The Suit

Can you see him? Yes, that's Tom hiding in the super tall grass. He's wearing his new Ghilley suit. It's the craziest thing. It covers him from head to toe and he really is camouflaged well. Don't ask me why he needed a Ghilley suit because I don't know the answer to that, except that his best friend has one also so they are probably up to something.

So don't be alarmed if you come to our house and see this Bigfoot looking thing lurking in the bushes. It's just Tom blending in to his suroundings.

Katie's Turn

I wrote about Tom's birthdays last week and have been reminded by several people that I need to write about Katie's. I didn't forget about her. I had a harder time rounding up the pictures. They weren't all in one place like Tom's. I finally remembered that in an attempt to get organized at one point, I had separated the kid's pictures and stored them in different places. I don't know how that helped me be more organized, but I finally found her pictures.


This was her first birthday. When she was little, I loved sewing for her. I made this dress and she was so precious in it. That was back in the good old days, before she could talk and tell me she didn't like dresses.

Birthday number 2 was at our house with friends and family. We had cupcakes and she's wearing a store bought dress. I can't remember why I didn't make one for her birthday. There's a lot I don't remember.

The 3rd birthday was a big affair. Her Uncle Warren and Aunt Patti were here with Grace and Franny. We also had Bob, Valerie, Rob, Dana, and Kaylin from New Orleans. Memaw, Grandpa, Nana, Pa, Granny and Papa were also there.

I wanted to make a really special dress for the occasion. It was yellow and had lots of hand applique on the top. The bottom was pieced around the edge in different colors. It took a long time for me to make that dress. I was almost finished with it when she came in to where I was working one day and asked me what I was doing. I told her I was making a special dress for her to wear on her birthday. She looked me right in the eye and without missing a beat she said," I'm not going to wear it". And she didn't. That was pretty much the end of my sewing for Katie.

Blue's Clues was the theme of the 4th birthday. I don't remember anything about it and this was the only picture I found. I think my feelings were still hurt from the previous birthday.

By the 5th birthday, I was really into themed parties. We invited her whole Pre-K class and the theme was dogs. She loved any kind of dog. She never liked dolls but you could always make her happy with a dog. We served cupcakes in dog bowls with puppy chow (cocoa puffs). The kids all wore collars with their name on it and they played Pin the Tail on the Dog. It was a lot of fun and it's the one I remember most.

She'll be 14 in May and she still likes having parties and she still loves dogs. I wonder if she would let me make a dress for her this year?

Then and Now

Alan and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary yesterday. It's hard to believe it's been that long, until I started looking at wedding pictures and realized that we really are a lot older. I don't feel a lot older, but I sure do look it.


This was our engagement picture. We were 26 years old and we were both living and working in Temple. I was teaching school and Alan was working at Texas Instruments. We had been introduced about a year and a half before our wedding by a mutual friend. We met at the Academy SPJST Hall. I have no idea what that stands for, but they had a dance almost every weekend and my singles group from First Baptist Church went dancing there on a regular basis.

So, our friend brought Alan along one time and the rest is history.

We got married at the First Baptist Church in Temple. I really must apoligize to my bridesmaids for the dresses. What is it about a bride that makes her lose her mind and dress her very best friends in something she would never wear herself? I am so sorry. One of my friends was even pregnant and I still made her wear this. My sister is the only bride that I've been involved with that made a good decision. She picked a color, but we got to pick our style. So I was able to pick something I really liked.

Here we are leaving the church on our way to a new life together. I have to say, it's been good. We spent the first 8 years on our little farm in Jarrell and the last 12 have been here in Salado.

I was a lot skinnier back then and Alan had more hair, but we've got 2 great kids, a house that we're fixing up, and a great community to live in. It's a good life.

Tom's Birthdays

Emma's 1st birthday has made me think about all the parties we have had for Tom and Katie. So I found some old pictures and tried to put them in order. Of course, I never wrote on any pictures so I had to rely on my memory which is not always reliable. The good thing about birthday cakes is they have candles on them, so if I can count the candles, I know which birthday it is.

This is the history of Tom's first 5 birthdays. I'll do Katie's tomorrow.


This was Tom's 1st birthday. I remember he was sick, but that wasn't going to stop me from having a party. Poor little guy. He ate some cake, but I don't think he enjoyed it much.

The 2nd birthday was much better. We celebrated it with his cousin, Grace, who was born the day after he was. This was my first attempt at making and decorating a cake.

