Attitude of Gratitude

This past week has been a busy one. I have been babysitting
my great granddaughter while her mother is going to
college and also a friends little boy while the dad
works. So busy busy busy.

Yesterday turned out to be a crappy day as I woke up
at 4:30am very very sick. My great granddaughter was
spending the night so I called my daughter to come
over and take care of her while I was sick in bed.
And boy was I sick. Could barely keep awake
or even move around without having issues.
I can't remember the last time being that sick.
This morning I am feeling a little bit better. I can
at least keep food and liquids down.

Yesterday morning my daughter Amanda ran in a 5K for a
charity for our local hospital. I was planning on going to watch
her but of course couldn't because of being sick.
She came home and told me how she did and then went
back to her half of house (we live in a duplex) and within
5 min after she left her boyfriend looked out the window
and her car was on fire sitting out front of house.
911 was called and of course our hose would not reach around
front of house but the water did at least reach the car to help
keep it under control till fire dept got here.
No clue as to what started the fire but her car is a total loss.

BUT I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT NO ONE WAS HURT.
Items can be replaced, people can not.

Have a wonderful week ahead. Mine can only get better after yesterday.
Take time to tell the people you care about how you feel. You
never know what can happen in a matter of minutes

Just an update on my friend Andrea's son who had a heart transplant last week. He is doing wonderful. The doctors are amazed at how well he is doing. He is getting stronger and stronger daily and will be moved out of the ICU beginning of week and moved to heart wing as long as he continues to improve as he has.

Attitude of Gratitude

It's been awhile since I have been on here to post anything. I have been busy taking care of my great granddaughter Randi and also my grandson Noah. I have a lot of things to be grateful for and those two grands are top on the list. I have been able to spend time with family a lot in the last weeks or so. We have been having some fun. I also have been able to spend time with some friends and that has also been fun. We have gone to the movies, went to an outdoor jazz concert, went to the park, had a picnic and many other things. I am very happy and grateful for these wonderful memories I have now.

I am also grateful for a friend of mine, Andrea, who's son underwent surgery this morning in getting a new heart. Aaron is 18yr old and was born with some heart problems and they have plagued him through his life. His parent's were told that he eventually would need to have a heart transplant. This past year has been bad on him with so many health issues. They were in and out of Riley's Childrens hospital so many times. In the last 2 months it seemed like they were there more times then they were home in Terre Haute. They got a call last night around midnight or so that they needed to head to the hospital. They live about a little over an hour or so away, so off they headed. As soon as they got to the hospital he was taken to surgery. Surgery lasted about 12hrs. But his mother called and said he came through surgery great and the doctor said he was doing great and the outlook was very good. I am so happy for Aaron and his family. But there is the other side to this good news...in order for Aaron to get a new heart...someone else had to die and those family members had to in their grief make the decision to donate the organs. They made the ultimate sacrifice and I can only imagine what they are going through. I am praying for both families.

I also have been busy doing some crafts, gee didn't see that coming did you??? LOL I also have been scouring the internet, magazines and my mind looking for different things to do for my grands, my primary class at church and the little boy I am going to start babysitting for. Trying to find simple things to do with children from age 18mo -4yrs old has been challenging but I think I have a start. I have been saving a lot of things on Pinterest, which I recently signed up for and am having a ball with. So many things, so little time lol

I saw these balls made from Birthday cards and thought they were cute. In the picture I saw they had all different sizes of the balls and they had them hanging from the ceiling over a crib. So I got out my card stock and tried my hand at it. It was fun, and lots of possibilities. I only made one just to see if I could and now I just have to start saving my cards from different things so that I gain a stash. Might even look at the dollar stores for the boxed ones. See what I can come up with.I have been trying to think of something to use on my cupboards so that when I am baking/cooking I can post the recipe on the cupboard doors so that it is easier to see. I didn't want to tape anything to them because that makes a mess in my opinion. Then I had one of those DUH moments when Randi was putting magnets on my frig and washer. I could use a cookie sheet or metal tray, cover it and then mount it on my cupboard doors with those Command strips that are removable. I found a tray at goodwill that was pretty beat up but I didn't care because I was not leaving it the way it was. It was .50 so couldn't beat that. I painted it black and then used some of my scrapbooking paper to jazz it up.I sanded the tray a little to get the shine off of it and take care of the few rough spots it had on it. I then painted it with a couple coats of some craft paint I had on hand. I let it dry overnight then this morning I picked out my paper I wanted to use and got out my Mod Podge and adhered it to the tray and then gave the whole tray a coat of the Mod Podge. I thought I had some sealer in my craft stash but I don't so I still have to get some, but that can be added later. I also thought I had a couple of the Command hooks in the drawer but alas no, so that is also on my list to get at the store. I glued a couple of pop can tabs to the back of the tray so that it can hang on the hooks once I get them. I am excited about this recipe holder. In this picture you can see my hand :) because it is not actually hung on my cupboards yet, but I wanted to show you what it would look like. Of course I will center it better on the doors when I actually hang it, but you get the idea. I think I might make some of those clear marble magnets I have been seeing on the internet to use on here. HMMM

I hope everyone has a wonderful week and stays safe. Spend time with your family and friends as much as you can. Make lots of memories.

