Playing It Safe.

I haven't gotten into the Winter Olympics like I normally do, but I'm sitting here watching tonight. Sounds like the cold in Korea is making unique challenges in some sports but one guy summed it up: everyone is trying to play it safe but it's a go big or go home type of situation. I'll be the first to say, I am not a risk taker. Not at all. -- Random thought: how do the skaters spin like that and not wobble around like a drunken monkey?  And is it just evil to watch these Olympians and then a commercial for a bacon, egg and cheese buttered biscuit combo? Just checking.

2017 became the year of vendor events for mom and I and our business, Pressed Clovers. I use the business term lightly, But mom makes girls' hair bows and I sew baby bibs and burp cloths. We tried selling at a tractor show and did great! And then we went full steam ahead. Who knew there were Spring vendor shows? So here we go again... Winding up for round two! Very excited. You can find us online at Pressed Clovers on Facebook and at Pressed Clovers on Etsy. We are on Instagram, too, as Pressed Clovers and I probably post more there as I'm completing items.

I discovered sewing is the only thing that can shut my brain down after a long day at work. If I think about anything, even about what I'm sewing, I will mess up. So I have to clear my mind and just exist for the sewing machine. Some nights it's a struggle. :)

Since I have the Olympics on, let me just say how much I miss Scott Hamilton. I love ice skating but Tara and Johnny are snarky and rude. They have little tact and it's just annoying.

Ok enough of that. I'm switching between the Olympics and Victoria on PBS. If you don't watch PBS, you are missing out on excellent television. Masterpiece Theater is awesome. Independent Lens also brings great programming, too. And I'm loving Ann Curry's show, We Will Meet Again. Good stuff. Tuesday nights - check it out. You'll cry. At least I cry.

So many things make me cry these days. The Apple Iwatch commercial with the letters from users - sniff sniff. Sad movies - sniff sniff. We took Macy to see The Star and when Mary told Joseph something about God never promised an easy life -- SNIFF SNIFF! And I'm sooo tired. I struggle to sleep, struggle to stay asleep, struggle to stay awake at work. It's terrible. If Spring doesn't get here soon and we can leave these snowy, cold, dreary, days behind I'm going to lose my mind.

I'll come back and add more pictures tomorrow. I'm actually doing this from my poor old phone, screen cracked, washed in a load of clothes and then dunked in the tub. Amazing. :) sweet dreams friends!

The Right Thing?

I am so dang stressed and I'm trying not to be. Why? A few reasons but probably at the top of the list is my car. And the guy that hit it. Sigh. Older fella, had his grandson in the truck with him and was going through the Mickey D's drive thru. It's one of those split drive thru concepts where I was on the outer ring and he the inner. As I pull up and stop behind someone waiting to pay, he pulls forward and pulls forward and crruunncchh. Into my drivers side back door.

It wouldn't be so bad if 1- it didn't go down through all layers of paint and 2 - if I had a color easier to blend. Both repair companies said the same thing. Ugh. 

He freaked out and jumps out, wanting me to settle outside of insurance. Ugh. I don't do stuff like that. But after an hour of him pacing and begging while we waited on the cops (I'll be honest, he intimidated me!) I said I'd consider it and call over the weekend. 

This was Friday afternoon. I gathered as much into as I could for a Friday afternoon but wasn't quite finished. I didn't call over the weekend (bad me, I know) but wasn't ready to make a decision. Monday (today) I was able to see another company for a second estimate and talk to my insurance agent (adore her!).  

Holy smokes this man showed up at my workplace and for another 30-45 minutes went to talking nonstop. He'd borrow the money. He has a friend that could fix it cheaper. He and his wife were on limited incomes. They were raising his grandson. Listed allll the ailments if every person. Admitted they would probably take his license because of all the wrecks he had while on painkillers. But then he found the Lord. And I was invited to his church. They have a great preacher! I mean, I was tired of hearing him talk. 

So I gave him a month to get together the money and no-I'm not accepting $50 at a time for $800+ of damage. Then he tried the tactic of - well, you probably have a $500 deductible ... Sir, my insurance isn't paying. Yours would. ... Oh yeah, well, I heard even if you aren't at fault your insurance could go up... No sir, my insurance will not go up. 

Can you see why I have a headache? I really want to file with insurance because I'm lazy. But I am trying to do the right thing for the little damage that was done. But I seriously feel like he's going to run out on this and try to leave me with the bill. And I told him I'd call back tonight with an estimate on rental cars. Ugh. 

So I left work early, came home and enjoyed a three hour hot bath. Not that it solved my problems but I swear, it helped. 

Any thoughts on this situation? Because I can tell you, my dad thinks I'm nuts and that I should file with insurance to be done with it. Man it would be so much easier or to do it that way. I'm not sure I'd ever agree to something like this again. 

Sigh. 

Let's look at happier, more fun times! Like a few of my coworkers and I went to conference in Myrtle Beach (let's not discuss how cold it is in January!!!) but it was fun. Really enjoyed my villa-mate. We are Hot Tamales!! Hahaha!!! 

