Athens

A couple of Saturdays ago I got to go to Athens with my dear friend Lori for this thing called Ugapalooza at UGA. It was a concert put on by the a cappella singing groups there. All three of the groups were excellent, but The Accidentals (all men) were by far my favorite. My favorite two songs that they did were Everything by Michael Buble and Come Together by The Beatles. I had a great time and enjoyed getting to know Lori's daughters, Kali and Destiny. I left my camera at home by accident so Destiny snapped some shots for me. I want to go back to Athens and take some pictures soon -- I must have said, "That would be an amazing picture" a hundred times that evening! I hate it when I forget my camera!!

L to R- Me, Kali, Destiny, and Lori

This is "Dawgustus."

I am in love with this building. I seriously (ok - it just took me 5 tries to type "seriously" correctly) could look at it all day. It's an art building of some sort now. I will be taking more pictures of it in the near future. I don't know why it makes me so happy.

Little elves

Sarah, Micah and Isabella came over on Thursday to cheer me up after I got my ticket. How cute are these kids?!? Don't they just look like little elves with these crazy hats?The hats are actually sleeves to an old Coogi sweater (not mine or my husband's). I knew they had to be good for something!

ouch

Yeah so that whole plan about buying new socks to aid in my laziness? Not gonna happen. I got a speeding ticket on my way to work this morning. Yay. 62 in a 45. Yep. So there goes pretty much anything I was going to buy besides food for the next two or so months. *sigh*


It has been years since I got a ticket (since college...so about 5 years). I've never been one of those girls who could talk her way out of a ticket. Usually I am just so mad that I can't speak at all for fear of terrible consequences over my.big.mouth.. Seriously - I am usually fuming before Mr. Po-Po even gets to my window. I've never even tried to get out of one -- mostly because I knew I could take it home to good ol' Leesville and have some family member call some other family member to get that family member to call their daddy's brother's first wife's uncle to have it "fixed" for me. Gone are those days (unless I happen to get a ticket in LA. ha!). There will be no "fixing" of this ticket. But this morning, instead of being angry, I felt humbled (for lack of better word). I KNEW that I was speeding and I KNEW that I deserved that ticket. And he was so nice - not at all like the cops I have encountered in the past with their smugness and smart aleck remarks. He asked me if I wanted him to check the accuracy of the radar - and I was just like, um, no. I mean, I know I was speeding so there is no need to do that. (Which apparently was the not-so-wise-choice because since I was more than 10mph over the limit our insurance will go up. Boo.) Not that him checking the radar accuracy would have changed anything - I know I was speeding. It's very hard to go 45mph on a road with so many hills (Centennial Olympic for you Conyers folk). But anyway, this might sound totally weird, but aside from completely blowing our saving budget (I want a house and baby people!), I don't so much mind the ticket. I DESERVE IT. That's what happens when you are jammin' a little too much and let your foot get a little too heavy. And that makes me think about how in life I DESERVE so much less than I get. Or so much more (punishment/consequences). I DESERVE nothing. Well, I DESERVE death (thanks May family for that nugget of truth). But that's what's so amazing about grace. I don't deserve it but I get it anyway. Thank you Lord that there is nothing I can do to make you love me more. I would fail miserably with every effort. Thank you Lord that there is nothing I can do to make you love me less. Nothing at all. And that takes the burden off of trying so hard to get things right. Not that I don't want to live and do right (pleasing to God, not man), but I can't do it all right and that is ok. Because He has me and He's not lettin' go. Hallelujah! I am aware that the link between a speeding ticket and grace probably only makes since in my wacky mind, but I'm hoping you get something out of it too.

And I just have to say again how wonderful it is to be a part of the CCC Women's Group - though I do think we need a better name. You ladies pour out grace to each other and to me and I'm so blessed to get to see Jesus in you.

Random

I hate folding clothes. More specifically, I HATE matching socks. There are always missing socks, and I have a theory about that. This is my theory: all of the lint collected in the dryer and my husband's bellybutton is made up of those missing socks. Yep. It makes perfect sense. Really. It does.

And I have a plan.

