for another day. Please pray with me that God provides for these needs. I know that He can do this, and I have faith that He will. 

We've been here before. I mean right here. Just a few months ago in fact, and God showed up in a big way. I know that He can do it again. I want you guys to know that I appreciate being able to come here to people that really care about me, and it means the world to me that I can ask you guys to pray with me and know that you will! Thank you all! :)

The past couple of weeks...

So just a quick post to catch up on the couple of weeks. Let's see...Kelly's baby shower was the 9th of this month. I had planned all kinds of things to make for her. Unfortunately for my timeline (but not for our church), we had revival at church the week before, which kind of killed any crafting time I had. The revival was over Friday, but I had some errands to run Saturday and Nick was also working, so I didn't get any real time at the sewing machine until that night after the kids were asleep. One thing Kelly had actually requested was one of these:

Source

I made one for both Faith and Melanie a few months ago, and they loved them, so I did one for Kelly too. Then I started on some burp cloths. A few months ago my trusty iron that I got for my wedding quit on me. I was going to go buy one, but my mom, frequenter of estate auctions, had several, so she just gave me one of her extras. It had been working great, so when I plugged it up that night I was expecting no trouble. But when I took my fabric to the ironing board several minutes later, it was stone cold. No amount of turning it off and on or cord wiggling or new outlet trying could coax the least bit of heat from it. So I found myself heading to Wal-mart at 1 AM to buy a replacement. I went back and forth and finally decided on one of the least expensive models. When I got back home and opened it, I was most irritated to find that the whole tip of the iron plate was broken off! I couldn't see myself making another trip, so I just used it as it was and decided to return it the next day.

I did the carrier handle cushion, two burp cloths, and three skirts. Nick, who had fallen asleep on the couch, woke up about 4:30, just after I finished the first skirt. I told him my whole iron saga, and he didn't seem terribly upset that I was still up. He headed up to bed, and I told him I would be up shortly. Unfortunately, shortly turned into 6:30. 

The next day at lunch Nick asked me what time I'd come to bed, and he wasn't happy with the answer, especially since we had all ended up oversleeping and missed church that morning. (Not entirely my fault I don't think. It was Daylight Saving Time change weekend, and he overslept too!) But I didn't realize I was in trouble until that evening.

Nick runs the sound booth during our church services, so it's rare for us to get to sit together. Occasionally we will shoot each other short texts (generally not during the preaching). This was the conversation we had:

(Me) So sleepy...

(Him) Maybe if you went to bed at 2 instead of 6:30...

(Me) Possibly

(Him) Probably

(Me) I'm unconvinced.

(Him) Later I'll show you.

(Me) Nah, I'm good.

(Him) Too bad. It's already been earned.

(Me) You're no fun.

He didn't get a chance to do it for a couple of days, but finally Wednesday night at bedtime he had me come up with him. There was some lecturing, and I did plenty of assuring him that I was sorry and that I understood why I have a bedtime and why it doesn't work for the family for me to stay up all night, but there was no real question that I would be getting a spanking. He got a new tactical belt for Christmas, and he decided to try it out. It was the first time I've ever been spanked with a nylon belt, but it was very thick and stiff, and every bit as painful as leather. It was also very loud. I don't know how many licks I got, but enough to make me very glad when it was over. 

Source

The good news is that Kelly loved all her stuff. I was also able to make her a few of the other things on my list (before bedtime!) and take them to her at church Wednesday. All the pictures of the stuff I gave her at her shower include her in them, so I can't post them here, but I did think to snap a picture of the items I made later: another skirt, two pairs of shoes, a nursing scarf (the gray fabric) and a diaper clutch (to keep a few diapers and a small case of wipes in for quick changes on the go).

Friday I got to go to Melanie's house along with Kelly and one of her friends, and Melanie taught us the basics of crochet. It's something I've wanted to learn for ages, and it was a lot of fun having some girl time. 