This lady will crack you up! Had some great convo with her, as well. Love good talks. 

Came home to this sweet thing, that I missed so much while I was gone. She is what makes me home sick when I'm away from home! ❤️

My happiness meter was overflowing when I took half a day from work (on my first day back from conference) to babysit these cuties!!! 

Can we say TEETHING?! Poor fellas. But oh they are soooo snuggly! Growing so fast! I love every moment I get with them. 

Holy smokes, as I'm typing this, I just made a sale on Etsy!! That's two for today(which is unheard of). Wow, I'm excited! I sewed like a madwoman this past week, trying to up my stock. Looks like that was a good thing :) 

Some of my bibs in the store I sell them. Spent part of Saturday working on inventorying all I had for sale there to better track everything. 

Totally missed the super bowl and its commercials. That's another story that we'll just skip for now. But look at all these great times!! These blessed moments!  Life is good and I needed to take a moment to realize that. Thank You, Lord, for all You have given me. ❤️ 

From 9 to 77

Holy smokes, only in the south can you go from 9 degrees to 77 degrees in one week. Craziness?! But today was totally beautiful, driving with the windows down and music pumping. It just brought everything back to life for this one day. Tomorrow - we go back to 50s as a high. It's all good, it is January, after all. But I'm so thankful for this one awesome sunshiney day in the middle of winter. 

My drive into work this morning 

I have all this creativity in my head right now - it's almost stifling because I can't seem to pick one idea and run with it. Argh! I have some beautiful fabrics and can't make a final decision on which pattern to move forward with. Any ideas on how to choose one?! 

I did finally decide on this one. I need to put on the red border. Love this fabric but I almost had a panic attack when I cut it hahaha!! 

This sweet girl... (She's missing her glasses in this pic) but I hadn't seen her all week until yesterday. She was so excited! Hopped up into my arms and hugged, snuggled, nose squished, and showered me with love. Wow what a blessing. She can bring tears to my eyes with her sweetness. I'm so blessed. 

Love her! And her imagination. Her unique personality. Her smarts. And sass. Lol! 

With my early afternoon off today I ran by the store I sell my bib sets in and dropped off these Valentine's Day bibs. Cute!??! I thought so. I'm hoping someone else does, too, and buys a few. Sheesh. I keep wondering if this is the right path. 

Ok it's Friday night and here I am, squeezed into a love seat in my living room watching Shark Tank and wanting to throw things at my tv. Sometimes at the Sharks, sometimes at the presenters. 

So I'm going to go stretch my legs and I hope you have a lovely weekend :)

I originally posted this on my Pressed Clovers blog by accident. Oops! So it's a little out of date here. Sorry!   

Nesting in 2017

Once I was so excited about blogging and obviously that enthusiasm has waned. Makes me sad because I loved having this as a type of journal to see what happened when. Maybe I'll do better this year :)

2016 brought a new school year for the ninth grader and put Macy into full-time school as a 4-K student. She loves it (thank heavens)! We'll overlook that one incident early in the year where she bit a kid for stealing her toy. Bet he didn't make that mistake twice. (I really shouldn't laugh, but I'm the aunt and can get away with it.)  

So thankful for the blessing of my nephews and watching them grow up. Christmas was different - we had two sickies here and after one twin ended up in the hospital after catching a respitory thing, they couldn't risk being around the sickies. But I had a day of keeping them and snuggling them leading up to Christmas. Already took another day off from work in 2017 to do it again. :) Gosh they are sweet boys! 

I'm very excited that 2016 brought me courage to sew, to sell bibs & burb cloths  in a local store and online, make pillows, it's been a great adventure! Now I'm planning a few quilts, and trying larger projects. 

Baby quilt for my friend, Paulene's, baby girl. Such a cutie!!! 

2016 is gone now and 2017 already brought us snow, sleet and freezing rain. That's some fun stuff (please note my sarcasm). While my sister took Macy to our neighbor/cousins' house to sled, I enjoyed a hot bath. That's the way to enjoy snow. 

Sweet niece #2 and her mama (my sister)

Sweet niece #2 

My sister and me this morning. 

One thing I'm trying this year is Nesting with Jesus, a devotional onAnc Instagram with Nick Holden. In addition to his great explainations of the passages, his pictures are amazing. You can join too by searching #nestingwithJesus. Maybe it will touch your heart in a meaningful way. 

Another thing I've dove into is Ancestry.com and a DNA test. It's been interesting finding kin folk and figuring out how we are related. Thankfully my cousin Floyd has a lot of family researched already and that makes it much easier. Met some strange folks, too, that I'll be backing away from shortly (related or not!). It's almost creepy how DNA works and how strangers are walking around with your DNA, too. CrazzzY. And fascinating. :)

One last photo to wrap up 2016 and welcome 2017 - I did this for Mom's birthday on January 3. I'm missing Aliah and Roger but they are part of the love, too. This family has experienced trials, but the Lord is always there with us. I'm not saying we always remember that, but it doesn't change the fact that He is still there. 

