tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730936558968932112024-03-06T00:06:39.950-06:00Helles Belles Misconceptions about lifeI'm a young female attempting to find my one true trade in a world full of fascinating projects. I live in Missouri with my husband and 2 and a half dogs. If it involves crafts, I'm probably doing it or trying to learn it or drooling over it.HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-42886994956327096052008-08-27T11:51:00.002-05:002008-08-27T11:56:39.319-05:00Wandering and confusedWell I do believe helle has just frozen over. I will not necessarily stay at this blog, but was feeling froggy and decided to see if this blog would let me post. You could have knocked me over with a feather when it not only let my see my dashboard but let me go right to a new post without any trouble! So I may be here from time to time if Wordpress gives me too much trouble. Just as a little FYI for those of you who think it strange that I show up here all out of the blue and all.HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-60551719020906251852008-05-23T08:53:00.004-05:002008-05-23T09:21:31.798-05:00Shameless<p>Yeah that was a shameless (Garth Brooks sings in my head as I type) stunt I pulled yesterday, but I really was curious to know who reads this and I appreciate you guys stopping by. More crafty pictures should be arriving soon. I've become a bit lazy about it due to the fact that its a bit more difficult to load pictures on Wordpress than it is on blogger. Major bummer and the only thing I would change but I'm thinking I may get a little ambitious here in a sec and run over to Mozilla and cheat on wordpress. Thank you KathiD for the comment on the new look. I liked the green really well but it cut off more than half of my title and then I found out if you don't have a paid account, you can't put in layouts from other sources and save them. What a stinker. Fortunately wordpress has some very nice free layouts and we all know free is good.<br /></p><br />Here for your viewing pleasure ma cheries are some crafty pimpin pictures<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">This one is a mermaid made for me by my partner, Valorie, in the Mermaid Swap over at Bella Enchanted<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6k8Hik63qNCy-vRsdvhe42M67m-MSm5u-9JIK0r3aYGuB96pbg1l-7tH81KygdPSoQhjIsBedCjdGhC4-T6iYXz9EjQ0aJsCme-z2gmucEnDImjItRMYFN1otBxxsV__7nJCqjCEqUlc/s1600-h/100_0703.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6k8Hik63qNCy-vRsdvhe42M67m-MSm5u-9JIK0r3aYGuB96pbg1l-7tH81KygdPSoQhjIsBedCjdGhC4-T6iYXz9EjQ0aJsCme-z2gmucEnDImjItRMYFN1otBxxsV__7nJCqjCEqUlc/s320/100_0703.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203575848480238018" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">It inspired me to make this little girl. She's not topless, her shirt just blends in Really well.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAo3HLFWbN24y-Mc5O3gdxG68HBkMrRmk4ciNsDe9TT-7e7bAegLcQwhipl5uNsQVFH2JHROCTF4BynvGdxK93Kj2EcmvKh9wdBjVr2Y3flw9puYpx0nwJA25gPzyY7y6rB3B4huGJh5g/s1600-h/100_0704.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAo3HLFWbN24y-Mc5O3gdxG68HBkMrRmk4ciNsDe9TT-7e7bAegLcQwhipl5uNsQVFH2JHROCTF4BynvGdxK93Kj2EcmvKh9wdBjVr2Y3flw9puYpx0nwJA25gPzyY7y6rB3B4huGJh5g/s320/100_0704.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203575848480238034" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And when I got done, I wanted to make more like her so for the first time in my life I made a pattern! I am thinking this may become some sort of swap.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0KoiUjzrJf98_EtAuT6-CQdrCH31G1T1WYg9HCmsf0G54AFpuOTnUKaZaj1_OHzUuqbxQ9SU4PYL5ELyBv94VBB5FHztpbQYoDL-_SALnW_xhA3Hom161cRQwD57kiP_mpQtmQVbjWgZ/s1600-h/100_0705.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0KoiUjzrJf98_EtAuT6-CQdrCH31G1T1WYg9HCmsf0G54AFpuOTnUKaZaj1_OHzUuqbxQ9SU4PYL5ELyBv94VBB5FHztpbQYoDL-_SALnW_xhA3Hom161cRQwD57kiP_mpQtmQVbjWgZ/s320/100_0705.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5203575852775205346" border="0" /></a>Thats all for now folks. Hope you enjoyed the show and I will be picking a name tomorrow from the comments on yesterday's post to send something to so think about what you ladies might want.<br /><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-28413147120517045072008-05-09T08:23:00.001-05:002008-05-09T08:28:54.390-05:00I'm movingI took <a href="http://kathid.wordpress.com">KathiD's</a> suggestion and am moving to Wordpress. I like it better already as it allows me to use it on Internet Explorer. So on the off chance that you have me in your feeds, I am now available at <a href="http://www.hellesbelles86.wordpress.com">www.hellebelles86.wordpress.com</a> Come visit me there as I will not be here any longer!HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-39294501170488373462008-05-08T19:59:00.003-05:002008-05-09T08:38:55.984-05:00F itty f f f f!!!!!!!!I had a nice disturbed post all planned out for you about how I am a yarn addict and how I'm starting to wonder where have all the bloggers gone? ( to the tune of flowers or cowboys your choice) but after spending half an hour to get into blogger I just wanted to yell F*ck! Yeah see I had to quit using blogger on internet explorer after it signed me out randomly because the sign in page hasn't worked on there since I got back from Florida. It spins and spins and finally comes up with a blank white page that says Not Found Error 404. So I got pissed and then I got smart and ran my little fingers over to my Mozilla Firefox which I don't use as much because with the most recent upgrades I like IE better. (NEVER thought I'd be saying that) So anyway it gives me the same error screen but when I go back to my blog I'm all signed in and when it randomly signs me out I can get to the login screen. Weird I know but if it works I'll ride with it. So I have to change from my primary browser every time I want to make a post or change to my blog which is not conducive to good internet and blog usage. So I was kinda wondering if anyone knows about any other good free blog sites that aren't like Myspace? Cuz I can't afford to pay for the silly thing and could hardly justify it with as few readers as I have, but I like getting on here and talking to myself hoping someone else is listening. Its like having a friend who's mute and has temporary amnesia about the sign language they learned. I can talk about myself all I want and no one can stop me. Its not the same as a journal because journals seem so forced to me sometimes and I like how this just flows. I'm having a mostly one sided conversation with the whole world! How cool is that? I have the tendency to ramble so this is good. And when I get a comment I come back to read it over and over because it makes me so happy to know someone else is out there "listening."HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-21481283975028445822008-05-07T15:11:00.004-05:002008-05-07T15:29:50.609-05:00Ain't misbehavinWell I had said I wasn't going to post pics of the items I'm making for the mermaid swap on here till I knew my partner had received them but I was sorely tested when I got done taking them for my own records and memories. I have resisted the urge however and will instead post some ATC's I made for a swap on Swap-bot. The thing was May things with wings and I think I captured it well. I'm still fairly new to ATC making and have only made about 8 of them but I really enjoy working on something small that allows me to complete it before the muse runs screaming in the other direction.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKRzXcmx1CeV_SeQdGy6uP0aVU0MFh3NgGkoXUgwdEcXfLq9Er9Br2KGaG_GFAJl2JoOUhceMflW5svLqHRACX7Dr5Tv1b5mu770FGvtqKt5dG7segkjOugATX6SRc20V5bUNc87Bab0F/s1600-h/100_0658.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKRzXcmx1CeV_SeQdGy6uP0aVU0MFh3NgGkoXUgwdEcXfLq9Er9Br2KGaG_GFAJl2JoOUhceMflW5svLqHRACX7Dr5Tv1b5mu770FGvtqKt5dG7segkjOugATX6SRc20V5bUNc87Bab0F/s320/100_0658.