On Saturday Morgan had her first soccer game. They lost, but only by one point, and her team is quite good this season. Afterwards we went to McDonald's and let the kids play on the play equipment. Jack and Daisy had a blast, and of course Morgan was too cool to play on it, but was gracious enough to climb up in there to keep an eye on Jack for us. Morgan has been struggling lately with some teen angst issues, and they've been manifesting themselves in some unhealthy ways. She's started doing a bit better, but I would really appreciate your prayers for her (and us as we parent her!). 

Saturday afternoon I did three month pictures for Brandon and Melanie's baby boy J, and it was exhausting! Fortunately my sweet husband fixed dinner for me. :)

Sunday night there was huge drama. Daisy...cut her hair! And I don't mean a little bit. She basically butchered it. Nick flipped out. He was furious! I wasn't thrilled about it either, but well, it's kind of something a lot of three and four year olds do at one time or another. I called Nick's stepmom (who does our hair), and she agreed to come and try to fix it the next day. When she saw it, she was kind of taken aback, but I told her we knew it was going to have to be pretty short, so she waded in. There were spots that were less than an inch long, so she ended up with a pixie cut, almost exactly like Maggie Gyllenhaal here, but a little shorter around the ears:

Source

Guys, I wish I could post a picture here, because she looks so freaking CUTE! I was resigned to it because it was better than the cut she gave herself - I didn't expect to love it! She has these big huge Disney Princess eyes like Katy Perry, so she still looks very girly, and with her dimples she looks like a mischievous woodland sprite, or a miniature Audrey Hepburn (although Audrey didn't have those dimples)! I'm sure we'll let it grow back out, but for now I'm glad we were forced into a cut we would've never had the nerve to get on our own!

Today Elizabeth came over for a while. She had laundry she needed to do and no money to do it (they use a laundromat), and I needed help unburying my kitchen table (which is going to get me spanked again if it's not done by Friday). So I let her use our washer and dryer, and she helped me clean. 

I've got so much stuff to do in the next few weeks! A list:

Skirts (2) for craft exchange

Shoes for craft exchange

Ring for craft exchange

Pillow Cover for craft exchange

Acorn Pillow for craft exchange

Pack gnome figurine and ribbon for craft exchange

10 xl pom poms for cupcake liners/garland

Make cupcake garland

Make 15 makeup bags

String washers for washer necklaces

Make 15 Rosettes for necklaces

String Rosettes

Make 15 Leather Bow Barrettes

Make brush pouch for nail brushes

Make pillowcase shirt for Morgan

Finish J's pictures

Easter bunnies for Logan, A, and J

Make shirts into short sleeves for Maddox

Leather envelope, Knot Bracelet and leather barrette and bracelet for Kit

Mail Easter stuff for Maddox and Kit

Make Daisy's Easter dress

Mother's Day gifts - stitch markers, dish cloths (crocheted)

Order of three pillow covers for Faith.

Anyway, I'm off to bed so I can get some rest and got some of this stuff done!

Answers!

You guys had some fun questions!

Ronnie asked: Who would you want to play the role of you in a movie?

That's a tough one for me. Maybe Emma Stone? Of course she would have to be playing a younger me, lol. But I really love her as an actress, how real and down to earth she is; I love Jennifer Lawrence for the same reason. Of course neither one of them looks like me.

Sunny Girl asked: You're always making or doing something crafty, what is your favorite?

I love this question! I love doing all kinds of crafty things, but I'd have to say sewing is my favorite. I'm far, far from an expert at it, but I do feel like I've come a long way from where I started. Kelly is due with a baby girl next month, and I made her some sweet little fancy skirts that I'm pretty proud of, along with some little baby shoes. It was my first foray into shoes, and while the first pair turned out pretty well, they really kicked my butt in the making. The second pair though was a much easier pattern. They went together like a dream, and they turned out so precious! I want to make a pair for every baby I see!

Anonymous asked: where in the world would you like to go most?

I would really love to go to Ireland, Great Britain, and many of the countries of continental Europe. I'm of Irish Heritage, so Ireland has been on my bucket list for a long time. The most beautiful place I've ever been is Hawaii, and Nick and I dream of going back there someday.

do you have a college degree? if so in what?