Plastic craft

I tried out a new craft today. I had seen this craft idea on the web and have been wanting to try it. It's called Fusing Plastic bags. A really good way to use up some of your plastic grocery bags and make them into something useful. I decided to make my mother a coupon holder for her purse. The one she was using was pretty bad, but then a paper envelope will only last so long. It was fun, easy and a quick craft. I will be making more of these I am sure.

Materials needed:
Plastic bags
paper big enough to fit under and over the plastic while ironing ( I used some plain color wrapping paper I had on hand)
Iron and Ironing board
sewing machine
velcro
You need any type of plastic bag or garbage bag you have on hand. You need at least 6 pieces to make it sturdy enough. 8 pieces is about the most you want to use because you want to make sure it will fuse together with the iron. I guesstimated the size piece I should cut based on the size I wanted to make the coupon holder. You can always trim it up later if to big.I made this coupon holder from a clear garbage bag. I cut 7 pieces of plastic from the bag and layered 6 of them one on top of another. I placed them on top of the paper that I placed on my ironing board. Preheat your iron to your setting for rayon, or med heat. I then placed another piece of paper on top of plastic. DO NOT IRON DIRECTLY ON PLASTIC. Do make sure you have a fan going or a window open while ironing as with all plactics there is some fumes when heated. Keep your iron moving back and forth and top to bottom for at least 10 sec on each pass. Press down firmly, don't let iron set to long in one spot or you will get dimples from your steam holes. You must iron both sides of the plastic. I iron each side about 10 min total. You can test to see if the plastic is fused together by pulling lightly on the edges. If not fused, just cover with paper again and iron again.

I did try to put some plastic shred (the kind you use in gift baskets) between a layer but all it did was melt and I had to tear all that off. So I tried putting some small sequins I had on hand. I sprinkled a few on the fused plastic and then layed another layer of plastic on top and then covered it with paper and ironed that layer down. Again test to make sure it is sealed.
I then trimmed up some of the uneven edges and folded it up where I wanted to form a pocket for the coupons to go into. I also decided to fold over the top edge of the pocket and flap and then stitch down to make it a little stiffer edge. Then just use a zigzag stitch all around to make your holder.I had some stick on velcro squares to use for closure. You could glue them down, or use a type where you sew it on. That part is up to you on how you want to close this.

My mother loved her new coupon holder. I showed this to my sister and her best friend Terri who is visiting this week and they both loved it and as a matter of fact Terri asked me if she could commission me to make 5 more for her to give as presents. I told her sure not a problem. So looks like I will be making more sooner then I thought. She is only going to be in town till the end of the week. So I need to get busy in next couple of days and get them made.

This was a fun and easy craft to make. And a good way to recycle some of those multiplying plastic bags we all have around. There are so many colors of bags out there, and you can make whatever style or color you want. You can make these as big or as small as you want. Just experiment to your hearts content. These are basically free bags to use in whatever way you want.

I hope you were able to follow my directions. I didn't take pictures of me ironing or folding edges or even sewing, but I think you will be able to understand what I was trying to explain.

Have a wonderful rest of the week and take time to enjoy yourself and your family. :)

Attitude of Gratitude

I have had a wonderful week!!! Randi, my great granddaughter was with me all week and she kept me busy. The little stinker also taught herself how to get out of the portable crib that she sleeps in when she is here. I would put her down, and within maybe 5 minutes she would peek her head out the bedroom door and smile and say "Hi" and the process would start all over again. This grandma will have to figure out something different for the next time she stays with me. We went to some garage sales this past week also and found some good bargains. I found a Power Wheels Kawasaki 4 wheeler. It was in great condition and she loved it. It was only $5 so I could not pass it up. I need to get a charger for it, but that's ok, it will get lots and lots of use I am sure with Randi and then by next summer my grandson Noah will be old enough to ride it.

