A home made bow, and Fathers Day etc......

Back during the fall I got these books for the boys, I think I did a blog post about them, but for some reason I can't find it. But that is irrelevant.

Our two reads them all the time, and have learned lots of useful information, so if you are the parent of boys I suggest you get them a copy

NW being the brilliant child he is, decided to follow the guidelines in the big red book and make a bow.While it is not very big, It is pretty useful and launched the little arrow he fashioned over 30 feet. I am proud of both of my boys for thinking of things that would be useful in a survival situation.

Fathers day was this past Sunday, and we got Senior a new T-Shirt. All of our Navy Friends love it...

My cousin in another part of the state is getting married tomorrow ( again). We were invited but because we have been back and forth to FLA so much, opted out and not attending. I bought a frame, and put together a single page scrapbook layout for her. 

I racked my brain trying to think of what wording I wanted to use. ND being the outspoken child he is, chimed in and said " Well given her track record I wouldn't put anything that says ever after, or together forever...you don't want to jinx her".

So I went with "live, laugh, love"......    For literally being thrown together in about 6 hours, I don't think it came out too bad:   

our 20th!

He asked, I said "yes" The Navy chaplain who counseled us said we had nothing in common and would not last a year.
Well, here we are 20 years later. It has not been an easy road- lots of stupidity, trials, and tribulations.
But through all those dark times, the one word never uttered from either of us was "Divorce".
Somehow, through the grace of God we kept it together.And now  2 wonderful boys and 20 years later we are still together.
Being with Senior makes me a better person. He is my best friend, my love, and my soul mate. He is a awesome husband and loving and caring father.
Thank You for the past 20 years, I pray God blesses us with another 20.

The Wedding Bells Rang...

We could not have asked for more beautiful weather then what was given to us on Saturday.
It was like a picture post card jumped to life : Clear blue sky, cool breeze, temps in the low 80s. We prayed and God Blessed us.
 My niece walked down the aisle surrounded by her family and friends she met her Prince Charming   and they both said "I Do".  She has been such a good christian girl, and faithful daughter to her parents. And for that they worked for a full year to give their only child the fairy tale wedding she always dreamed of.

 

This is a pose the photographer thought of and one he likes

to do prior to the wedding..

after he snapped his,

I did mine

in black and white of course:

 

 

My niece and her Prince Charming...

( yes he is a LT in the Army Reserves, we had hoped he was navy

but not every one is completely perfect..lol)

 

 

 



 



My Productive Day

I must say I have been quite busy this morning. Did two loads of laundry, put all that up. Prepped the boys baseball uniforms for tonight's game. ( whatever will they do with out mom doing their uniforms when they hit the major leagues? ) 

Went through their closets and cleaned out clothes that are getting small. Then, Cleaned out and re-organized our linen closet. How many times in a year does one do that? I then opened up my scrap book closet and some horrible closet monster has got in there and disorganized the living daylights out of it. Before I start on that task, I thought I would take a break and do a blog post.

I have the ball rolling on my nieces wedding shower. Yesterday, my Sicilian friend ( aka "Sicily") with her newly acquired citizenship got together, and with "Big Baby" sitting on her lap she helped me make these awesome home made invitations:

Yes every thing is cut out by  hand, even that dress..  33 to be exact. I could have bought a cartridge for my die cut machine, but I would not use it a lot, so why spend the money.  And I got a used "You're Invited" stamp off eBay for $1.99. 
Okay, so I will let you all in on a little secret, another lady is giving my niece a "tea party" bridal shower, and she made "tea cups" as the invites...well the proverbial line was drawn in the sand, and I had to cross it.. I hope these look good. However, I still think they need something else.
Sicily said "No, they look pretty just the way we made them".
On the inside of course is all the "what, where, and RSVP stuff"

So now that I have shared my day with all of you good folks, it is back to the scrap book closet and the mess that monster made, then off to the cleaners, get the boys from school, come home fix a small dinner for them then off to baseball ! 

Have a good Thursday!

-JUGM

The Dress

As you all know my niece is getting married in what is now just a couple of months. She will be a May Bride. I had the honor of going with her and my sister two weeks ago to do a fitting for her gown.
I browsed the store for a few minutes, looking at all the beautiful gowns, it made me remember mine and Seniors special day, and how I wished to pick one of these new creations out and do it all over again...then I looked at the price tag! 

While my niece was getting in to every thing, and after my day dreams of another wedding ended.  I sat out in the bridal shop and watched other happy "bride to bes" pick and choose among the racks of dresses. I remember when I was looking for my dress, that this was the most exciting thing about getting married...it was like playing "dress up" .

As I am a major people watcher I found entertainment in one girl who was a size 18 thinking she could get in to a size 10.
The poor sales girl could not tell her which gown to choose, only offer suggestions for other more better fitting ones. Every time the future bride tried on a tight fitting dress, you could see the sales girl hold her breath and hope the seams did not rip out. She asked for help in zipping up the back, but the zipper would only go so far of course.
Finally it was when the brides mother spoke up and stopped the insanity. Her daughter told her they could be altered..but the mother shot back with : "Yes, but even alterations have their limits..." 

By that time,  I got the cue from my  sister that my niece was ready:

She looked gorgeous ! Funny how a dress can transform a person.
The seamstress spent close to an hour pinning here and there,  and having my niece turn around over and over. She felt like a fairy princess, and honestly looked like one as well.
Finally we were finished, and upon our exit I saw that one particular "Bride to Be" was still at it with dresses.. *Sigh* That poor sales girl was definantly earning her comission.

-JUGM

Wednesday...

Fall has certainly made its impression on my area. Windy, cloudy and misty. Temps down in the 50s here. Feels wonderful, and very seasonable. I think I will ask Senior to get my Fall decor down from the attic.
Halloween is around the corner and approaching faster then I hoped it would.
The boys had all kinds of wonderful but scary things they wanted to be for Halloween this year, so we wrote them all down on paper, and put them in a hat, tossed the hat around and Senior picked.
They will be Zombies.
 My sister will cringe, my mother will say "ewww why? "  And I will sit back and smile. 
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A few folks have asked about my brothers girlfriends teenage son. Remember him? My brother picked him up in a walmart parking lot, he had been homeless.
Well, he moved the kid in with him in upstate NY. He escorted him to the nearest Army Recruiter, and he signed up for delayed entry. The Army has a program with one of the local colleges and with that he is getting his GED.  I am happy to report that it does look like the kid is getting himself straightened out, and will soon  be working on what we all hope will be a great Army career.
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Remember my niece is getting married ?  If there is one thing that can cause family arguments, its a wedding ! The shear money they are forking out is mind boggling, and I am perplexed on how my brother in law who is a mail carrier is going to pay for it all.
Most definitely one of those platinum weddings you read about all the time. My brother and I have guesstimated they are dropping at least $25,000 on it. And they have a guest list of over 300 people.
When Senior and I got married, our wedding was $1700.00 and, we paid for it ourselves.  We planned it in 6 weeks. This particular wedding is not until May of next year.

Sorry, my mind is really boggled right now over $25,000 for one day...  It just..."WOWs" Me.  But yet I know, there are people out there who spend more. 
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So now its off here, laundry is calling my name, kids will be out of school soon, and dinner plans await. Have a fun "Hump Day"

-JUGM