we do the walk, we do the walk of life

last saturday the family of finch loaded up and headed to the big town of amarillo. i was so excited to get to participate in the race for the cure. my grandmother and aunt both lost their battle with breast cancer. my friend from high school is in remission. i would tell you how it went, but it was not the best time for the family of finch. the head of the household decided that he was shrek and would behave as though he was an ogre. the day was pretty much shot after that.

i am participating in an ongoing book swap and today in the mail this is what was waiting for me. the book is "great parties". she also sent crochet patterns, some R sticky notes, and some mary englebreit cards. woo hoo, i was way excited. i hope she likes the package that i sent her.


when i got home wednesday night there was a box sitting on my doorstep. i began to wonder what it was because i didn't remember ordering anything. when i opened the package this is what i saw.
the requirements were 1 recipe from the dream vacation destination, she sent a day's worth of recipes. everything from scones to irish coffee. so excited. she sent me a box of irish tea. mmmm i fell in love with tea when i went to england. she also sent a bottle of irish steak sauce which i am dying to try. there were 4 beautiful magnets as well, they are high on the fridge to keep little hands from grabbing them.
her heiness squealed with delight and begged to try on the princess, so here she is wearing my irish apron.

shower the people you love with love

thanks for all the sweet comments about the upcoming new addition. we are very excited about the prospects. on a different note, my friend shellybabes is trying to put together a swap, but she would like some input. if you guys would head over to her blog and give some ideas i'd appreciate it.

all i need is the air that i breathe and to love you

what a wonderful week it has been so far. i finished and mailed my flirty apron for the swap. then promptly lost the confirmation delivery number. i received my sassy apron, and i LOVE IT. sweet tara came and helped last night at church, and i sure am glad she did. i couldn't have done it without her. my wonderful nephew turned 3 this week, my sister will turn a little older than 3 tomorrow, my BIL will turn a little younger than my sister today, and tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of mine and finch's first date. monkey is kicking butt and taking names in school. she tested on the 4th harry potter book and got a 94. did i mention she's in 3rd grade? i am so proud of her. my mom came and hung out for the weekend and we had a wonderful time. here is what you have all been waiting for... my thankful list.

I AM THANKFUL FOR:

1. aprons- both those i make and those i receive.

this is one side of the "chinese garden" apron i made.

this is the other side. if you look closely you can see the frogs i put on it to give a more chinese feel to the apron. my partner said she loved the lotus flower.

this is the fall sassy apron

this is the sassy fall apron i received. i am way more than stoked about it. i wore it last night to fix dinner at the church and got many compliments on it. thank you karen b.

2. potholders- seriously i didn't know they could be so pretty and cool. i have a few homemade potholders that are knitted, but i had a blast making my potholders.

this is one side of the potholders i made for the sassy apron swap.

this is the other side. it is the same material i used for the apron.

one side of the potholder i received.

the other side. it matches my apron perfectly. so excited

3. my family- all of them. they remind me that it is good to be loved.

4. blogger friends- the comments are awesome. i also get to see things that i would never get to experience on my own. vacations in australia, life in swanland, and life in austria.

5. the ability to adjust- this comes in very handy when life turns upside down.

6. my sewing machine- without it i could not have made the three aprons that i made.

7. swaps- yes, my name is reina and i am a swapaholic.

8. getting out of debt- one step at a time, but it is happening. we are 1 major and 1 minor credit card away from being mostly debt free. i don't count the car and house payment because in my life those are necessary.

9. forgiveness- both that given and received. thanks

10. acceptance- not sure that's the right word, but i will explain. the realization that i am responsible for the choices i make both good and bad. yes, the situation could have been avoided with proper guidance, but at the end of the day I am responsible for my choices.

i have an extra thankful for today i am thankful for friends who are so amazingly talented. my friend tara drew these two pics for the girls. monkey is obsessed with the avatar, and her heiness adores cinderella.

did i mention she free handed these?

my dear, wonderful, amazing friend pattylicious sent me two letters this week, thanks. i do love mail. so what are you thankful for this week? the wonderful feel of fall, the love of a child, a pet who is a constant companion. think about it. have a great day, tomorrow i will tell the tale of finch and reina.

a dream is a wish your heart makes

this is for the book and bookmark swap blog. i am totally stoked.

My favorite authors- i have read most of kootz's old stuff as well as stephen king's. i really enjoy the classics too.