My daughter Amanda put together a wonderful cookout for me on Saturday for my birthday. The weather was warm but nice. Everyone had a good time. Lots of good food, cake, kids played in the sprinkler, (big ones and little ones), and just lots of good time spent with family. My cousin Dale was able to come by to help in the celebration which was nice.
A couple of my surrogate children/grandchildren could not make it, but that's ok. Ann I am sure had a wonderful time at Lalapalooza in Chicago. And unfortunately Cassie was not here due to her brother being in a motorcycle accident early Sat morning and passed away. My heart goes out to her and her family. I know my granddaughter Morgyn was having a very hard time with this news as Junior was like a brother to her and they all spent a lot of time together. It's hard and you never know what to do to ease the pain. But Please keep them in your prayers.

After a long day of eating, playing and celebrating, this is how the day ended. I think if Randi would have stayed there 5 min more she would have been out. She was such a party girl.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and stays safe. Spend time with family and friends as much as you can. Unfortunately we never know when we won't be able to. Again please keep Cassie and her family in your prayers during this time of loss.

Fun Fun Fun

I had so much fun at the race in Indianapolis yesterday. We left about 1a Sunday morning and headed south. It took about 3hrs to get to Indianapolis and then another 30 min or so to actually find the track and figure out where to park. The Indianapolis Speedway is where the Indy 500 is held and its like right smack in the middle of a residential area. Its a very congested area, but we found it, finally found a place to park and then proceeded to rest in the car till we could get into the track. For 5a there sure were a lot of people up and around. The track opens up at 6a we found out later. My daughter and I were trying to rest best we could and then all of a sudden we hear lots of music over a loudspeaker. Which was fine, and they were playing music by Rascal Flatts and Reba. So we were enjoying listening to this, even though it was way to early in the morning. Then we hear talking on the loudspeaker music starting stopping more talking. We both looked at each other and realized it was live. Wow Rascal Flatts and Reba would be the guest singers before the race. We were excited. We enjoyed the free concert from the car for about an hour. I wish we would have known we could have gotten into the track because we could have seen them live. Oh well it was nice listening to them.

It was about 92 degrees during the race. But where our seats were we were in the shade and there was a nice breeze. The last 20 laps or so the sun finally was on us and that 92 degrees felt like 100. But we still had the breeze which helped. The race was awesome, my favorite driver, Jeff Gordon was on fire the whole race and I really thought he was going to win. But he ended up coming in 2n place, which is ok too. Our seats were behind the pits and that was so awesome watching the pit crews do their job. Man are they fast. 4tire change, fill gas tank, clean window all in like 12-15 sec. I can imagine those guys were hot in those fire suits, but it's for their own safety. All in all it was an amazing experience as usual.

I hope I can go to the Michigan race towards the end of the month. I think if I had a dream job it would be to be able to work for NASCAR. I would love to travel weekly and interview drivers, just be involved in that world. Hmmm

The top picture was taken at the race. The lady to my left is my friend Christy who gave me the tickets. As you can see we were way up in the grandstands 33 rows up. Although its a long way up you can see everything great. The middle picture is of Reba with the race winner Paul Menard on the yard of bricks on the start/finish line. The picture below is of me standing next to the pinata I made at the picnic.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead. Stop and take the time to enjoy yourself.

Attitude of Gratitude

I have so much to be grateful for and yet I know so many that have so many trials and tribulations going on in their lives right now. I sometimes feel guilty when I feel so good. But all I can do is keep those that need it in my prayers and let God take it from there. I have wonderful children, grandchildren and great granddaughter. Yes they can be a pain in my backside from time to time, but no matter what I still love them. I have many friends that I know I can count on if I need them. And for that I am grateful. I have friends and family who need all the prayers that they can get for various things, from just finding their way to having serious illnesses. I can not imagine having a very sick child who needs a heart transplant, but I have a friend who's is in that exact place. Her son needs a new heart and so far there has not been a match. It's sort of a hard thing though in this, as one person needs a heart which means to get one, someone has to die. That in itself is a hard thing. Again all I can do is pray for them. I have another good friend who has a very young family member who has cancer and is not doing well at all. Again all I can do is pray for them. There are many more to numerous to mention. So as I struggle at times to be happy for what is going on in my life when so many need so much. But I pray often and try very hard to remember everyone. If I forget someone, the Lord knows who needs his help.

I am grateful for my very best friend daughter and her family that had a fire in their home a week ago and although they lost their personal belongings EVERY FAMILY MEMBER MADE IT OUT ALIVE!!! If it would not have been for their dog who woke them up, this might not have ended in the way it did. I am grateful for a couple at church who are wonderful people and have not been blessed of having a child of their own so opted to adopt. Well this past week they found out that they will be blessed with adopting a son the end of August. They are so happy beyond words. This child will be so blessed in having these parents.

I am grateful that the Pinata I made for the church picnic today was a big hit. The kids all loved it. It was nice seeing all the smiling faces as they each took a whack at it. Well and of course all the candy that came out of it when it broke. Man the mad scramble :) Pictures were taken but I don't want to post on here as I do not have permission from any of the parents in using their kids pics. But I can tell you, this is something that we will do again.