I am getting rid of all the socks that are currently unmatched in my sock basket (which is ALL OF THEM) and I am buying new socks. But all of the new socks will be exactly the same so that I can just throw them in the basket unmatched and then reach into the basket at 7am (which I consider the butt crack of dawn) with my eyes still shut and still only pull out matching socks. Its brilliant really. I'll let you know how it goes.

*Even though I hate folding clothes, I am SO grateful to actually have clothes to fold. I am blessed.

Today's project.

I have today off (unexpectedly) and this is what I have accomplished so far...

and it's only 1:15pm! Yay for me. AND I worked out this morning. OK -- pick your jaw up off the floor. No, seriously. Wipe that look off your face. It hasn't been THAT long.

What have you accomplished today? Please leave a comment and share!

Happy Monday

I'll be back later with a better post (once it comes to me!) but until then here is a little something to tide you over.

Yep. That's me!

Faeries with Nunchucks

Ok. So maybe not.

But here's a cool (or scary if you are Sarah) story for ya...

So I grew up in what most people would consider the country -- 5 acres on a lake in rural Louisiana. We raised chickens all my life (for the eggs and the fun of it) and my parents still do. In our small Chicken Yard there is a small Chicken House - a little hut of a building where they go to roost (sleep). It has a flat roof so the leaves and pinestraw just pile up on top of it. Over the weekend my Dad was up on the roof raking all the leaves off and when he raked over a loose piece of tin, he was greeted by a coiled Chicken Snake. After nearly having a heart attack and falling off the roof (which he did later by the way....um...falling off that is...not a heart attack!) he beat it to death with the rake. It was 5 feet 8 inches long and as big around as a tennis ball for about 3 of those feet. Some biddies (baby chicks) had just hatched over Easter weekend and out of the 10 that hatched there are only 6 left - thanks to Mr. No Shoulders. Here's the proof:

If I had been at home, that snake would have been thoroughly dissected by now. But I'm weird like that.

The latest

One of five custom orders from my friend, Kristen.

Tagged!

I've been tagged! Jaime at Little Bird Creations tagged me for this meme.

Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here are my 7 facts as they come to me:

1. I can shoot tears out of my left eye. I love it. My husband has banned this activity from our house.

2. I have traveled to all of these places and LOVED all of them: Mexico; Senegal, West Africa; Burkina Faso, West Africa; Paris, France; South Korea; and Japan. I have lots of stories from each of these places. I'd be glad to tell them to you.=)

3. I love pranks. Not pranks that permanently damage a person or their property, but good-seriously-well-thought-out pranks. . .especially the ones that take time and effort to pull off. I like pulling pranks and having them pulled on me.

Examples from college days: One weekend I returned to my dorm room to find that my ENTIRE ROOM had been put in wal-mart bags. I'm not kidding - if it would fit in a wal-mart bag it was in one. Most of them were hanging from the celing. I thought it was fantastic!

My friend and I took the tires off of our friend's car, put it up on blocks, and Saran Wrapped the tires to the car. I have pictures to prove this but they are at my parent's house. I'll have to see if I can get mama to email them to me.

4. Justin and I had only known each other for 9 months when we got married. It's been 3 1/2 years now. (That 9 months had nothing to do with babies. We don't have any yet.) =)

5. I love adventures and I try to turn even the most mundane boring things into one. As long as it doesn't involve falling out of or jumping off of something higher than the high dive, I'm all for it.

6. I really really really really don't want to live anywhere that Zach and Sarah don't live.

7. These are a few of my favorite things: music, pickles, Chick-Fil-A IceDream, singing, going barefoot, a great book and a long bath, learning to make new things, great pictures, singing around a campfire, hot chocolate, the lake I grew up on, singing, best friends that can read each other's minds, oh yeah -- and singing.


Ok - that was really random and if you were to ask me tomorrow I would probably tell you 7 completely different things!

But now I tag:

Kim at Today's Creative Blog
Manda at Sunshine and Poppies
Kris at Monkey Foot Designs
Em at 3 Peas in a Pod Designs

and anyone else who wants to do this!

80's Night!!

We celebrated our friend Kiley's birthday with 80's Night last night. It was a blast! I'm so glad that I'm too young to remember 80's clothing! Scary!