On his third birthday, we went to a friend's house and invited a whole bunch of little kids. It was a cowboy theme and all the kids wore cowboy hats. We thought the kids were old enough to play games, but it didn't work so well. 3 is just a little young for organized play.

On the 4th bithday, we were in Dallas to watch a Cowboy's game, so we had a party in the hotel room. Memaw and Grandpa were with us.

I think this is the 5th birthday. It's hard to count the candles in this picture. I do remember this cake though. I wasn't going to do it, but at the last minute, I had a change of heart and decided to go ahead and make it. I already had the dog shaped pan and I thought I really should use it. It was during the making of this cake that I thought it would be so much easier to buy one already made. I had been making cakes for Katie, too, and I just reached my limit. All the birthdays after this have store bought cakes and you know what? Nobody cares. Kids just like having a party. They don't usually slow down long enough to eat the cake anyway.

Spring Break

This is a working Spring Break for us. There is still so much to do on the house, but it's really coming along faster than I thought. Alan comes home and works every evening. He is laying the tile in the kitchen now. My job is to paint. That's about all I can do and I don't do that very well.

What do you think of this orange wall? I really like it. It's just one wall. Orange is my new favorite color so when I have a new favorite color, it will be easy to change. Katie suggested we hang family photos on it because everyone else has a wall with family photos except us. That little frame on the wall has an "E" on it. I also have one with a "K", "Y", and "L". I found those at Hobby Lobby and thought they would look nice on the orange wall. I love Hobby Lobby. You can find great stuff there, and if you can be patient, everything goes on sale.
I don't know what this is about. I saw the girls walking through the yard dressed like this and told them I had to take their picture. I think they've got too much time on their hands. They need to go back to school.

My niece, Emma, turned 1 last Friday. We went to her party on Saturday. Kids parties
are great, especially when it's not at my house. Not really, I loved doing parties for my kids when they were little. I loved plannning them, decorating, baking, and making party favors. Now they just want cash.

My sister made some really yummy cupcakes and had her house decorated for the party. She has lots of parties ahead of her to plan.

My kids also had a car like Emma's. Now Tom is 15 and it won't be long before he is behind the wheel of a real car. I have very mixed emotions about that. I know he has to learn how to drive but I'm really not ready. Come to think of it, I guess I've never been "ready" for the big milestones, and they happen whether I'm ready or not, so I just better get over it.

My house is a blank slate right now. It's coming together, but there are so many possibilities of what to do that sometimes it makes my head hurt.

This last weekend, I went to the Salado Design Stars Showcase. Several of the shop and B&B owners sponsored a weekend of events where we got to tour some houses and learn design secrets. It was a lot of fun and now I think I'm prepared to decorate my house.

As you can see, there are many ways to go. First, I have to determine my style. Am I traditional, modern, country, french country, Italian country, Tuscan, shabby chic, or the newest trend, industrial chic? I really don't know. I need to put some thought into this.

I might not know my style, but I learned some things that I can apply no matter my style.




Everyone needs a rooster. Farm animals are back, but this does not give anyone permission to put out the geese that we so proudly displayed in the 80's. Get new farm animals. I've always wanted a rooster and this one just kept screaming, "Buy me!" He was especially insistent after the shop owner gave me a glass of wine and told me to relax and take my time. So he came home with me. He is going to be beautiful displayed on my black granite counter tops. Right now he is sitting on plywood.

Birds and anything associated with birds are hot! Bird nests, bird cages and bird figures are something everyone must have. So I bought this paper towel holder. It was time. Our previous
paper towel holder was something Alan had when we got married. It's been 20 years, time for a new one. I think it's cute that the bird is looking at the towels. Alan and Tom think he looks like he's about to fall out of the tree.

Orange is the new color to have. You don't want a lot but a least 3 things in one room should be orange, so I bought this orange bottle. It was also talking to me while I was enjoying the glass of wine. Now I only need two more orange things.

My last purchase of the weekend was this cookbook holder. Something else I have been wanting. Right now it is holding my Pioneer Woman Cookbook, but I'm thinking I'm going to have to give this cookbook a rest for awhile. As far as the Pioneer Woman is concerned, cream, butter, and lots of cheese are staples in every meal. The recipies are very yummy, but if I keep this up I won't have any clothes that fit. This Marlboro Man sandwich is very good, but it is all about butter. You cook the meat in butter, you add more butter to flavor the meat, you saute the onions in butter, and that's not all, oh no, that's not all. You toast the bread with gobs of butter.

I should be really calorie conscious for the next couple of weeks, because my new range will be here on March 17 and I will be cooking.