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197733858100569650" border="0" /></a> Fall Dreams (I actually made this one in November of '07) <br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAx8iYbAC2hEwu39CCcbaZGUfMT-RsRCrPsEVsZbU2tbLEAV8shyphenhyphenDsZAf-dDa_Cb6dhF3594qaDfU5WTHxJ227unbgocqJEPzzWOJYLv77OsYtDYOM2U75KJhLwCm3gXLK6K45BeMg3Y-0/s1600-h/100_0661.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAx8iYbAC2hEwu39CCcbaZGUfMT-RsRCrPsEVsZbU2tbLEAV8shyphenhyphenDsZAf-dDa_Cb6dhF3594qaDfU5WTHxJ227unbgocqJEPzzWOJYLv77OsYtDYOM2U75KJhLwCm3gXLK6K45BeMg3Y-0/s320/100_0661.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197733862395536962" border="0" /></a>Night wings<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLJuIY3cNX53uB_KGCoeqBW5TLB7aPcRm4rBz4E2zlYSCYlxQMWUH7IXjQ_04Exs9Sov1lnruQ4QzjlGA3gp_YztU2ysmPbO-2DjzALYdbzupgTf8eqjG0Fd3c4_KCfr9SRnRcxcKMjTj/s1600-h/100_0663.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLJuIY3cNX53uB_KGCoeqBW5TLB7aPcRm4rBz4E2zlYSCYlxQMWUH7IXjQ_04Exs9Sov1lnruQ4QzjlGA3gp_YztU2ysmPbO-2DjzALYdbzupgTf8eqjG0Fd3c4_KCfr9SRnRcxcKMjTj/s320/100_0663.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197733866690504274" border="0" /></a>Metamorphosis<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I had so much fun with these and the others I'm not showing. The background for Metamorphosis was a bunch of acrylics smashed into ink blot type designs on a piece of paper. The moth wings on Night wings were from a science text book from 1940 that I bought for a dollar at a flea market. Fall dreams features a fairy from a Lunesta ad of all things. I use a large variety for my collages and the ATC's are no exception. I'm curious to see what you guys think about these. I will send a set of 3-5 based on a theme of your choice to the lucky winner so tell people about this. This is the beginning of the promised free stuff. Leave me comments ladies and gents.<br /></div></div>HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-75902146241958572572008-05-06T09:42:00.002-05:002008-05-06T09:56:03.966-05:00April showers.... in May?Slowly but surely in this coldest section of Helle the May flowers are springing forth. However we had a doozy of a April (May) shower the other day that quite destroyed the northland. I meant to comment on this the day after but got caught up in Garage Sale and couch cover preparations. It wasn't until I read about it on 2 other blogs that I was reminded. So Friday morning I'm sitting on the couch and my step mom calls. She says "how are you guys doing.?" and I reply "We're fine just getting ready for the sale. Pricing the never-ending piles of stuff. You?" She then went on to tell me how my step sister up in Gladstone had half of her neighborhood destroyed. A house fell on a 70 y/o woman, the neighbors car was under several trees and somehow nobody was hurt. Amazing! My step sister's house came through miraculously unscathed but she thinks that the news helicopter may have caught her on video in her pajamas. Not the worst thing that might have happened I'm thinking. I said we'd had lots of thunder and rain but not much else. When I asked my husband about it I found out I was a little wrong. We live south of tornado alley but I-70 runs right in front of our house and often brings the tornadoes right down it as if it were one of those special markers that the little cars follow where you draw. I guess the shop didn't fare quite as well as our little house down in the hollow. The property we live on used to be the home of a self storage business and one of the storage buildings is still standing complete with individual garage doors. Several of these doors were curled by the wind from straight to nice round little bundles just like a nice roll your own. I was rather amazed to learn this as we were unaffected beyond some of our lawn furniture and out door trashcans moving across the driveway. Nowhere near as bad as the storm that blew our heavy duty dog house over and destroyed the privacy fences at the house I own in Higginsville. Pure insanity that one. I say all this and it sounds so horrendous but I lived in California for a good portion of my life and all I can say is you can see a tornado coming. Earthquakes? not so much. Altho I admit we felt the one they had in Illinois a couple weeks ago its just not the same. Give me a storm watch and a basement any day.HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-90277709601391974182008-05-05T16:36:00.007-05:002008-05-05T16:54:16.501-05:00Little to report<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">I just wanted to check in to show my invisibles that I haven't disappeared. I was just uber busy this weekend with the not so stellar garage sale. I made $50 but sold almost nothing. I just sold a couple of high ticket items. Go figure right? Anyway my darling dearest has graciously agreed to let me do it another weekend with sign placement of my choosing this time instead of his. I was to busy to do it myself the first time but that will change this week as all the hard stuff has already been done. I already spent most of my gain on oodles of old lace doilies but I have a lot to show for my money spent because I won't buy them unless they're $1 or less or packaged with several of them. I look for slightly damaged ones because it won't affect what I'm going to use them for. I also got some nice vintage fabric scraps and a couple of weird cute things for the mermaid swap I'm in. Last but not least I have some pictures as usual of family and the kitchen. Its hard to describe my decorating style and so I'm just going to show you all instead. I haven't forgotten about that promise of frees stuff either but am not quite ready for it just yet. Keep watching and pass word about. Yes this is a shameless bid for readership and I'm not sorry to admit it ;) Now the pics.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9pYaThqB3U1lFSZk5Qoa9h0EjEDkY-cWr2kcGuC2G68W7yISnXA1__lc1OU0JxF45v19z5GuCosjpMOMps_8HQgxahOsnv1EfPbEzaonRofKqU-wt1FXXISDN8G2_RIiR3wMxYIbU8QvU/s1600-h/copy100_0650.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 517px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9pYaThqB3U1lFSZk5Qoa9h0EjEDkY-cWr2kcGuC2G68W7yISnXA1__lc1OU0JxF45v19z5GuCosjpMOMps_8HQgxahOsnv1EfPbEzaonRofKqU-wt1FXXISDN8G2_RIiR3wMxYIbU8QvU/s320/copy100_0650.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197013621441950610" border="0" /></a>the kitchen<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUubx5VA2w4qTMx9JQEMOpFb-l4tYoy7iyVK26KMgk1qQeppr8ee7X1GlSJDm9COxRwrkHlIP8Hrfw42_JIF1SJw-diq7HT9CV6bb3L_JBaYcmQ1peH5zED87BqKaKzFRG7bW_2Hmr4g0h/s1600-h/copy100_0640.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUubx5VA2w4qTMx9JQEMOpFb-l4tYoy7iyVK26KMgk1qQeppr8ee7X1GlSJDm9COxRwrkHlIP8Hrfw42_JIF1SJw-diq7HT9CV6bb3L_JBaYcmQ1peH5zED87BqKaKzFRG7bW_2Hmr4g0h/s320/copy100_0640.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197013625736917922" border="0" /></a>J10 and J11<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYUstjb8cR2c6ijeh8eqvyA8TJslbnCPGZYXaW3GcyZ1J7wLNxUs_b8c11pxfWupFf1hxnwG3hW7PYbiKQxaKv6A2Qe2NOpSaG5cQtpcfZ7nuv0nOKCP7K6jvRkTHZ30rAl3LTiKKMtKl/s1600-h/copy100_0648.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYUstjb8cR2c6ijeh8eqvyA8TJslbnCPGZYXaW3GcyZ1J7wLNxUs_b8c11pxfWupFf1hxnwG3hW7PYbiKQxaKv6A2Qe2NOpSaG5cQtpcfZ7nuv0nOKCP7K6jvRkTHZ30rAl3LTiKKMtKl/s320/copy100_0648.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197013625736917938" border="0" /></a>J14 holding their newest puppy while she sleeps<br /><br />I've come to love these girls like the sisters I never had. J12 has been out of the picture for a while due to some bad decisions but I am happy to say that yesterday for the first time in probably more than a year she seemed like the girl I used to know and J11 and I were almost tearful to have our girl back. J10 and J11 having just shy of 2 years between them in age have always been very very close and the rift between them the last year has been hard on J11. I'm so happy to have J12 back to her self and I'm proud of her making her way back from the edge. On another celebratory note yesterday was J11's birthday so happy birthday sis.