"Show & Tell Friday"

It is "Show & Tell Friday" at Kelli's http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/2009/01/show-and-tell-friday_29.html. I am showing two of my favorite porcelain dolls. I started collecting dolls over 20 years ago and stopped about 6 or 7 years ago. The dolls were getting too expensive and I was getting too many. Most of my collection was purchased from Danbury Mint and Ashton Drake. I also have several that my husband and I bought at Cracker Barrel and next week I will show some of my collection from there.

"Expectant Moments" (1991). Sandra Kuck's Precious Memories Of Motherhood collection. An original issue in the very first doll series based on designs by Sanda Kuck






"Loving Steps" (1989) Sandra Kuck's Precious Memories of Motherhood collection. First issue in the very first doll series by Sandra Kuck.


I love being a mother and these dolls are special to me because they represent two of the precious moments of motherhood: the miracle of having a baby grow inside your body and the joy associated with a baby's first steps. I loved being pregnant and enjoyed every experience associated with it. I can remember stopping what I was doing just to place my hand on my stomach to feel each thump and each kick. I also remember the joy of watching my children take their first steps and the fear I felt that they would fall and get hurt. There can never be another role that would be more rewarding for me than motherhood and I feel very blessed to have been able to experience it. Now I look forward to being a grandmother someday. Thank you for stopping by and please visit Kelli for more show and tell.

Benefits of Laughter

Click on the graphic to get a better view.

I thought I'd share some humor with you. While they may not make you laugh I hope they will at least make you smile : )


The Children's Sermon
On Easter Sunday, the minister was giving the children's sermon. He reached into a bag and pulled out an egg. He asked the children if they knew what was inside. "I know," said one boy. "Panty hose!"


Prayers
The Sunday School teacher asked, "Now, Bobby, do you say your prayers before you eat?""No, sir, we don't have to," Bobby replied. "My mom's a good cook."


Seventeenth Chapter of Mark
A Sunday school teacher was giving her class the assignment for the next week. "Next Sunday," she said, "we are going to talk about liars, and in preparation for the lesson, I want you all to read the Seventeenth Chapter of Mark."The following week at the beginning of the class, the teacher said, "Now all who have prepared for today’s lesson by reading the Seventeenth Chapter of Mark, please come to the front." Half the class stood up and came forward."The rest of you may leave," said the teacher, "these students are the ones I want to talk speak to. There is no Seventeenth Chapter in the Book of Mark!"

Did Noah Go Fishing?
A Sunday School teacher asked her class if they thought Noah did a lot of fishing while he was on the ark.
"Of course not," said one little boy. "How could he? He only had two worms!"


Why Did We Move?
What reason did Adam give his children when they asked why he no longer lived in Eden?
ANS: Your mother ate us out of house and home.


Two Ears
Since God gave us two ears and one mouth, He must have wanted us to do twice as much listening as talking.

A Very Faithful Woman

An elderly lady was well-known for her faith and for her boldness in talking about it. She would stand on her front porch and shout "PRAISE THE LORD!"Next door to her lived an atheist who would get so angry at her proclamations he would shout, "There ain't no Lord!!"Hard times set in on the elderly lady, and she prayed for GOD to send her some assistance. She stood on her porch and shouted "PRAISE THE LORD. GOD I NEED FOOD!! I AM HAVING A HARD TIME. PLEASE LORD, SEND ME SOME GROCERIES!!"The next morning the lady went out on her porch and noted a large bag of groceries and shouted, "PRAISE THE LORD."The neighbor jumped from behind a bush and said, "Aha! I told you there was no Lord. I bought those groceries, God didn't."The lady started jumping up and down and clapping her hands and said, "PRAISE THE LORD. He not only sent me groceries, but He made the devil pay for them. Praise the Lord!"

Thank you for visiting.

Place Where I Blog

Sue at Country Pleasures http://countrypleasures.blogspot.com/2009/01/where-do-you-blog.html is inviting everyone to show where they blog. "I'm inviting you to show us "where you blog", your special space. So, if you share "where you blog" with us, be sure to leave me a comment here (Sue's blog) so we can pop over and check it out!" (Sue). I thought I would accept her invitation and show where I blog.

The place where I blog was our daughter's bedroom. After she and our son both moved out we made her room into my office or computer room and our son's room is the guest bedroom.

"Show & Tell Friday"

It is "Show & Tell Friday" at Kelli's http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/2009/01/show-and-tell-friday_22.html. I am showing some of the cross stitch pieces that I have done over the years.

1993 samplers

I did these two samplers in 1993. They are hanging in my dining room.