My hobbies...sewing, knitting, crochet, tatting, cooking/baking, embroidery, cross stitch, gardening, books, stationary, beading, glasswork, and so much more

My favorite books..the gunslinger series by stephen king. the chronicles of narnia. gone with the wind. pillars of the earth, picking a favorite book is like picking a favorite child i just can't do it.

My books I want to read...the bones seriers by kathy reichs, james patterson, sue grafton, patricia cornwell, the "cat who" mystery series, the final 3 harry potter books. the odd thomas series by koontz.

My books I don't like.... bodice rippers. anything too depressing.

My favorite type [sci-,romance,ect....]i don't really have a favorite type. i enjoy a wide array of books. cookbooks, craft books, scary books, brain candy, thrillers, mystery, historical fiction.

My favorite colors...yellow, blue, purple, red, green, and most other colors.

My allergies...annoying people

My favorite pets...dogs and finches

My favorite scents...coffee, lavender, citrus, cinnamon, pine, jasmine, clean smells

My Amazon Wish List link.....i don't have one

Other stuff about me...i adore betty boop, mary engelbreit, mermaids, fairies, unicorns. i'm pretty easy going. i'll try just about anything once, and i've discovered the only way to find new things that you like is to try new things. i am self taught on most of my crafts, so a good craft book is always appreciated.

whoa, i'm feeling better now

WORD OF THE DAY- fiduciary: Relating to the holding of something in trust for another.

i received my apron from my swap partner. it is my favorite color and reversible. below are some pics of it. sign up for the fall apron swap has begun, so if you want to participate click on the button for summer sassy apron swap on the side of my blog.


now for some pics of the ever famous pattylicious clan. isn't constence sweet. she's waving at aunt reina
below the mayornator and constence hanging at our house.
sweet babies are everywhere. i love this pic. it is so sweet
her highness wanted to hold a baby, so we obliged. most of these were taken with my phone so the quality is somewhat lacking
what happened after this photo was taken is really humorous. constence went poo and her highness nearly threw the baby at us to get away from the smell.

a pic of the fourth of July in the pool.

this is from quite a while back. mille was holding her highness and they were singing together.

on a different note. the sip and see went very well. i forgot to take pics, sorry. the food was wonderful. i made two different kinds of quiches a green chili and a Italian. we ended up having about 5 dozen mini ones of each kind. i also made oregano focaccia and a thyme focaccia. we also had strawberry cake covered in white chocolate. i almost forgot the veggie tray with garlic dip and ranch dip that pattylicious made. a good time was had by everyone that came and there was a good crowd. it was come and go, so it never felt real crowded. hope everyone is having a good week so far.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT- IN THE WORDS OF Anatole France -"People who have no weaknesses are terrible; there is no way of taking advantage of them."

i've got the joy, joy, joy,joy down in my heart

WORD OF THE DAY- AMICABLE: characterized by friendliness and good will.
edited to add additional word of the day- paraskavedekatriaphobia meaning Friday, thirteen, and phobia respectively; (alternative spellings include paraskevodekatriaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia) or friggatriskaidekaphobia, and is a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number 13)

i finished and sent out my apron for the summer apron swap. i hope she likes it. it is almost identical to the first apron i made. i chose the wider bias tape for this one, and i really think i like it better.

i really like how the pockets look. well what do you guys think?
below are the pics of the wonderful things that i received in my swap package.
these are place mats. aren't they awesome they roll up and tie. they are perfect. she even included blue flatware in one and green in the other. this is brilliant because green is monkey's favorite color and her highness tends to lean towards blue. aren't the strawberries on the pockets adorable.
this is the apron. i was soooo excited i opened the package at the post office and put it on. by the way alisha, the postmaster thought it was wonderful. i think that it is so much more than wonderful. i can't explain how thrilled i am. seriously, i can't stop grinning. she also included 3 recipes with the lovely apron. they are all WW friendly recipes that i can't wait to try. the double strawberry cheesecake sounds heavenly, i'll post pics. one of the coolest things is that this wonderful package came all the way from austria. it was like getting a pen pal only cooler. i never had a pen pal as a kid, but this is way cooler. the apron is so much prettier in person i just can't tell you. i'll be sure to use it this weekend as i'm making apricot preserves. mmmm.
i hope everyone has a great weekend. we're heading the booger town to pick apricots this evening. i'm looking forward to gifting people with yummy goodies, aprons, washcloths, bags, and pin cushions for Christmas this year.


FOOD FOR THOUGHT- IN THE WORDS OF THOMAS EDISON "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."