<br /></div>HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-2414571108581940682008-05-02T22:46:00.006-05:002008-05-02T23:21:55.087-05:00Don't try this at home<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">It all started rather innocently with this</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7sXT9MmGDiogv0E10CO27elE4j8iAOFPMLZjYTENQ9eypb7dUpBJUBCKNZIGLtN5oBl1EwPTNMgFjfnR331bGLFUTjqe2soJAunHit-LHr0B4n_t0q3K2p9oorsrLb9eGYz7zSlA1LmLP/s1600-h/jarell.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7sXT9MmGDiogv0E10CO27elE4j8iAOFPMLZjYTENQ9eypb7dUpBJUBCKNZIGLtN5oBl1EwPTNMgFjfnR331bGLFUTjqe2soJAunHit-LHr0B4n_t0q3K2p9oorsrLb9eGYz7zSlA1LmLP/s320/jarell.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195993721327973234" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:courier new;">(the man not the peanuts)</span><br /><br /> <span style="font-family:courier new;">and this<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://adweek.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/spongebob_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://adweek.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/spongebob_1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">and some how turned into this</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieyay5sZba5B9aZsoljbcq7B2K-FohAoj-NJwOIHu0ET5LpM9zaL0MoRHoR3vXZDaUWVF-3FpIb5_R-QWOsMOobIFZ-YHJTnL08N96HxczwT-YUxHfa4gtel4jEpKugJN0Yg25An-UjK4L/s1600-h/100_0635.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieyay5sZba5B9aZsoljbcq7B2K-FohAoj-NJwOIHu0ET5LpM9zaL0MoRHoR3vXZDaUWVF-3FpIb5_R-QWOsMOobIFZ-YHJTnL08N96HxczwT-YUxHfa4gtel4jEpKugJN0Yg25An-UjK4L/s320/100_0635.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195996521646650242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:courier new;"><br />Allow me to explain. My darling dearest is a full grown man. Now those of you with men of your own know there is NO SUCH THING but we humor them because we're not always so grown up ourselves. Well Jarell has a particular love of all things Spongebob Squarepants and as I've grown to be able to tolerate this character over the years, I take advantage of the fact that this gives me an edge on the present buying situation. I know if its Spongebob he'll like it and find a home or use for it quickly. Well two years ago at Christmas time I thought I'd get ambitious and make him a sheet with some SB fabric I had gotten in a very large amount for a steal at Wal Mart. Alas due to unresolvable issues with my old sewing machine (it only wanted to sew backwards at first and when I told this wouldn't do it walked out on the job) the sheet never got farther than having two lengths of 45" fabric sewn together side by side to make a 90" ish wide single piece. Fast forward two years to the garage sale preparation when I find this wonderful fabric and an old pattern for a sewing for dummies make your own slip cover. I started to get an idea. More just passing random thoughts. And then I put it into words.<br /><br />Me: Hey honey what would you think if I covered that ugly green couch in your game room with that spongebob fabric.<br /><br />Jarell: That would be really cool!<br /><br />Me: I think I should probably have enough and if I don't I can always use coordinating fabrics for some of it like the cushions or something.<br /><br />Jarell: That thing is really ugly. That would be great.<br /><br />That was two days ago. So this evening while waiting for him to get home so we could go grocery shopping, I sat down and instead of finishing the garage sale signs I started measuring and pinning and before I knew it I had the fabric all ready for the base and was ready to start sewing it on the machine. I had some great illustrations but Blogger doesn't seem to be in the mood for pictures tonight so I'll have to try again later. Suffice it to say that by the time I finished sewing one arm I asked my husband "Have you told me lately how much you love me?" Of course he didn't see me wrestling with the machine and so all he saw was the rather unimpressive not so finished product. "Uh I don't know should I?"<br />Oh yes my love you Should. You REALLY should. And then would you please have me committed. A warning to the wise: Do NOT try this at home. Save yourself the heart and back ache and buy it. Or if you're still set on that homemade custom fit, pay someone else dumber than you to do it. This is a job for professionals.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">*no couches were harmed in the making of this slip cover</span><br /></span></div>HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-12802874459732517502008-04-30T17:55:00.004-05:002008-04-30T18:15:28.089-05:00Goodies goodies goodiesWell I was responsible today and headed outside to do some overdue recipe writing for a quicky swap from swap bot. The idea was to send three of your favorite recipes (hand written) to 2 people for a total of six recipe cards. I chose some real winners and was just kinda lazy about all that handwritten work when the computer is so much easier quicker and neater. It is a gorgeous day today tho and so I decided to get to it since the send by deadline was tomorrow and so I went outside and did my writing. When Jarell came down for lunch he brought the mail and in his arms was a nice big box from my Enchanted swap partner Sherry. I opened it up outside and then I started crowing. Everything is so beautiful and I just smiled and squealed. Jarell looked at me like I'd lost my mind when I came inside to show him all the pretties. Ehh more for me, right? There was chocolate and glitter and cards and a movie (A little Princess) and bubbles (My Bubbles!) and this AWESOME wandy scepter thing. The pictures just don't do these goodies justice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWV3fkm1OqiDgKs7rWXxF2Yi6XGxsxYKDmMTX0JQS1ugXNeU65AmY5YpdOXWLpgfud1ges9MyVvS1SKuyJLXXzOdbYeTJAtjlKCOYMYUDxBVfaPDXA3MR1zsaYrdLpZZFAUoxC5ex5gAq/s1600-h/shrunk+pic+of+wand.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWV3fkm1OqiDgKs7rWXxF2Yi6XGxsxYKDmMTX0JQS1ugXNeU65AmY5YpdOXWLpgfud1ges9MyVvS1SKuyJLXXzOdbYeTJAtjlKCOYMYUDxBVfaPDXA3MR1zsaYrdLpZZFAUoxC5ex5gAq/s400/shrunk+pic+of+wand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195178536535192354" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuwvZ6u-GNO83xiXo1s6UU7lI8QOwhDoG2edYfrQYZjszwKK9dZDolAjS_LhQcXMca7gZsq5wL5SFwOxr9H7E7VZDluC1H-IVW1gfBuWibVV4V0tW2da_rzTtrNYQ4IltyYXMNX-h95uK/s1600-h/shrunk+pic+of+goodies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZuwvZ6u-GNO83xiXo1s6UU7lI8QOwhDoG2edYfrQYZjszwKK9dZDolAjS_LhQcXMca7gZsq5wL5SFwOxr9H7E7VZDluC1H-IVW1gfBuWibVV4V0tW2da_rzTtrNYQ4IltyYXMNX-h95uK/s400/shrunk+pic+of+goodies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195178540830159666" border="0" /></a><br />I also got some great deals at a couple of garage sales today. I got a matching pair of cast iron and ceramic lamps that are about 30 inches tall for .... $3! Yeah no joke.The shades alone sell at Wal Mart for $15. I know because they happen to match a smaller lamp shade that I paid $10 for. I also got some mushroom prints and an old sugar tin and 3 vintage scarves. I spent a whole $4.75<br />so I'm pretty happy all around. Hope the bargains fly your way! I may be doing a give away soon so pass it around and keep an eye out for free stuff headed your way.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65v0cGG-CEnvBj0s0CyjDh7zPXXn0VAL7Ery8Ze_JjLEhcuk2YmNvQa9AAzB1vy5mcCkHubZvhzWnV4tzKlBbGTEbyp0pZ1myxo28UJnYotBCxD0CTh8G026w0y_v6zgf4rMjY_IHJxQj/s1600-h/sugar+shrink.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg65v0cGG-CEnvBj0s0CyjDh7zPXXn0VAL7Ery8Ze_JjLEhcuk2YmNvQa9AAzB1vy5mcCkHubZvhzWnV4tzKlBbGTEbyp0pZ1myxo28UJnYotBCxD0CTh8G026w0y_v6zgf4rMjY_IHJxQj/s320/sugar+shrink.