This little girl was time consuming and I have a lot of hours in stitching her.. I actually grew tired of working on her and laid her down for a couple of months before finishing. I thought I would never get her hair done. I finished it on July 24. 1996. At this time it is sitting on the mantle in our livingroom.

Guest Bath

I did these two originally for our master bath but after I painted the murals in there , they no longer matched. I did them in 1995. They are now hanging in the guest bath.

Lessons in cross stitching

This was the very first thing that I ever cross stitched. My sister jokingly asked me why did I have to start with something so difficult. Since I was just beginning I did not know that it was going to be hard for a beginner. I laid it aside for a while and worked on some that were easier. I do not remember when I started it or finished it and I can't find a date on it. It is hanging in our master bedroom closet.

I love pretty quilts and liked the simplicity shown in these pictures. I cross stitched these in 1990 and they are hanging in my office

My daughter did the cross stitching for this book mark and I sewed it together for her. I believe she was 12 when she did it. I use it often and it shows.

Last, but certainly not least is a bookmark that Skylar, my nephew did when he was 10 years old. He was staying with me one day and I was doing needlework and he wanted to help. I chose the little bird because I thought it would be easy for him to do as a beginner (I learned the hard way). He finished it and gave it to me. I sometimes use it as a bookmark but I am thinking about putting it into a small frame and sitting it on my desk. Skylar had an automobile accident in 2007. His neck was broken in 3 places (c4-c6) and his spinal cord was severed. He is paralyzed from the neck down and can only move his head and shoulders. The doctor's tell us that he will never walk or move his fingers and hands again (we hope & pray that they are wrong). I feel very blessed to have this simple little piece of needle work because it was done by his hands. Today is his 21st birthday.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you will visit Kelli's place and see what she and others are also showing.

Humor-Church Signs

The following are actual signs found on church property.

1. "No God-No Peace. Know God-Know Peace."
2. "Free Trip to heaven. Details Inside!"
3. "Try our Sundays. They are better than Baskin-Robbins."
4. "Searching for a new look? Have your faith lifted here!"
5. An ad for St. Joseph's Episcopal Church has a picture of two hands holding stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments are inscribed and a headline that reads, "For fast, fast, fast relief, take two tablets."
6. When the restaurant next to the Lutheran Church put out a big sign with red letters that said, "Open Sundays," the church reciprocated with its own message: "We are open on Sundays, too."
7. "Have trouble sleeping? We have sermons-come hear one!"
8. A singing group called "The Resurrection" was scheduled to sing at a church. When a big snowstorm postponed the performance, the pastor fixed the outside sign to read, "The Resurrection is postponed."
9. "People are like tea bags-you have to put them in hot water before you know how strong they are."
10. "Come in and pray today. Beat the Christmas rush!"
11. "When down in the mouth, remember Jonah. He came out alright."
12. "Sign broken. Message inside this Sunday."
13. "Fight truth decay-study the Bible daily."
14. "How will you spend eternity-Smoking or Non-smoking?"
15. "Dusty Bibles lead to Dirty Lives"
16. "Come work for the Lord. The work is hard, the hours are long and the pay is low. But the retirement benefits are out of this world."
17. "Our arms are the only ones God has to hug His children."
18. "It is unlikely there'll be a reduction in the wages of sin."
19. "Do not wait for the hearse to take you to church."
20. "If you're headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns."
21. "If you don't like the way you were born, try being born again."
22. "Looking at the way some people live, they ought to obtain eternal fire insurance soon."
23. "This is a ch_ _ ch. What is missing?" ---> (U R)
24. "Forbidden fruit creates many jams."
25. "In the dark? Follow the Son."
26. "Running low on faith? Stop in for a fill-up."
27. "If you can't sleep, don't count sheep. Talk to the Shepherd."

Snow Flurries, Linens, & Weight

We have snow!!! No, actually it is only snow flurries, but it is still pretty. We have been having some cold weather in the past week. It was 9 degrees here on Friday morning. My husband builds custom homes and has to work outside so I was happy that he decided to take the day off. He went back to work this morning. My sister was off today so I did not have to go over and help Skylar. I miss spending time with him but having the extra time at home gave me a chance to catch up on some chores and clean out my linen closet. I have decided to keep only 4 sets of sheets for my bed (2 sets of cotton & 2 sets of flannel) and give the extras to my aunt, who just got a queen size bed. I washed the linens that I am giving away and hung them outside on the line this morning (photo above). Of course they froze but by mid-day I went out and checked and the wind had almost dried them. An hour later my niece came running in and said that it was snowing. I went outside and tried to get a picture but the snow only shows up as little swirls in the photos and my sheets are wet again....Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful evening.