I am grateful for a good friend of mine who called me today and asked if I wanted some free tickets to the Nascar race in Indianapolis tomorrow. And of course I said yes. I am so excited and such a Nascar fan. My daughter Amanda and I are going to leave around midnight or so to get there so we don't get caught up in the race traffic. It can be a bear and don't want to do it.

So all in all it has been a good week for me and mine. So many blessings have been bestowed on so many people I know along with some people I know who are in desperate need of some blessings. So I will continue to keep everyone in my prayers and let God take control of the situations.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week and is blessed with all the things they stand in need of.

Pinata and More

I have been working on a Pinata for a picnic at church for about a week. It takes time to let it all dry between steps. But in the end I think it turned out nice. I decided on an Ice Cream Cone Pinata in hopes that the image would bring on cool thoughts with all this very hot weather we have been having. It's been a long time since I made a pinata. But it all came back to me very quickly. They are for the most part easy to make, very messy though in the beginning stages. You can be up to your elbows so to speak in the paper mache glue, which is water, flour and glue. But it was fun and I love seeing it all come together and it actually looks like what you want it to be. Then of course you need to make it strong enough so that can stay together, hold all the candy you put inside of it, that it won't fall apart when you hang it and of course that it stays together long enough for a few kids to take a whack at it. I am hoping this all holds true when I take it to the picnic. It sure hope that it does all that I hope. I guess I will find out tomorrow (Sat) when I take it to the picnic. I sure hope the weather holds out and it will be a nice day.

I made the cone shape part from a piece of poster board just folded up in the cone shape. Taped it all up to keep it together, cut off the top to make it even and then wrapped it all up in plastic wrap so that once you get it covered in the newspaper/paper mache gunk you can remove the form once it dries for about 24hrs.
Next I blew up a balloon big enough to fit inside the top part of cone and then proceeded to do the same as the cone. Making sure that you put a lot of layers across the top so that it is strong enough to hold the string without ripping when it is hung. You also need to make sure you put a lot of layers where the two pieces come together so again it doesn't come apart when hung. You then let this dry again for 24hrs. Once this is all dry you can cut your opening where ever you want it so you can pop balloon and remove it. Also this opening will be used to add your candy into pinata. I cut it on 3 sides for the opening. I then let it set with this flap down so that the inside could dry a little more and get the smell of the paste out of it. I let it set overnight and it was fine in the morning. You also need to make the small hole at the top where you will put your string to hang it from.After it was all dry and aired out I then proceeded to put the crepe paper on the cone end. There are many ways you can add this paper to the pinata. I chose to use just some white glue and self ruffle it with my fingers. It worked out ok for the look I wanted. You just keep adding it around and around till you get it where you wanted. I then let this dry overnight. So that when I turned it over to do the top it wouldn't hurt it as it would be dry.

Before I covered the top half I put my string in the top. I used some twine I had here. I also tied the string around a small stick on the inside. This way I knew when I tied it, it wouldn't slip through the hole. You also need to add the candy now as you will be covering the opening with the crepe paper. This will be come very heavy and top heavy, so you will need to prop it up against something as you are decorating it. I just set it in a vase on the floor and used an end table on one side and the card table on the other. It worked out fine for me. You can do whatever you need to depending on what type of pinata you make.

I decided to make my ice cream cone Neapolitan flavor. So just add the colors accordingly. You could do whatever you wanted as far as colors. Let your imagination run wild. I also decided to put a little red on top around the string to make it look like a cherry on top. Again use your imagination. You could use pieces of different color tissue paper or crepe paper to make it look like you had sprinkles on it. I think it turned out nice and I am sure the kids will love it also and have lots of fun.
This past week I also went to Goodwill and found some bargains. I found some toys for the grandkids and a small dresser I can use to put Randi clothes in that I keep here for her. The dresser is need of lots of TLC but that's ok. I can give it all the TLC it needs. I have some ideas on how to make it alive again. But that will have to wait till next week.





I hope you enjoyed seeing what I have been up to for the most part all this past week. And what I have in store for me next week.









I also played Bunco this past Wednesday and I won 3rd place and won a glass cake plate. It is to pretty to just put in a cupboard and its not like I would use it all the time...So I decided to set it out and put something under the dome. You see a lot of cloche decorations around so I did my own take on one. I just used a couple things I had on hand. The cup and saucer with flowers was a little to tall to fit so I just turned the cup on its side and it worked out just fine. I found the little girl figurine on one of my Goodwill trips for .75 and she works out just fine in there. I can already envision in my mind all sorts of things I can do with this when it is not in use holding a cake.

Enjoy your day, stay safe and do things you want.