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195180190097601378" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpnJ2oX4KPSfRCQjwvWGWKl607p3csn2elWfC4co8CQApiCv3Wo-8r0cX4-a5wkQ74WqwTBsDxAI4w1o8q1O48UK6oK4Y2CEj8o_dBNv-SepbdZVdkGQ8k2w73KYlc_76tbphOPUeMxtrQ/s1600-h/mushroom+shrink.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpnJ2oX4KPSfRCQjwvWGWKl607p3csn2elWfC4co8CQApiCv3Wo-8r0cX4-a5wkQ74WqwTBsDxAI4w1o8q1O48UK6oK4Y2CEj8o_dBNv-SepbdZVdkGQ8k2w73KYlc_76tbphOPUeMxtrQ/s320/mushroom+shrink.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195180185802634050" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3a4F0Ldv5g6oCASkDasu5bUTzZV24wPuyzn6csfXitD5O8TrZZvHLkm88Xuyh57eZ6tQsJ2WWFOzvWviWbtX1LXBzlcMkFxn8ok1e83-Xt2buKdVv7flZmwo8ZQzQFhNyv7tIK7q3win/s1600-h/scarf1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3a4F0Ldv5g6oCASkDasu5bUTzZV24wPuyzn6csfXitD5O8TrZZvHLkm88Xuyh57eZ6tQsJ2WWFOzvWviWbtX1LXBzlcMkFxn8ok1e83-Xt2buKdVv7flZmwo8ZQzQFhNyv7tIK7q3win/s320/scarf1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195180190097601362" border="0" /></a>HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-49406550313981460662008-04-29T18:02:00.003-05:002008-04-29T18:20:52.337-05:00Jumping all over the place (well in my head anyway)Today was a good day. I knew that from the moment I woke up without feeling sick to my stomach even a little bit. I was so happy that I felt like doing something ambitious. Well I sort of did. I redid my Myspace profile and looked up and found a couple of old friends from high school which was cool. It was quite a bit more labor intensive than had originally anticipated because I have issues with using the pre-made layouts most of the time and prefer to use pictures and backgrounds of my own choosing. Today I tried a new site and made a not at all sucky picture with this awesome program called GIMP 2 that is a freeware program I found as a substitute for photoshop. Anyway, I got done with all of that (it only took me like 3 hours with the internet connection I have) and then got responsible and showered and decided to wear a spring outfit. Enter the pretty purple peasant skirt from last years Wal-Mart collection and the light teal tank top. Oh so comfy and paired with my pink flip flops very colorful in nice soft tones. J11 told me I looked like spring which is a very nice compliment coming from someone who is very into winter and darkness. In a good way. So we went over to the in-laws house in order for hubby to work on our lawn mower that he took over there to mow with last year and never brought home. I had a really pleasant conversation with my MIL which is always nice because when we get along I really like her. We came home and I hopped on the internet for a minute to see about some emails I was waiting on and there at the top of my inbox was a message from paypal saying payment received followed by an email from Etsy saying someone had purchased something from my store. I was ECSTATIC! to say the least. I grinned and then yelled to my husband to tell him and then ran to grab the ordered item and package it up so I can ship it tomorrow. I was so very happy and I have decided today goes in the Good Day category with a capital G. So I want to pass on best wishes to everyone who reads this and send the Good Day juju on to you all! Au revoir mes chers amiesHellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-66649431471764567492008-04-28T09:21:00.002-05:002008-04-28T10:02:20.333-05:00Just a quick note for nowI run around on a lot of how to sites and today I thought I'd share a couple of fun project links from one of my favorites.<br />The website is called <a href="http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/">Cut Out + Keep</a><br />Here are a few ideas that grabbed me.<br /><a href="http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/rhumba_earrings">Rhumba earrings</a><br /><a href="http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/wet_felted_beads">Felted balls</a><br /><a href="http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/necktie_feathers_tutorial">Necktie Feathers</a><br /><br /><br />Try those out and check out the website as well. I may be back later, I may not. I gots a lot to do today what with the sorting of the boxes of junk and all.<br />Have fun childrenHellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-14735818280317298312008-04-27T19:40:00.003-05:002008-04-27T20:21:58.778-05:00So much Junk! err good stuffSo yesterday Jarell and I decided to start going thru the boxes of stuff I've had stored down there since last year when we got married. It was an interesting task. As I was going thru the stuff to try and get rid of some of it we had the brilliant plan to have a garage sale and suddenly things got easier. I was really into it and I picked up today where I left off yesterday. I found lots of craft goodies that I'd forgotten I even had and all my books that I've kept to re-read and now I can. O happy day. I found a choir trophy, some cool 70's flowery fabric, TONS of pictures and so much more. It was like going through a flea market owned by an alter ego and any urge that may have been slowly creeping up on me to shop with nonexistent money has been put to rest yet again. The only sad thing is I've been using all those boxes as a quick fix whenever I felt the need to accumulate more stash. Instead of going shopping I'd go downstairs and dig through one box and bring a whole armload of stuff back upstairs. Now I don't have that option so much as most of the really good stuff is now where it needs to be put away. On the upside, Jarell said the proceeds of the garage sale are all mine. This makes good sense since all the stuff in it was mine, but at the same time I feel like I should share with him as unselfishly as he shares with me. I'll let you all know how that works out. :) Until then I leave you with this old essay I found by a mysterious unknown author. I apologize in advance.<br /><br />The Last Night<br />by Melissa Bacon<br /><br /> The thunder crashes and the winds howl outside, The sky is a mix of colors. Near the top it is a dark purple that slowly fades into pink and finally orange near the horizon. Inside it is cozy and dark. A fire, the only light, crackles cheerfully in the stove and the soft murmur of a single voice blends itself around the storm.<br /> A small dog observes the peaceful scene, her black eyes clouded. Her breathing is labored and rasping. The television box that makes her bed seems to dwarf her shrunken body. Next to the box is a young girl. You hear a soft voice singing an old song. As you listen the voice wavers and pauses. The storm rages outside. Seeming to take courage from the tempest out of doors, the voice continues, stronger and more pure than before. A single tear lands on the faded blue blanket underneat the little dog.<br /> The voice fails again and the girl looks around her. The weary green eyes search for a distraction. They fall on a dulcimer the color of honey. Suddenly the scene is animated. The girl scrambles to her feet and seizes up the instrument. Now the plaintive tones of "Amazing Grace" compete with the storm.<br /> As the song winds to an end, it is followed by a hymn pulled from the depths of the girl's memory. The fingers race along the fret board as if possessed. The little dog, however, appears oblivious. Abruptly the music ceases. The girl grasps a small log and tosses it deftly onto the fire. There is the sound of paper being crumpled and the fire roars to life as it consumes the light material. A soft sigh, followed by several sharp barks startles the girl out of her reverie. Once again the scene changes from a solemn still life to a quick movement. The girl is at the dog's side fumbling for a syringe of water. With compassion she works the syringe into the now frantic dog's mouth. The dog has yet to move, but some remaining reflex causes it to swallow convulsively. Even so, it isn't long before you hear the cries again.