I do not. I did attend collage for a little while, but I didn't finish. Do I regret it? Not really, because I'm doing just what I'm meant to be doing right now, no college degree needed. I would love to take a few classes on things that interest me, but that will probably be down the road a few years.

what's your favorite movie of all time? 

The Notebook, hands down.

Princess asked: Do you have a spanking fantasy?

Most of my fantasies are pretty standard spanko fare - principal/student, boss/secretary, doctor/nurse. But in real life there are a few things I'd love to have happen someday. I think being made to stand in the corner would be an incredible turn-on for play. As part of a serious spanking (before, or during the middle of it) I think it would be very hard to submit to, especially if my attitude is not where it needs to be, and it would seriously ratchet up just how disciplined I feel by the end of it, which would probably be a good thing as far as achieving the intended effect of a punishment. Punishment spankings around here are no joke, and the last thing I feel before or during them is aroused. But when they are over and the pain has subsided, I'm often turned on after the fact by the feeling of being both taken care of and made to obey. I would really love, once the serious issue has been taken care of, to have Nick occasionally send me to the corner to "think about what I'd done" then spank me again, quite a long time, this time for play and ending in an orgasm for me.

Violet said: What is the worst job you ever had? What is the best change that has occurred in your life over the past year? What is your biggest pet peeve?

The worst job I ever had was probably a toss-up between the job I had when I got married, which was at a magazine distribution warehouse, and the last couple of years at my last job, in the customer service call center at a bank. The warehouse job was 20 miles from home and started at 6:00 in the morning. The warehouse was not air conditioned, and we actually had a girl pass out from the heat that summer. Add to that, I wasn't very good at it, and it was a pretty miserable few months. My last job I actually loved for the first few years. The pay was good, and they really took care of their employees. After the first six years or so though, there were some changes in management. Raises, which were once very regular, dropped to almost nothing, right as the cost of living shot up via gas and grocery prices. At the same time they greatly increased our workload. By the time I quit after 10 years on the job, morale was in the toilet. There was zero respect for the employees, and no job security either. Just before I left, a well respected department head who had been there for nearly thirty years was let go without warning because they decided they didn't want to pay her position any more. They combined her department with another (that really couldn't handle the extra workload), and when she came in on her day off to pick up something from her office, they told her she was fired and escorted her from the building without even letting her clean out her belongings. In my last three years there we lost 3 people from heart attacks and 1 from a stroke. One heart attack happened at the lady's desk, and the stroke happened in the parking lot. I started my maternity leave with Daisy three weeks before her birth because my blood pressure was through the roof and my doctor's office put me on bed rest. 

The best change that has occurred in my life in the last year...hmmm. There haven't really been any changes in the last year, but just over two years ago I had my sweet Jack, which has been one of the best changes ever!
As far as my biggest pet peeve, I confess to having a few - I'm kind of a grammar freak, I hate when people mispronounce things, and people who ride your bumper while driving make me nuts!

Thank you for all the questions - I had fun answering them! And of course it's still March, so keep 'em coming if you have them!

Question Month

March is Question Month! Anybody have anything they want to know? Put it in the comments and I'll put up answers in a day or two. :)

I should be sewing...

Or at least measuring and cutting fabric. I have an Etsy order that needs to go out tomorrow afternoon, and another that I need to start on this weekend. But I'm so, so tired, and I can do it tomorrow. Right now I just want to hang out for a minute and write. Nick was out of state at school for work this past week. He left straight after work Monday afternoon and got home about 8:00 tonight (or technically last night now, I guess. Thursday.) It's always a mixed bag for me when this happens. Of course I miss him terribly, and having the kids by myself for 4 straight days without a break is always exhausting. (I know, millions of single parents do it every day - I'm just saying it's tough!) But it's good for him at work to get to go and learn new things for his job. And he gets to stay at a nice quiet hotel and have the company pick up the tab for really nice meals every night, and it's just a nice break from his every day responsibilities.

