Baloney Moon

Saturday night Loni, Kathleen, Brenda and I went to see Baloney Moon at Banter in Denton, TX.  My oldest and his girlfriend met us there.  

Cindy Maloney is one of Kathleen's friends and the lead singer.  Cindy can belt out a song.  They sang mostly their own songs, but there were some old favs in there too.  Van Morrison's Moondance, one of my happy songs, and Chain of Fools (Aretha made it famous, but I like Cocker's version).

It was a fun evening.  I would definitely go see Baloney Moon again.

Hear Baloney Moon:

The Bridge
 The Bridge

Unwound

 Unwound

Hope Springs ~ Movie

As part of Mina's birthday, we had a girls' day today starting with a movie and then lunch.  The movie was Hope Springs with Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep, two of my favs.



It was a good movie and Steve Carrell was excellent in his role.

As much as I enjoyed the movie, it made me very sad.  It brought up regrets about things I didn't ever get to say or do with Raymond. It reminded me of what ifs, and missed opportunities in other parts of my life.

It also reminded me of a friend's ex-husband and what an ass he is, and how happy I am that she has such great possibilities for happiness now.

I think a lot of people could benefit from this movie.

Plano Quilt Show and 10 Minute Table Runner

The Plano Quilt Show in Plano, Texas was yesterday and today. I went yesterday for my first go around and then back today to get the things I wish I had purchased and didn't.

A vendor new to the show this year was Desperate Quilters from Keller Texas. What a great group of women. The were so friendly and patient with me. They taught me how to make a 10 minute table runner using the Utah State pattern and a reversible tote bag from Allpeoplequilt. I purchased some fabric from them to make the table runner, and then went back today to get buttons. They had red paisley's to match my fabric! I made the table runner up at midnight last night in less than 10 minutes.

Crooked Creek Quilt Shop had wonderful stencils, and they were great about explaining how to look within your stencil to find even more ways to use it and get the most out of the stencil, and the best way to get rid of the blue pen stencil marks.

Just Jennifer is always one of my favorite stops. She had a great turtle pin cushion and some little turtle pins this year that came home with me.

Fat Quarter Cafe had some great coordinating fabrics for my stash to make the reversible totes I am going to try, and some great advise on a pattern I purchased.

And the boys will not need to do any Christmas shopping this year as their adopted Tia Loni bought a kit I wanted from the Material Girl Fabrics booth and presented them with the bill, but she told them they could pay on an installment plan.

There were some other little gadgets purchased here and there, but the ones above were my favorites.

I am going to make up 10 Minute Table Runners for the church bazaar in Thanksgiving and Christmas colors.

Family Birthdays

August brings us Stan's and Mina's birthdays, which we celebrated together on Sunday at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.  Both of my boys were able to join us so that made it extra special for me.

My youngest picked out a funny card for Stan, all pink and sparkly, an odd thing to give a Marine, but it tickled my youngest a lot to get it.

I made Mina a little gift card holder and the boys and I made sure she could have fun shopping.  Stan received gift cards from the boys and cash from me, but I also made him some pillowcases.

Marine Pillowcases

It was the first time the entire family had been together since Alaska, and I enjoyed having everyone together very much.

One Down

Army boy's leave is over.  He leaves at noon today.  He was here until 4:30 A.M. this morning.  I didn't last that long, but I was up listening to them all laugh until 2:00 A.M.

He will be in Korea for 2 years.  We are hoping he will be here for the redhead's wedding next summer.

I will miss his stealthy self.  I was getting used to the nightly scare when I would turn around in the kitchen to find him getting water out of the fridge.  That boy never makes a sound.

Yes, I know that at 22 he is really a man.  But they will always be boys to me.  

My Guys

Not the greatest pics, but trying to get these four/five guys to behave for a picture is almost impossible.  First we had to get one to come out from under the table, and then when he did he kept moving so most of the pics are blurry.  The next challenge was to get them all with their eyes open since they kept laughing and the red headed one almost always closes his eyes when he laughs. 

No matter what, they are my guys and I love each and every one of them.

One is under the table

Aww, we got him to come out

The 4 Amigos, All College Grads, All Employed

Finding Me - Scary Stuff

This finding me year is scary stuff.  

One of the problems I have with finding me is that I never see myself as others do, and I am always surprised by what they have to say, usually pleasantly. I know it is because I have a bad self-image.  Something I have battled all my life, and don't see myself getting over any time soon.

Tonight the boys all asked me to play Citadels with them, so I went into the Man Cave and played a game.  During the game we were all talking about a project I have been working on, and all the advice I have been getting regarding said project. I mentioned to the boys that someone suggested I show my skill sets during this project, but that I was not sure I had any skill sets to show off.  The boys immediately started talking about how my skill set was that I was a people person.  The youngest said it was obvious by how strangers came up to me in stores to ask for help and/or tell me their problems or life story.  It was nice to hear what the boys thought. It was nice that they even notice.  

I will continue on this path of finding me, but I will do so with shaking knees and an upset stomach most of the time.