"Show & Tell Friday"

For Kelli's "Show & Tell Friday" this week I am showing curtains and chair covers that I have made for my office.

I made these curtains out of some remnant pieces that I bought at Hancock's Fabrics.

A little closer view.

I bought this chair at a local antique store. I covered the seat and used some of the embroidered fabric from my curtains to coordinate them together.

A closer view.

I also covered the seat of my office chair in the same fabric as the antique chair above.

I will try and post more pictures of my office on Saturday. Thank you for stopping by. I hope you will also visit Kelli at http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/ to see what others are also showing.

Relaxing

Today has been a good day. It is cold very cold. I had to be over at Skylar's early this moning to meet with his Home Health Care case manager. Afterwards, I did his personal care and got him dressed and up in his chair. Home Health provides a lady that helps me on Thursdays and Fridays. She is a big help. If she gets there early enough she helps me bathe and dress him. She washes his hair and blow dries it, and helps strip his bed and pillows. We have to keep him padded off when he is in bed and we use 6 pillows for that. She also sweeps, mops, and dusts and cleans his bathroom and picks up. When she is there I can leave after he is up and fed (usually around 1:00 or 1:30). My sister (his mom) is also home with pneumonia. His little sister had to be picked up at school early today due to having pinkeye. Apparently, 3 others also had to be sent home for the same thing. I brought her home with me and we spent the afternoon working on the computer. Her dad just picked her up and I plan to get in the whirlpool tub and take me a hot bubble bath (can't add too many bubbles though, I made that mistake once) and spend the remainder of the evening relaxing and spending time with my wonderful husband. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful evening also.

Insomnia

I found out 4 years ago that I was in perimenopause ( I had a hysterectomy when I was 31). I have had the hot flashes, irritability, mood swings, and night sweats.... everyone is always talking about but I did not know that insomnia was also a part of it (my mom slept all the time when she was in menopause and I have friends who say they also sleep alot). My symptoms seem to have gotten worse within the last year. Nighttime is miserable with the sweating and all. Most of the time I do not even go to bed until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning and I am almost always awake by 6:00 a.m. I have tried going to bed by 10:00 p.m. but I just lie there wide awake and s w e a t. I usually get up and work on my blog or read others or do crossword puzzles. However, the lack of sleep is causing me to become lazy. I just don't have the energy to do all that I need to. I spend 5 to 6 hours a day through the week caring for my nephew (who is a quadriplegic) and when I get home I am wasted. I do not feel like doing anything. I know some of it is stress related from seeing what he is going through each day but I have never been lazy. My house has always been organized and clean and that is not the case now. I also love to cook, sew, read and garden but I seem to have lost interest in those lately. I talked to my gynecologist back in October about my inability to sleep and she suggested I take an over the counter sleep medication. I do not want to do that. I do not take any medication except for Excedrin Migraine and Aleve occasionally for my headaches and my vitamins. I am trying to lose weight and it is hard to feel like exercising when you are already exhausted. I keep thinking that if I get exhausted enough I will be able to sleep at night and so far it has not helped. I also thought that my insomnia might be the result of all the cokes that I was drinking (4-5 per day) but I have cut down to 1 in the morning for the past 8 days and so far it hasn't helped (cutting out the caffeine has really left me with even less energy). I have also tried taking hot bubble baths to make me sleepy but that does not work either. Hopefully I will find something that works for me soon. Is anyone else having trouble sleeping? Any suggestions? Thank you for visiting.

Weight Loss-Only One Pound

It is hard to find many photos of me because I am always avoiding them by being the one behind the camera. My family members know that I hate having my picture made and usually honor my wishes after getting many pictures of my hands covering my face or my head turned . This is one of the few photos that I actually posed for with my husband. It was made last November while we were on vacation in the Smoky Mountains

This photo was a sneak shot made by our son using my camera. It was also made last fall and I do not like it but it is the only one I have that shows how big I actually am. Most of the other photos that I have are front shots.I am using it to keep me motivated.

Only One Pound

Hello! Do you know me?
If you don't, you should. I'm a pound of fat.
And I am the happiest pound of fat that you would ever want to meet.
Want to know why?
It's because no one ever wants to lose me.
I'm only one pound, just a pound!
Everyone wants to lose three pounds, five pounds, or fifteen pounds, but never only one.
So I just stick around and happily keep you fat.
Then I add to myself, ever so slyly, so that you never seem to notice it.
That is until I've grown to ten, twenty, thirty or even more pounds in weight.
Yes, it's fun being only one pound of fat, left to do as I please.
So, when you weigh in, keep right on saying, "Oh, I only lost one pound."
(As if that were such a terrible thing)
For you see, if you do this, you'll encourage others to keep me around because they'll think I'm not worth losing.
And, I love being around you-your arms, your legs, your chin, your hips and every part of you.After all, I'm only one pound of fat!!!