While he was gone my friend Elizabeth came over on Tuesday and Thursday. She has two little girls, one of them 4 weeks older than Jack, and the other about a year older than Daisy. She also has an older son, but he didn't come with her. Tuesday she had both girls, and she came a little while before Morgan got home from school. Daisy was spending the night at my parents' house, but the girls had fun with Morgan anyway. She was very sweet to them both, giving them mani-pedis, and when they got done Jack was anxious to play with them both.

Last month I did a thing in my Etsy shop where if you bought a roll of ribbon at the store of your choosing and gave it to me, I would make you a big bow from it, add an embellishment in the center and put it on a lined clip. There was no charge for me to do that, and in return I got to keep the ribbon on the spool. It was a way for me to get my ribbon restocked for free and for my customers to get bows at a discount since Hobby Lobby's ribbon goes on sale half off every other week. I had a number of participants, and I ended up with probably 25 or 30 new rolls of ribbon for my stash. Elizabeth is one of my very best friends, so that's kind of an ongoing arrangement with her, although really I will make her the bows even if she just brings me enough ribbon for what she needs made. So Tuesday afternoon I spent mostly making hair bows for her.

Thursday she came over pretty early, and we spent the whole day cleaning while Jack, Daisy, and her youngest daughter kept each other entertained. We got a ton done, although not quite everything I wanted. Other than the time with her on Tuesday and then church on Wednesday, I spent pretty much all my waking hours this week cleaning. I got most of my crafting stuff organized and condensed, although I still have some stuff on the table to go through and organize (but not as much!) I also got the rest of the kitchen cleaned, the bedroom and bathroom upstairs cleaned (although this was mostly maintenance), the couches cleaned (vacuumed out, Febrezed, and cushion covers all washed), and the laundry on the big chair in the living room folded and put away (this was a Hurculean task even with Elizabeth and Morgan helping). When Nick got home I had dinner ready and waiting on him. He passed out on the couch not long after eating, but I'm awfully glad to have him back home safe.

A few months ago Hobby Lobby had this gorgeous mustard yellow and charcoal gray rugby striped knit in their fall fabric line. I happened to come across it in the form of a remnant that was all that was left of their stock back in September. I loved it like a small child, but I needed a birthday gift for Kelly, so I made it into an infinity scarf for her. Ever since I've been kind of in love with that color of yellow, and more than a little bummed that I could never find any more of that fabric, even at the other Hobby Lobby in town. Last week Elizabeth came over with some hair bow supplies for me, including a couple of purses she said were stained and I could take apart for the materials. One of them was this purse:

I about died. I loved it! And I told her I was absolutely not taking it apart and I would be happy to make her hair bows from other stuff, but this purse was coming to live with me. There was a very faint, have to look for it, ink pen mark on the back, not at all noticeable, but she's very finicky about her purses. Any flaws at all and she passes them on. She was happy enough to let me keep it and enjoy it, and tonight I finally had the chance to change all my stuff over into it. I keep looking over at it and grinning like an idiot. I'm kind of a nut about purses/handbags, but they have to really catch my eye. I have several that I really, really love, including 3 or 4 that I've not even gotten to carry yet. They're all either gifts or were bought on extreme clearance ages ago, with the exception of two nice ones that were birthday gifts on separate birthdays. I tend to carry a purse for months at a time because I only buy ones that I really love, so once I start using one, it's hard to let go!

And now, because talking about my purses is making me happy, and I know you want to know (or if you don't just skip it), here are my favorites:

Source

Tyler Rodan Handbag, Simple Satchel

Source




Source

I've got two more like the last one in different patterns that I haven't yet had a chance to carry. I've had them both for ages, but like I said, I have a hard time giving up what I'm carrying. Anyway. That's my randomness. Hope you all are doing well!