<br /> A man appears. He walks into the room and drops down next to the sobbing girl. They pet the small dog. Eventually it is silent, the energy seemingly spent at the moment. Mouth closed, the dog seems to rest. From outside comes a new sound. It is the sound of more dogs and you see headlights. The girl slowly rises and gives the dog one last pat before she heads out into the storm. The little dog gives a few more piercing barks and slowly fades into silence. The once labored breathing falters and finally ceases. The man sighs and closes her now unseeing eyes one last time. Outside the storm rages on.HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-44140219958552843972008-04-25T21:51:00.004-05:002008-04-25T22:23:58.692-05:00Another day another.... Oh heck post I guessNo money made today so I guess you'll just have to be happy with a post from me instead. I was remarkably crafty today. I started a doll last night for the Mermaid Swap and finished her up today. I wish I could show you pictures but I want her to be a surprise for my partner so you'll just have to wait. I enjoyed making her so much that I've decided to make her a couple of sisters and maybe add them to my <a style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);" href="http://www.blogger.com/www.whitecoralbelles.etsy.com"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Etsy</span></a> shop. I don't know for sure tho. I thought about it a while and realized that part of my lack of creative ability lately stems from the fact that I was trying way to hard to do something for someone else and not thinking about why I make the things I make-- self expression. Well lacking pictures to show you, I can say that Sherry got her package which makes me happy. I really can't say that I have much else to tell you so I won't stay to chat. I grin each time someone leaves me a comment. Thank you Sherry and KathyD you guys are the best.HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-55887947202767459262008-04-24T22:27:00.003-05:002008-04-24T22:43:26.231-05:00Further Commentary on Always<div style="text-align: center;">So I was happily reading my new BHG magazine the other day (the first of a three year subscription for $2o Awesome) and all of a sudden I come across an ad for none other than Always new overnight something or others. So of course I look for their slogan and lo and behold it says in plain print-- have a happy period. Now some of you might say these are just well wishes and your periods really aren't that bad or better yet, you don't have to deal with that any more. I have heard often that menopause sucks and believe me I'm totally not ready for it yet, but periods are no cake walk. I have the bad ones where I bleed profusely with no pain and the bad ones where I stay curled in a fetal position with little bleeding. Yes this is TMI but it has a point. I also have the rare just annoying one where I am simply bitchy, bloated, tired, hungry, emotional, and in general a wreck. That was what the most recent one was like when I sent my MIL a how I really feel about her text that still hasn't blown over and for those of you who have used your monthly visitor as an excuse to tell someone what you really truly think of them with no remorse afterwards, that was what I did. So naturally when I saw the ad I laughed out loud and ripped it right out of my brand new magazine. I carried it back to my craft room and left it there to think about what it had done till I was ready to decide what to do with it. I was back there last night at 11:30 ish unable to sleep when I remembered the vintage science book I had dismantled a couple of weeks ago. I dug through the pages a bit and Eureka! There was a diagram for a flower. Flowers over the ages have often been used as a symbol of all things female and this struck me as particularly appropriate. The result?<br /><br /><br /><br />Why this of course<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1CWKHtDgymszui1pn7Kj7DY8RkDUhE9hYLqZkvWK28rXhpm9c4d5nGzvO1Yb6nxT_QapaJX5FZKGr3gtPVa_DWEnwY2R9FuTLyG20GycutlGBaW2n5jID0nPcDPJk5TsqkuP_BQA-HkO/s1600-h/100_0576.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1CWKHtDgymszui1pn7Kj7DY8RkDUhE9hYLqZkvWK28rXhpm9c4d5nGzvO1Yb6nxT_QapaJX5FZKGr3gtPVa_DWEnwY2R9FuTLyG20GycutlGBaW2n5jID0nPcDPJk5TsqkuP_BQA-HkO/s400/100_0576.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193020482972676882" border="0" /></a><br />Have a happy evening folks<br /><br /></div>HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-14252259222636688442008-04-23T21:53:00.004-05:002008-04-23T22:11:57.888-05:00TerrorificI had thought to terrorize you with photos of family and pets (some are both) but I think I'll leave that job to my flickr account. Instead I will share a couple of pics of some bookmarks I made for another swap I'm in. It is a lyrical bookmark swap and so I tried to tie the lyrics of the song or at least the artist to the decoration I chose. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the bookmarks as a whole per se, but there are parts that I think are awesomeness itself. I know that sounds a little self-centered but gosh darn it once in a while I feel I should be proud of something I've done. The nice thing is knowing that I'm not the only one who feels this way-- guilty about feeling proud of an accomplishment. But I do nevertheless and I wonder why. I excelled at many things in school but always felt the necessity to downplay those things while focusing on my flaws in order to fit in. I'm not sure what the deal was with that except some of my friends weren't as good at some of the things I was good at and that separated us unless I was able to show them I sucked too. Am I being too mememe here? Well thats tough petunias. I am proud of my high school accomplishments and always will be because they're the<br />high point in the accomplishment category thus far and likely to stay that way. Thats not to say I don't have high hopes for my art endeavors, far from it, but I am a realist. There are many many people out there much more talented than I who I feel I should bow down to and step aside for. They are the shining star of this world of crafts and I am happy to let them be just that. I'm not sure where all this is coming from, but its one of those days I guess. Anyway, without further ado, the pictures in all their glory.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIUz8gR6AJ1aZZf66PjrqJdr80p-BWYJuHwrdGKV6mFO1LhjgHpkMIJ-mLtcDa29daB3z-bzh_vdxg1aUqMSslaKE0XcAtDzLriHgGV_gkfFoy-d0adGLDGIyU4RJw_gDtQ-MEMtNWYXT/s1600-h/100_0571.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIUz8gR6AJ1aZZf66PjrqJdr80p-BWYJuHwrdGKV6mFO1LhjgHpkMIJ-mLtcDa29daB3z-bzh_vdxg1aUqMSslaKE0XcAtDzLriHgGV_gkfFoy-d0adGLDGIyU4RJw_gDtQ-MEMtNWYXT/s400/100_0571.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192641409159131858" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4cGWHhfFcDq6bXsZCTYSy8Iuq4N53jrtUqaNb7_S3rFqraBP64iJH_MWXzFXYMKOIedDnax8MX4Ud19awUV7b_f6Hf1QfPcq8GNSUd61G-xU93-EcFbmWzf_mLOiadgvKkYLCU9wTdsB/s1600-h/100_0573.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4cGWHhfFcDq6bXsZCTYSy8Iuq4N53jrtUqaNb7_S3rFqraBP64iJH_MWXzFXYMKOIedDnax8MX4Ud19awUV7b_f6Hf1QfPcq8GNSUd61G-xU93-EcFbmWzf_mLOiadgvKkYLCU9wTdsB/s400/100_0573.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192641413454099170" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdMW92fr5Gds8Bnw94mUf87-Vae1HymOJZtunqtyoTsn7Hxi226fFFA7vAQeo2u1ZlZRAdqg9Xyw3-_SoflBr-T1ajkpsfPky9ZakwJkII9jHWvgyrHd9YQK7ZgZMgJtzRxjM8JrILVbS/s1600-h/100_0574.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdMW92fr5Gds8Bnw94mUf87-Vae1HymOJZtunqtyoTsn7Hxi226fFFA7vAQeo2u1ZlZRAdqg9Xyw3-_SoflBr-T1ajkpsfPky9ZakwJkII9jHWvgyrHd9YQK7ZgZMgJtzRxjM8JrILVbS/s400/100_0574.