---Author Unknown----

I weighed yesterday and I had only lost one pound. At first I was disappointed but it is a starting point. I am one pound less than I was a week ago. Afterwards, I was sort of playing around with Google and typed in lost only one pound and I found the above poem. I also found the following quote. "The most successful "losers" I know are those who lost weight slowly by making changes in their daily lifestyle. They lost weight 1 pound at a time, one day at a time." This quote says exactly what I am trying to do and I have it posted on my refrigerator. I am looking to change my lifestyle so I can keep the weight off once I lose it. Next week, I hope to post more about the changes I am making to succeed at my goal . Until then, thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Favorite Tea Set - "Show & Tell Friday"

My favorite tea set is electric. I have the plug in for this photo. I have never actually used it but have had it setting in different areas of my home.

The set includes: teapot, 4 cups, sugar bowl and creamer.

For "Show and Tell Friday" hosted by Kelli at http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/ I would like to share my favorite tea set. In 1967 (I was still a young child, 7 years old) we had some new neighbors move next door to us and they were newlyweds. My mom soon became friends with the woman and I spent a lot of time visiting in her home. She had this tea set that she had received as a wedding gift and she kept up in her cabinet. I loved that tea set. I grew up and got married and moved away from the neighborhood but I still remained close to this lady. In 1980 my mom and she were having a yard sale and I happened to be there when they were setting up. Imagine my surprise when she brought out this tea set. I very quickly asked how much and she said $5.00. It went home with me that day and I have protected it all these years but I have always had it setting out. Throughout the years it has set in different areas of our home. At this time it is setting on top of an oak cabinet in our den. However, I plan to move it to the buffet in the dining room soon. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you will visit Kelli and see what others are showing.

Rain Rain, & More Rain

Flooding

We have had a lot of rain recently and now many areas are flooded. Yesterday alone our area received up to 6 inches. Our county school system had to close today and will be closed tomorrow. Several roads in our area are also closed and many people are having trouble getting to their homes. Today we had a break from the rain and had a sunny day but rain is back in the forecast for Saturday. As far as working on changing my bad eating habits I have not had a good week. I did good on Monday but yesterday morning I woke up at 4:30 a.m. with a migraine headache. I got up and took two Excedrin Migraine tablets and went back to bed. I stayed in bed until about 8:00 a.m. and got up and got dressed to go care for Skylar, my nephew. I actually felt better but I did not feel like eating breakfast. I stayed over at at Skylar's until around 12:30 p.m. and my head was hurting again. I came home and my husband went to Subway to get us lunch. I ate, took some Aleve, and laid down for a couple hours. I did not feel like eating supper. This morning I did manage to eat a doughnut and I also had a coke. I know, not very healthy but I do not like the caffeine withdrawal headaches and I overslept. I went and cared for my nephew, came home and had a sandwich and glass of water for lunch. Supper I had a grilled hamburger and glass of water. I did not manage to have any snacks and I have not exercised any. Tonight I have made out a meal plan for tomorrow and hopefully I will do much better. Old habits are so hard to break but I will succeed. Thank you for stopping by.

Weight Watching

Today I plan to start changing the way I eat. I do not like to use the word "diet" because for me it is a temporary fix. I have been on several "diets" and lost weight only to gain it back plus more when I went off of it. This is why I have to change my eating habits and find what works for me to keep it off. In the past I have always wanted to lose the weight fast and I have succeeded but I also gained it back fast. As a result of yo yo dieting and bad eating habits, I now have 50 pounds to lose. That is a lot of extra weight for me to be carrying around on my small 5' frame. My legs are showing, as well as, feeling the affects of it. Heart disease and diabetes also runs in my immediate family and that scares me. My plans are to start eating 3 small meals a day along with 3 healthy snacks. I usually only eat 1 meal a day. I am also keeping a journal of everything I eat. I will only weigh once a week instead of the 3 or 4 times that I have been doing. And I have to stop drinking cokes (will be hard because I love them). I have tried to drink diet ones but do not like the taste. I usually drink a coke instead of eating breakfast or lunch. Sometimes I will eat a snack or something light in the afternoon (sandwich, grapes, crackers & cheese, or salad) and drink a coke and have another coke in place of dinner ( total-4 or 5 cokes per day) and sometimes I do eat dinner. I have really messed my metabolism up. I also plan to start exercising. Most importantly, I have asked God to help guide me along the way and give me the strength that i need to succeed. I believe I will be successful this time. I will keep you updated and post my results each Friday. Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful afternoon.