54 Things - The Meme

A few weeks ago Ronnie posted this meme on her blog. I'm a sucker for memes, and when I was younger I actually used to keep a regularly updated list of things that made me happy. So I thought it would be fun to revisit. :) And of course because I'm both wordy and nosy about other people's details, I plan to elaborate on them all. :) In no particular order, 54 things that make me happy:

1. Sleeping in. I don't get to do it often these days because Jack at least and usually Daisy too are up early, but it's awesome when it happens.

2. Naps. Along the same line, and just as rare, although Nick does generally let me take one on Sunday afternoons.

3. Spankings. Sometimes. Mostly after the fact because they make feel safe and loved and taken care of and reset. In the middle of them not so much, but I do love the end effect.

4. Sliding into a freshly made bed. I generally make our bed every day, even if Nick is away.

5. A clean house. I very rarely have one, but it's not from lack of trying.

6. Our church. A good deal of our church family is also our actual family, and I love it. I also love that because of this our kids are growing up close to their cousins.

7. Creating. My crafting is such a vital outlet for me, and on days when I'm crazy stressed it does wonders for me to plug in my glue gun and make one of the girls a hair bow or sit down at my sewing machine and sew up a little zipper pouch. Just creating something new and useful or beautiful is very cathartic for me, even (or especially) if it just takes a few minutes.

8. My children. I love all three of them more and more every day, and I can't believe God picked me to be their mom.

9. My husband. After almost 16 years of marriage he still turns my head, and I'm still head over heels in love with him.

10. The cabin. This is the little cabin on the lake that belongs to Nick's grandmother, and to his grandfather before he passed away. Nick and I honeymooned there, and for years we went back every June for a few days to celebrate our anniversary. For the last couple of years that vacation week has been spent at camp, but Nick gets three weeks vacation this year, and we're looking forward to spending time at the cabin again. Every year I feel like summer magically begins when we drive across the big green bridge on the way up there.

11. Church camp. I grew up going to church camp, and some of the best memories of my youth were formed there. Three years ago when Robert took his first group from our church to camp we sent Morgan and visited there every evening for the evening meal and service. The next year Nick stayed all week to help, and I visited. Last year Nick was a counselor, and I stayed all week in my own cabin with the two littles. This year's camp is just 15 weeks away, and I'm so excited!

12. Getting my nails done. It's been literally years since I've had my nails done (by which I mean getting lovely acrylics put on my short, stubby, square natural nails). I kept them done on a regular basis for years, but after Morgan was born it was only a sometimes thing. I think the last time I had them done was in 2007 for Kelly and Grant's wedding, but if we had the money I would keep them done all the time again.

13. Lists. I'm a list maker from way back. Grocery lists, Christmas gift lists, chore lists, project lists, they all make me feel a little safer and more in control.

14. Nick's voice on the phone. I try to not bother him at work unless I have a good reason because I know he's busy, but if I had my way I'd call him 6 times a day just to talk to him. When he calls me it brightens my whole day!

15. Texts from Nick. On the same theme, I love to get emails from Nick also, and I save them all.

16. Thrift stores. Shopping is a rare luxury for me, but when I do have any extra to play with, I love to go to the Goodwill. There's so much potential for great finds! Last time I went I found a real live genuine American Girl doll for $1! Someone has butchered her hair, but the price to get the head replaced is less than half the cost of a new doll, so it's still a fabulous deal!

17. Hobby Lobby, Joann's Michael's, A.C. Moore. We're very fortunate in my relatively small city to have four different craft stores (and two each of Hobby Lobby and Joann). Going to the craft store is one of my very favorite things to do, and if I have a gift card to spend guilt free it's even better!

18. Road trips with Nick. He kind of hates to travel, and I confess that it's less fun with fussing kids on board, but I absolutely love the rare occasions when it's just me and him in a car. We put Pandora on a 90s station and sing our hearts out.

19. Painted toenails. Mostly because I'm really bad at painting them, so if they get painted, it's because Nick does it for me, and I love it when he does that.

20. Pinterest. Stahp, Pinterest - I need to go to bed!

21. A good book. Nick got me a Kindle Fire HD last year, and I wasn't sure if I would enjoy reading on it like I do a physical book, but I love it just as much.