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192641417749066482" border="0" /></a>HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-35550268495727457172008-04-22T12:07:00.002-05:002008-04-22T12:25:34.648-05:00Mexican ChristmasNot the actual holiday altho thats a very unusual event in and of itself. But it sure felt like Christmas last night when I got to open the bags of our belongings that just came back to us from Mexico. Let me explain to those of you who didn't live through this with me on myspace. Back in the middle of November my darling dearest and I moved to Mexico for his job with his father. It was an open ended trip that may have lasted for years. We came back for a couple of weeks just before Christmas and because it was supposed to be a short trip home, we didn't bring all our stuff home with us. But we never went back (and for that I thank god every day. I still have nightmares where we had to go back down there.) Our stuff however was still there. Mostly clothes, but I needed those clothes especially the shirts. Also some really nice yarn that I bought for a steal down there. And my extra contacts. Well I was ecstatic to find out yesterday that this stuff all came home with my MIL and FIL. How awesome is that? So I happily dug out the clothes from the first suitcase that came upstairs last night and threw them in the washer and this morning they were dry and warm and so happy to be back in the US. They clung to the dryer which doesn't surprise me because we didn't have a dryer down there and everything was line dried. Oh I was so happy that got my spongebob pj's back and my good cute shirts. I was almost crying over the stuff I thought was gone for good. Well enough of all this misplaced emotion. I'm off to dig through another bag of goodies.HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-88246476801135165012008-04-21T11:19:00.003-05:002008-04-21T11:35:01.362-05:00BlechI don't have much to say today due to a night of intense nausea that has thoughtfully continued into the morning. I gave up on sleep a while ago and have been scrolling around on other people's blogs trying to ignore the sickness feeling. For any of my former Wal Mart compatriots, according to the last test I took, no I'm not pregnant. I have just been having bouts of sick off and on ever since we came home from Mexico. Go to the doctor and have that checked out you say? Well sure why not? Oh wait--- not health insurance Thats why not. Ah well not much to be done then except drink copious amounts of anti-nausea goop. The strangely best tasting medicine I've ever had to take probably because its made with two kinds of sugar. I stumbled across one that has a challenge to lose weight and seeing as how I'm quite a bit fluffier than I was in my glory days of High School, I think I shall have to try it. I totally dig smoothies and if you do too, check out <a href="http://pancakesandfrenchfries.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html">Pancakes and French Fries</a> blog for the recipes and some bonus cute kid pics. Aside from all of this, here's what I stopped by to show you guys. My friend posted this on a myspace bulletin and I couldn't resist snapping it up to share here. I made me laugh a lot until my stomach rebelled at so much shaking and then I had to content myself with grinning some.<br />Happy reading.<br /><br /><br />This is an actual letter from an Austin woman sent to American company Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products.She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. It's PC Magazine's 2007 editors' choice for best webmail-award-winning letter.Dear Mr.Thatcher,I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings.Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic.I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16in my pants.Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from the curse'? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now.As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body.Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing? As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customersmonthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'.Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying, jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women.In fact, only last week, my friendJennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend's testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey's Anatomy was written by a bunch of drunken chimps,Crazy!The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing,were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'Are you f**king kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unlessyou're some kind of sick S&M freak girl, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you just have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong', or are you just picking on us?Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere.And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullsh*t. And that's a promise I will keep.Always.Best,Wendi AaronsAustin , TXHellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-87132734589560120202008-04-19T16:13:00.002-05:002008-04-19T16:27:13.561-05:00The World has truly begun to disgust meI am often at odds with my husband over the state of human beings in this world. He sees and attributes the worst possible motives to people whereas I try to see the best. However I have come to a place where no matter how I try all I want to do is see this person punished. This is <span style="color:#000066;"><a href="http://www.dlisted.com/node/25323">not <strong>art</strong></a></span>. No matter how you look at it what this <span style="color:#000099;"><a href="http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/24513">woman</a></span> (I use that word very loosely as she obviously did as well) is sick and demented and I honestly hope she never has children as she has abused the privilege beyond reason. I feel I should comment and clarify something here. There are options besides abortion. I do not feel that it is something people should be able to do because they did something stupid. Adoption is a GOOD Thing. At the same time I feel that there are situations where a child should not be punished by a parent's stupidity. And I'm not saying all abortions are done because a parent is stupid. There are also financial concerns, mental capability et al. But again adoption is a good thing. Basicly my feelings are my body my choice, your body your choice. I choose to not have an abortion ever. You may not choose the same. That is your right just as it is my right to think you may have made a mistake. This is a very controversial subject. Inately I feel abortion is wrong-- it goes against all that I believe in. That said there are reasons why it may be necessary. I can't make a firm stand on this subject. I can firmly state that what this thing did in the name of art was morally reprehensible.HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-25620020563080199552008-04-18T15:29:00.002-05:002008-04-18T15:42:59.460-05:00Responsible meWoo hoo I got my three finished swaps off in the mail today. I'm proud of myself because I have a tendency to be a bit of a procrastinator sometimes. I just have bookmarks to make now altho I need to do some work on stuff for my etsy account. The puppies are even more beautiful today then they were yesterday and I should have some pictures soon. I took one of Tink all curled up with them yesterday, but with them being all as black as she is (except for Navin) it just came out looking like an oddly disformed dog. Hehehe. I will go for now, but want to remind you all to check out my swap. For obvious reasons, (no one seems interested) I have extended the sign-up date and sent the info over to the <a href="http://www.swapdex.blogspot.com/"><span style="color:#000099;">swap-dex</span></a>.