Flashdance and Marty McFly

Me, Sarah, and Mandie


Melissa and I


Kiley (Birthday Girl!) and I


The Zach and I


Adam and The Zach (I just like this picture)


Sarah and I

Ben and Melissa


McFly, Edwards, Bueller...Bueller

McFly and Bueller



How many people does it take to zip a vest?



This was Justin's vest when he was 8 years old...it should not be zipped anymore!

Oh Flashdance..I think I may have pulled something.

The Moons and Mays


The CCC small group (most of us)

Total Goofiness!

Yep.

Stone Mountain and Easter

On Good Friday we (Mom, Dad, Doug, Justin, and I) went to Stone Mountain. It is the world's largest outcropping of granite and it just happens to be located about 20-30 minutes from where we live. We hiked to the top of it. It was a gorgeous day and we all had a blast. We were worn out by the end, but it was worth it. If you are ever near Atlanta, you should visit Stone Mountain.

This was taken before we hiked it. We ended up directly above the carving at the very top.

This is at the top - right behind us it pretty much drops straight down and that is where the carving is that you can see in the first pic. We were facing the sun - can you tell?=)

The is what was behind us. We were standing in front of the building with the columns for the first picture.

Still at the top - it is amazing to me how trees can grow out of solid granite. How is that possible?

Skipping ahead to Easter Sunday...

We had a fabulous service Sunday morning and then came home and had a an amazing lunch. We had Chicken Deluxe (chicken breasts wrapped in bacon and dried beef, smothered in golden mushroom soup and sour cream, and baked for 4 hours), homemade yeast rolls, rice, and fresh broccoli with cheese sauce. It was sooooo good and I ate it all again last night! For dessert we had Four Layer Delight, and if you are lucky I will share that recipe later.=)

Here's two Easter pics:

Salutations!

Hi y'all! I hope you had a fabulous Easter and rejoiced over the empty tomb! Sorry I haven't shown any blog love the past week (I know y'all have been checking here everyday just waiting for me to post some random tidbit about my life. yep.) - I've had a lot goin' on! My parents and brother came to visit from Louisiana last Thursday and stayed through Easter and I have been working on my studio for the past couple of weeks (which doubles as a guest bedroom minus the bed) trying to get it finished before they got here. I managed to finish the room about 2 hours before they arrived so I was thrilled.

Here's my studio:

It makes me happy! My FIL let me have the desk (it was just hanging out in the workshop at the golf course) and Justin and I cleaned, sanded, and painted it. I'm pleased with how it turned out, but I think I'm gonna have a piece of glass cut for the top. We sealed it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

IKEA was a huge help in pulling this together. Sarah and I each picked up some shelves and brackets on our trip and I also got the desk lamp (which is not at all the same color green as the desk, but hey, it's still lime and it makes me smile). I am also in love with their little rail-hanging-basket-wall-system-thingymabobs and I got this, this, this, and two of these. They are changing my life as we speak. Seriously -- when I finally have a house I might have one of these on every wall of every room. Ok, maybe not EVERY wall, but a lot -- you get the point. Here's a close up of the thingymabob:

I read somewhere that when setting up your studio you should try to have different work stations for different types of projects. I just recently discovered my love for paper and paper crafts, so I brought in my moms old sewing table to use as my Paper Crafts Station. Everything is seperate and in its own special place right now. We'll see how long it lasts before I have sewing stuff and paper stuff all mixed together with no rhyme or reason.=) I have a bad habit of turning my studio into an explosion of fabric, paper, buttons, ribbon, etc. But I'm trying to repent.

Oh yeah -and here's a pic of the thread holder that my dad made for me (I meant to post this a LONG time ago because he gave it to me in November). Thanks Dad!

So that's my studio. The other wall has two big utility shelving units that house all my fabric and batting and things that are not nearly as fun to look at, so I'll spare you those pics.

I'm featured!!!!

Ok, well I guess that is what you call it. But if not, I'm still going to call it that because it makes me feel good.=)

Erin of The Vintage Pearl (remember her?) featured me and the aprons I made for her kiddos on her blog. The kids are sooooo cute in their aprons! I'm so excited to be mentioned on her blog - I'm doing the happy dance! If you are looking for the post about me on her blog, you'll have to scroll down a bit because she posted them on Friday. Head on over there and check it out! THANKS ERIN!!