22. My children's laughter. Is there any sweeter sound in the world?

23. New socks. Something about nice, bright white socks makes me feel capable of conquering the world.

24. Yellow Box flip flops. I wear them every day of the year, even if it's just at home. 

25. Getting something for free. It doesn't happen very often, but I love it when it does.

26. Happy mail. I really, really love getting packages in the mail, whether it's something I ordered or a gift from someone.

27. Holding hands with Nick. Something so sweet and innocent, but it still gives me a thrill.

28. My time in the mornings playing with Daisy and Jack before we get up for the day. Both sleep in their own bed, but often Daisy wakes up when Morgan gets ready for school, and when she does she comes and gets in bed with me. Whether Morgan brings Jack up before she leaves or he sleeps later and I go get him myself, I always spend some times snuggling with both babies.

29. Hanging out with Morgan. She's reached the age where she likes to spend too much time shut in her room with Facebook, but when I can pry her out I enjoy her company.

30. Blue jeans. If there's any category of clothing I have an excess of, it would definitely be jeans, but I love them all.

31. Making someone a gift that they really love. 95% of the gifts I give are handmade, so the recipient's reaction is extra personal for me. And I really love getting gifts myself (especially handmade!), so I know how meaningful it is when someone goes to the trouble to find something that's just perfect for me.

32. Having nothing that I have to do. This NEVER happens, but it has in the not too recent past, and I'd love to have that feeling again sometime.

33. Photography. I really, really love taking pictures, and when I can get just the perfect shot it makes my whole day.

34. Taking my bra off at bedtime - ahh, heaven!

35. Finding out something is cheaper than I thought it was - the best thing ever at the checkout counter!

36. The way I feel after I finish on the treadmill. Unfortunately we didn't have enough left from the income tax return to renew my gym membership after all, but I don't have to pay anything till April 1st, so I'm hoping and praying we can come up with the money before then.

37. Spending time with a girlfriend. I've only got a few, and the days we get together are few and far between, but all the more precious for it.

38. Nick's weekends off. He works every other Friday and Saturday and is off on Sundays, which means that every other weekend we get 3 days together.

39. Seeing my husband proud of something he's accomplished. He's lost about 50 pounds, and though his weight loss has been stalled for a while, he has really changed his whole lifestyle.

40. The beach. I've only been a handful of times in my life, but I sure do love it.

41. Potstickers. Specifically the ones from Sam's Club. Soooo delicious!

42. Clean sheet day. With really soft, worn sheets. A number of years ago Nick and I found several great deals on high thread count sheets, and by now they feel amazing.

43. Squishy down pillows. Nick likes really firm, densely packed feather pillows, but mine have to be really soft.

44. Seeing family that lives out of town, whether they come here or we go there.

45. A fire in the fireplace. We don't do this very often, although we usually try to have one on Christmas morning.

46. Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies. Most recently these Sweet Toffee Milano Slices. Ah-mazing!

47. Frozen Cokes. Probably my favorite treat, and occasionally Nick will bring me one unexpectedly. Just as romantic as flowers in my book. Not that I don't occasionally love flowers too. :)

48. Sweet tea. I'm pretty much awesome at making sweet tea thankyouverymuch.

49. That first really warm day of spring. You know, the one where you roll the windows down in the car and forget you ever saw snow.

50. That first perfectly gorgeous day with the delicious crisp bite of autumn in the air.

51. When Nick walks in the door in the evening. Seriously the highlight of my day, and about 5:30 every day I find myself watching the window.

52. Being a Stay At Home Mom. It has always been my dream, and I can't believe I'm so blessed.

53. On rare occasions Nick has spanked me purely as a reminder to be good, whether it's before I go somewhere or before he has to be away. It always leaves me feeling warm, fuzzy, loved, and taken care of, not to mention kept my mind on him the whole time.

54. This blog. It's not quite as active as it has been in some past years, but I love it, and I'm proud of it. I've met some wonderful people through it, and I'm so glad to know you all.