<br />Until next time<br /><a href="http://www.funnyjunk.com"><img src="http://newmedia.funnyjunk.com/pictures/i-ate-tinkerbell.jpg" border="0" alt="Funny Pictures"><BR>Funny Videos</a>HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-71603773042866202382008-04-17T08:58:00.000-05:002008-04-17T09:41:17.301-05:00ExhaustionWhen some one or something you love is going through something potentially life threatening, you worry. My little dog had her first litter of puppies last night and I stayed up with her till 1 am. She had 6 puppies in the space of about 2 hours and I knew at least 2 more were left to come, but I couldn't stay on the hard basement floor any longer and I was seeing double. So I went to bed worried but deciding she'd done wonderfully with the first 6, the last two would be fine. I spent about an hour trying to fall asleep and was about to drift off when my phone rang. It was an unknown number so I let the voice mail get it. But now I was awake. Slowly I drifted back to dream land, but rather than sleeping soundly, I was haunted by dreams of dying dogs and puppies. One dream had me putting Tinkerbell and her babies in a little overturned tupperware bowl on the sink counter (these things make sense when you're asleep) and then there was a storm in the bowl so I had to keep the babies from drowning. This kind of madness went on all night interspersed with me half-waking thinking the puppies were hurt or worse that Tinkerbell was. Finally at 8 I gave up and went downstairs to check on her again. She was fine altho she looked exhausted and there snuggled up to her were 8 beautiful little babies. It took a little talent to count them as 7 of them are black as is she. The 8th little guy is blonde. He really sticks out like a sore thumb among his darker brothers and sisters and he was the second born. I have decided to name him Navin after Steve Martin's character in the movie "The Jerk." This means that either we'll have to keep him or he has to go to J14. I can't risk someone renaming him when they don't know that he was meant to be the white boy in a black family. After all of this there ended up being 4 boys and 4 girls. I think Tink had ballroom dance lessons in mind for the future and did this to ensure that none of her children would be wall flowers. It works out rather nicely. I'll keep one girl and J14 can have one boy and we'll have to find homes for the other six but we'll convince everyone that they have to take a matched set. If this is all rather confused and loopy, forgive me. I'm having enough trouble with keeping the typos at bay to worry abou this making sense. I'm half tempted to leave this as is with all the mistakes because man would that be trippy. But my innner english teacher is censoring that sort of stupidity so I'll just lieave you wondering. Yes I saw that. but is not as funny as "forvige" woild would have been.HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-72066600178399032222008-04-15T12:44:00.006-05:002008-04-15T13:55:06.404-05:00Awww she brought me a present.....<div><br /><br /><div>I love my dogs. It is well known by family and friends alike that my dogs are my babies and thus far lacking any human children I dote on my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">wubbies</span> instead. (I am not sure what <em><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">wubbies</span></em> means but it is something I repeatedly call my little girls) This post is dedicated to them. Tinkerbell is my little black lab. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Jarell</span> brought her home for me the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2006 as an early Christmas present. It was love at first sight. She was 3 months old and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">floppy</span> with long <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">awkward legs and ears that were much to big for her dainty head. She grew rapidly but not very much. She came from a breeder and is a purebred but to this day she comes to my knees and is a very delicately shaped. An absolutely beautiful little dog her very easily earns her name. Right now she is about to give birth to at least 8 puppies any day. And she looks like a barell on tooth picks or a childrens drawing with no sense of proportion. All the puppy weight has shifted lower to make ready for birth and she's hilarious. She still runs around with all the dignity of her skinnier self and this is especially comical as seen in the following picture. (Warning: for those of you with an aversion to dead animal body parts, don't look.)<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189542622729208178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfc0Ajl1sqKKKbsum-ihINkHDPx8tXQW82TFUg723BYhYmZ9WQNwJc2a26mJWevKTX6phRRyttnRfi1bMkIAY1TejWtweE580aqRz9N9t7l7Ch6t2ZnZ9R_3GPtuj1kdHUUa8x9Y4Il3Uk/s320/100_0511.JPG" border="0" /></span></div></div><br /><p>She's so generous that she chased me around trying to give me her severed cow leg that she picked up from who knows where. Our neighbor has cows and I'm pretty certain, from the amount of cow legs that our dogs bring over, that he has a bone yard that isn't very well hidden.</p><p>Much to little Pepper's dismay, Tinkerbell never shares her bone stash until she's completely done with them. This doesn't get her down for long tho because while Tink is running around proudly showing off her find, Pepper can get all the attention she wants.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189544800277627282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguMXGHvpk_7-G7_eP6SAX-5AZoTOeRCkmy4gSxBOrCPdRy4tIKc4PaxAKoIUnQDniQV87t700uUTjK5zqAYV0DlHRByLYff2R377ltRWGfjVNH_aOjHbTTDZVuDuSP-14RFopA8Kuonqg/s200/100_0509.JPG" border="0" />Missy has a very laid back approach to life. She's in charge and as long as no one challenges that, everythings good. The exception being when another female is pregnant at which point Missy cedes all claim to being in charge of that particular dog. Temporarily. She's a lovable bouncy 7 y/o who wishes she was a lap dog.<br /><p></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189544795982659970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVEo2U5rI1HICv1sR0tuKD9vumPxFIj2R5UavclyT-erjCCodl4JTIBqzt2KJU6W5U5M_u-7KbBmQl7I7gMVaA1nnfERLg0JYehEd0ITi1yH4A0tR3ZikxjhzvW5ujV9UhfOEe8ED-acuG/s200/100_0508.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p></p>HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-3786621934157011732008-04-14T14:41:00.003-05:002008-04-14T15:06:27.138-05:00Pictures promised and long overdueI found the Camera!!!! So here are some long overdue pics.<br /><br /><div align="center"> This first one is not me, but it is funny and its an interesting use for knitting needles</div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApWKba9_l5kxjjPK3gy1yc2-s5SklmS9YnomwluIAK8bGgVfgOTR544XEETgmr-5W7WE47a6_mFOsnFA0RlFBh6oD_l72_hUmjIDMuDG_EAZ7miKZKx6FFwUgXNUg9NC-7n8eJrTLwpND/s1600-h/knitting+needle+new+use.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189191397483610370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApWKba9_l5kxjjPK3gy1yc2-s5SklmS9YnomwluIAK8bGgVfgOTR544XEETgmr-5W7WE47a6_mFOsnFA0RlFBh6oD_l72_hUmjIDMuDG_EAZ7miKZKx6FFwUgXNUg9NC-7n8eJrTLwpND/s200/knitting+needle+new+use.bmp" border="0" /></a>A quilt square start, or possibly something else pretty. Not sure just yet.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RXHWqG_i8nt4JjV4Tu7b746beJ3ZLd24FMBK-Myu10VXfK5AJAn_ZPhGUdCH3pcNMccpXgJVGWe8bt7SOB8PW2WqojpHFmsXIIOiuF3aYGLGRt7ylROnZzpN0lA_PNpBA7U0-Hjgp-Ot/s1600-h/100_0480.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189191397483610386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RXHWqG_i8nt4JjV4Tu7b746beJ3ZLd24FMBK-Myu10VXfK5AJAn_ZPhGUdCH3pcNMccpXgJVGWe8bt7SOB8PW2WqojpHFmsXIIOiuF3aYGLGRt7ylROnZzpN0lA_PNpBA7U0-Hjgp-Ot/s200/100_0480.JPG" border="0" /></a> The puzzled doll I keep talking about with her beaded bird<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwgPlF-tEvrvEo4R37CnF8MGn-p_geJtMwQ1_4RQsCkmXWk7vxDWXs1sniU9NqLliHjS_p6Y3bLpvY393Ma3Qhb7tyER0GpUYNtTh0Mor9R1Jmi4iVzMM-INeH2MMy42OteR-mZ7tCElm/s1600-h/100_0481.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189191401778577698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwgPlF-tEvrvEo4R37CnF8MGn-p_geJtMwQ1_4RQsCkmXWk7vxDWXs1sniU9NqLliHjS_p6Y3bLpvY393Ma3Qhb7tyER0GpUYNtTh0Mor9R1Jmi4iVzMM-INeH2MMy42OteR-mZ7tCElm/s200/100_0481.JPG" border="0" /></a> An embroidered dolly without a face or clothes as of yet<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaaESxeTOT3LYB6slIWkEvlldcMjW_ZXY0VUep0WFDavPpWNcMhenQ4m8rqlTQJlVyeDwfnwBhTrY5urDEFc5hGEPfVS7EeQ2O-iPEbD19nkqsKmIQH7laLDHWZHvUFAHe5zH6Pbuf3ddq/s1600-h/100_0482.