Happy 2017, y'all!! 

Vote for Me!

I'm dying to go to bed and can't seem to turn off my TV from watching the Mark Twain awards honoring Bill Murray. I don't even adore Bill Murray but it's a compulsion to watch it. I do love me some PBS. Downton Abbey. Poldark. Mercy Street. Antiques Roadshow. Daniel Tigers Neighborhood. America's Test Kitchen. Martha Stewart. Fons & Porter. Seriously good stuff!!

But to say I'm exhausted would be an understatement. My full time job is in the elections office. Imagine what that looks like less than two weeks out from a Presidential election. Ugh. Last night, a coworker and I worked from before 8 am until 1 am in the morning. So the job is kicking my butt. But I still find joy as I see my "students" aka people who work the polls. I love them and the relationships we develop through the years of training classes. Good people. 

Y'all my sweet nephews turned one this month! How can time have passed so quickly?!? Adore them. Liam's sweet flirty looks and Kellans sweet nonstop laughter when he gets going. Precious!! 

These two - talk about love. Macy goes bonkers for her sister and thankfully Aliah 1-Loves her too and 2-puts up with Macy attacking her in hugs constantly while she's home. 

You'll notice Macy is patching. Hopefully this will help her avoid surgery along with her eye exercises and glasses. 

Someone told me Macy should be featured in a Dr Seuss show ... Is that a compliment? But she's hilarious and comes up with the funniest stuff.  Last night in a restaurant, Mae moved to a table by herself. When mom told her to come back with the family she said she did her best thinking when she was alone. Hahaha!!!

Spirit week at school... Go Mountaineers! 

Let me share a lap blanket that went a bit wonky on me. I tried the easy hourglass pattern but didn't want to chop up the butterfly fabric too much. It's a hot mess but is being gifted anyway. The bright colors, the butterflies and cats fabrics, the flowers and pinks all remind me of her. I hope she finds joy in it :)

I'm still enjoying seeing for Pressed Clovers. The last two pics are from vintage fabrics that a friend asked me to see into sets for her first grandchild. Isn't it neat?! She bought the fabric almost 40 years ago when her own daughter was born. So special. 

Ok if I don't get some sleep I'm going to be in a mess tomorrow. Glad to get a few photos added for me to see later. :) 

Wrapping up the Birth Month

September has been wonderful, y'all! Loved the many blessings and celebrations - it's been one thing after another that I'll claim as a birthday celebration.

      My family, minus Roger and Aliah

Gifts on my doorstep night after night, beautiful star-filled evenings to greet me as I got home late, visits with friends and babies, it's just been so wonderful! 

Thanks to everyone who has been a part of it :) Truly thanks for making September and year 41 so special!

Nobody gets as excited about birthdays as much as this girl! Well, except for maybe me! 

It's been difficult and confusing, too. I live just South of Charlotte so seeing that situation play out on the local news... It's so hard to understand how totally destroying a city can be perceived as the answer. Hurting other innocent people cannot improve the situation. I hope and PRAY tonight is better and calmer. Thanks to all who have worked to bring peace to the city, to those who have prayed for peace. 

And work kicked into overdrive already, which is exhausting. For all of us. Therefore, sometimes those frustrations, stressors, and such are taken out on other coworkers. Pray for that, too. Because when it happens, cool heads are often difficult to maintain. 

I've been in a pillow making mood. These two are for mom - the Christmas pillow came first, the second is an autumn pillow. I love creating and trying new patterns. Glad I got these done before work became too chaotic. 

....and I've been sitting on this for who knows how long. :). That's what happens when you work in an elections office and it's a Presidential year. Sorry y'all. 

Bday month of happiness

September is my birth month and I love to celebrate all month long. Any and every good thing that happens is due to my birthmonth celebration.

And while it's been years since I've felt like my birthmonth was a true celebration - or even my birthday, for that matter, but September 2016 is starting off well!! 

Through work I've presented at my old college and saw familiar faces I hadn't seen in 20 years. I felt like I did a decent job at it and represented my workplace fairl well. Two thumbs up for that! 

Had the opportunity to visit the sweet nephews mid-week and it melted my heart. Those two are sweeties, even when tired and sleepy. Such a good feeling to snuggle them. 

On my vacation day off this Labor Day weekend, I sewed and finally got the adult bibs up in the Etsy store. 

Saturday (today!) Mom, Dad, and Sweet Niece #2 headed to the mountains for some apple pickin' and to visit the kids museum up that way. Totally success! Beautiful blue-skies kind of day. 

The grocery store is always her favorite. Always.

Having family time is what restores my mind to handle the chaos at work. I've needed some good family time. 

Let's cover some other events: like Macy's first day of 4K. So cute! 

One day that first week I walked her into school and her sweet teacher offered to take a pic of us! 

Went to my state capital for a work meeting and this crazy painting is in one of the conference rooms of the state museum. No matter where you view the painting from in the room, the road follows you. Really neat. 

And that's about all I got. ;)  I hope the good vibes of September continue well past my birthday. I'm excited to be excited.