On the same note, yesterday I was looking at my site meter (yes, I keep track of who visits my blog so I know what URL referred you and so I can visit your blog) and I saw a new person had stopped by for a visit. Usually new people are either hopping over from The Vintage Pearl, 5 Minutes for Mom for the Blog party, or google (because they are looking for Shrimp n Grits recipes and I happen to have one on here) - but this one was from another blog (Crafty Natalie) that was unfamiliar to me. I went to that link and OH.MY.GOSH. Right there in the post is Moonpie Designs! Go check it out!

I don't know what to do with myself!

HAPPY MONDAY!

The Ultimate Blog Party!

{This is a "sticky" post and will stay at the top until March 14th. Please scroll down for new posts!}

A great big "Hey Y'all!" to everyone stopping by for The Ultimate Blog Party!

My name is Steph and I am a wife to Justin (3 1/2 years) and a full time nanny to Grace and Nate (6 and 3). I love fabrics and creating new things and I want to be a WAHM when the kiddies come, so I created Moonpie Designs. I make aprons, purses and totes, blankets, and all sorts of personalized baby goodies. I really enjoy trying new things and Moonpie Designs allows me to do that without breaking the bank! When I am not working with the kids or sewing, Justin and I are most likely hanging out with the besties, Zach, Sarah, and Baby Micah.

I always love it when bloggers give me a little history about themselves, so over the next couple of days I am going to do just that. I'm including lots of pictures and stories so get comfy and settle in for a bit. Let me take your coat.

Be sure to leave me a comment so I can check out your blogs too!

****Ok, I have been trying for an hour to scan some old pictures and get them in a decent enough shape to put on here, but I am giving up for the moment. I hate HP Image Zone (where my scanned pictures automatically go), but I am determined to get those pictures up here! Please check back in a bit for those, and until then you can look at all the other pictures I've put in past posts!****

It's gonna be a great day!

It is gorgeous outside ("not too hot, not too cold - all you need is a light sweater!") and to make it even better, Sarah and I are going to IKEA!

I'm re-doing my studio right now so hopefully IKEA will help out in the "shelving" department. Sarah has never been to IKEA, so who knows what all she'll bring home! It is going to be a fun day indeed!

I'm in love...

with making cards!

These are a couple of samples of the cards I made today at the CCC Annual Scrapbook Day. They will go in my Etsy orders. The last picture is of the bottom half of the inside.

Don't forget to SPRING FORWARD tonight! I'm going to bed - it is already 11:10pm and I have to be up at 7:00am!!

This makes me happy

*UPDATE*


Another BIG THANK YOU to The Zach for once again sharing his immense knowledge of all things computer related with me.
_____________________________________________________________________
But because I am dense and can't figure out how to put the actual youtube video in this post, I am going to have to send you here to see the happiness-inducing thing of which I am speaking. Sorry 'bout that folks. I plan to get The Zach to teach me how to do the video-in-the-post-thing tonight.

Regardless of the inconvenience, you should go there and check it out. Make sure your volume is turned up. It will not scare you - you have my word.

The latest creations

So my bloggy friend Erin (can I call you friend?) over at The Vintage Pearl ordered some Mini Me Aprons from me awhile ago. It has taken me FOREVER to finish that order (sickness on top of sickness on top of full time job) but the aprons are finally done and ready to be shipped! Here they are:

I'm pleased with them. I had the hardest time deciding what to do for Caleb's but hopefully he will love his soccer apron - especially since he just had his first game of the season!

Now I'm sure y'all have already been over to Erin's blog today, but if you haven't you should go right now and check it out and then hop yourself right on over to her etsy and/or ebay shops and buy yourself a little treat. Well go already!!=)

Whatcha think?

This has been my project this week - between finishing up orders and cursing the cold weather. It is going to make its home on my studio wall but, I can't decided if it needs something else or if it is perfect the way it is. And, if it does need something else, what is that something?

I need your help. Leave me a comment with your opinions/suggestions please!

Nothing has been glued down yet so make as many changes as you like!

I think I am going to hang them side by side instead of top and bottom but when I tried to take a picture like that it was just really small.