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189191401778577714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaaESxeTOT3LYB6slIWkEvlldcMjW_ZXY0VUep0WFDavPpWNcMhenQ4m8rqlTQJlVyeDwfnwBhTrY5urDEFc5hGEPfVS7EeQ2O-iPEbD19nkqsKmIQH7laLDHWZHvUFAHe5zH6Pbuf3ddq/s200/100_0482.JPG" border="0" /></a> I have more but they're secret for now unless you know how to find my flickr. If you do you may see them. I was remarkably responsible today and I cleaned off the built in desk in our kitchen. It looks so very nice now that I'm not sure what to think of myself. I actually only did it because I was looking for the camera (which I found in my craft room under some stuff) but it felt so nice to have a clean space there wher its been a pile for quite some time. Anyway, just thought I'd post these while I was still thinking about it. Now I'm heading over to my Etsy shop to do a couple of very minor updates. Keep watching for more soon tho because I have come up with some brilliant ideas that I can't divulge as of yet. Hasta luego bambinos.</div><div align="center"><br /><br /></div>HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-67788049163059368372008-04-13T21:04:00.002-05:002008-04-13T21:31:32.480-05:00Weekend of BlahnessStill not finding the Kodak as of earlier when I ransacked my worktable where I was sure it would be. My darling dearest just took the youngers home for the evening after we had them and my baby brother for the weekend. I am a bit drained from all this teenageriness not to mention the semi argument Jarell and I had over the message to my MIL. We're okay now because he said it was one of those days where everything was making him angry and he didn't know why. I personally do. Men PMS too. There I said it and I'm not sorry, because its true. Its either that or he's manic-depressive like the rest of his family only to a lesser extent and that is not something I really want to think about. Has anyone else ever noticed that manic-depressive people seem to be drawn to other MD's? Point in case. My parents and step-mom are all definitely in that group and my dad is finally getting some help for it. My MIL and FIL same boat and they passed it on to several of their kids. I don't know whether I inherited it or not but unfortunately my younger brother definitely did and we're not sure about the youngest. He does exhibit classic signs of it tho, ones that I saw often in my older step-brother who had actually been diagnosed. (he got it from both of His parents) This is all rather irrelevant, but it is my life and again it is my blog. The weekend improved after we got that all sorted out. We saw the new movie Superhero Movie and it wasn't too bad. Nothing to write home about, but.....<br />In craft related news, I bought a snap squisher thing for applying snaps the easy way instead of painstakingly sewing them on by hand, and also a scissors sharpener which was a Much needed addiction... er addition to my sewing stash. I have really nice Fiskars scissors that got waylaid in my inlaws house for a time a while back and they were used on *gasp* cardboard. Among other things. Needless to say they haven't quite been the same since, but we'll soon fix that. Along with the 5 pairs of cheepo's that I keep as back-ups. You can never have enough scissors I say. And on that note I think I shall say goodnight. I really didn't have much to say anyway so I doubt you'll miss me too much. Au revoir mes amisHellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-27174825285552300522008-04-12T14:19:00.002-05:002008-04-12T15:03:29.791-05:00Saturdays at homeIt's April 12th everybody and here in Missouri central, it is snowing. It isn't sticking, but it is definitely snowing. I can't say how I feel about this because we were kinda short of snow this year, but I love spring and all the green things too. I worry that it will kill all my bulb plants like it did last year tho and that is not a happy thought. We got our other camera in the mail today which is a good thing because I seem to have lost the good Kodak. Not sure how I managed this but I did. Anyway, getting the camera gives me the opportunity to take some pics of my swap items and my stuff that I have been half heartedly working on for etsy. I have been embroidering a doll all over, but I don't know where I'm going with it. Right now its just a bunch of random swilrs and a flower and spider web looking thingy. Strange, yes? I also have the puzzled doll that never got any further than the beaded bird on her front. I've been sidetracked by so many other things that this is kinda taking a back burner. I think I may try some other things like painting and air dry clay and such. I'm not sure yet. But my dolls haven't really gotten a very strong response as of yet.<br />Well shoot just turned the camera on and it appears to be shot. What the heck? Its just got a white screen with a black line down the middle. So much for that idea. Off to find the kodak.HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173093655896893211.post-22993854628567268792008-04-11T10:19:00.002-05:002008-04-11T10:41:20.296-05:00one of those daysWell actually yesterday was one of those days and I just never got around to complaining about it. We did our tax thing with the CPA and for as much as we made together, we came out pretty good for the total due. Missouri is retarded tho because we actually owed more state tax than we did federal tax. Go figure right? If we'd been in California we'd have probably gotten it all back :) Its kinda like the year when I worked all year except December in California and then moved back here and made $400 bucks in Missouri. I then had a $90 dollar refund from CA and owed MO $35. All I could say was WTF and I'm working in acronyms to protect tender sensibilities. I don't use this kind of language usually but taxes and my in-laws bring out the worst and that is the other half of why yesterday sucked. My husband got a call yesterday morning from his wayward mother who is in Texas running around with his dad. She called to yell at him because he wasn't at their house taking care of the 4 youngest kids. Ages 12, two almost 15's and an almost 17. She had also, I found out later, called J11 (the almost 17) and yelled at her for the same reason. When I found all this out yesterday afternoon, I finally told her what I thought of her having the nerve to yell at them when she's the one who keeps running off and leaving them! Since July of last year either I or both my husband and I have watched the kids while his dad traveled for business and his mom tagged along because she couldn't stand to be away from his dad. Nevermind the kids. Gah! So the message I sent her went along the lines of if you want your kids taken care of you need to do it. Grrrrr! And I'm not saying we won't keep an eye on them, but we can't live at their house and it gets a little old having them here ALL the time. I love to death but my darling dearest and I need a break from all the teenagers sometimes. So then he was mad that I sent his mom that message and I felt bad for making him mad, but not for sending it. She'll just ignore it anyway and the kids are better taken care of when his parents are gone than when they're here. So I just needed to vent. It didn't help matters that I have now got a wonderful spring cold to contend with and a full house of ears for the arguments. We shouldn't have to do this all alone because there are 5 other grown children in the area capable of helping out but only one of them does. So this is a very angry post that is also very negative and I'm sorry for that. But today's another day and I'm gonna chill and try to get well.HellesBelleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05253390631136542918noreply@blogger.com0