Happy birthday, Daddy

Happy birthday Daddy. How I wish God could send you back just for one day. One day of smiles. One day of laughter. One day of hugs. And one last time of hearing you say you love me. Though you have been gone 16 years I miss you as much today as I did the moment you were gone.

They say time heals all wounds. Well, I know it doesn't. What I wouldn't give to set on your chair arm one more time and talk to you; to play deuces wild while we shared a  piece of your Hershey's Big Block Chocolate bar; to rub your back and make a quarter to spend on penny candy at the Stop and Shop; to lay out in the sun while you sat on the patio listening to your Red's playing ball; to go in the kitchen and fix you a cup of coffee; to set up your TV tray so you could eat in the living room because one of your favorite teams was being televised; to walk up town with you and go in Brady Hardware while you talked to your pals or bought a can of paint; to run all over the yard while we played badminton while you were able to hit every birdie I hit your way; to be driving down Main Street with the kids to come visit and to see you taking your walk and I would pick you up. 

The last time I saw you was in the hospital and I brought you some Jolly Pirate donuts and some coffee. We sat there in the hospital and talked while we ate our donuts and you told me about something you had read in the paper. Oh how I wish I had known those were our last father-daughter moments. The last time I would hug you and say I love you, Daddy. The last time you would tell me you loved me too. 

My only regret is that I didn't get to keep you long enough and that you can't be here to see your beautiful great grandchildren. Oh how you would love them. They are each unique in their own way and they would have loved you as much as I do. I didn't want to let you go. A part of me died that day when you left this world. A part I keep deep in my memories and hold them close to my heart. I love you, Daddy.

A day late for a birthday wish....

Thanks to a mess up on my computer losing its date, my post for a Happy Birthday didn't post like it was supposed to yesterday. So I am posting it today. 

Seven years ago God blessed us with our fourth grandchild. She was in a hurry to get her so her Mom was put on bed rest for 2 months to keep her from coming early. And she is has been going full speed ahead ever since. 

Even at a young age she loved being stylish. She carried little purses and always had to have a pair of sunglasses handy.

She has many moods and can be so sweet and fun-loving.

She has been known to be opinionated, especially when Daddy wanted them to go inside and she didn't want to.

She can be mischievous. her big brother has learned to run really fast when she gets this look. 

She can be so precious and lovable.

At the same time, she can be very analytical and philosophical. You never now what she is going to say when she gets her studious look. 

She loves fashion and is constantly trying new looks around the house. Last week, my daughter said Shelby went into the closet and a miniature Peg Bundy walked out. 

But no matter what mood or phase she is going through, she is always beautiful and lovable. She is growing up way too fast. Happy 7th birthday Shelby Rayne. We love you. 

Thank you Duncan Hines.....

I love Duncan Hines cakes. But Hubby doesn't eat much cake. Well, Duncan Hines has solved my problem. Introducing Duncan Hines new Perfect Size cakes. It comes with the cake mix, the frosting and even the 6 inch cake pan to bake it in. It is a win-win. My first one I would try would be the Chocolate Lover's.

The Golden Fudge looks really good. 

I am not big on Strawberry and they also had a red velvet.

But the lemon looks like it would be very good.  

As you can see below, they are very simple to make. 

Cake Mix:

1 Egg

¼ Cup Water

2 Tablespoons Butter (softened)

Frosting:

1 teaspoon water

4 Tablespoons Butter (softened)

I can't wait to try these. 

It happened again.

Thank you to my faithful readers and I apologize for going missing in action again. But that was the last time. I have been in Columbus, Ohio since Saturday and just got back last night. We had our Thirty-One National Conference.

It was an awesome trip with over 10,000 happy screaming women as we learned all the new exciting stuff for the fall/winder season.

 We got to see lots of new and exciting products. I am in love with the new Go To Tote in Navy Dancing Dots. I actually got to pick it up and try it out. I am ordering this the minute Fall products go live on August 1st.

We got to see a lot of ideas with Solution Sets that can help simplify and organize your life. 

And I got to see the new brown faux leather purse from our Jewell by Thirty-One line. 

I got to meet Janet Kincaid, who is the creator of the beautiful jewelry line we carry called JK by Thirty-One. 

I am in love with all the jewelry products.

I am very excited about the new personalization. The new Icon is the heart. 

AND you can now do up to 3 lines of personalization and up to 16 characters per line on some items. 

They are using heavier outline thread for the icons so they show up better.

In addition to the Thirty-One fun, I got to sign the Pink Heals Firetruck in support of cancer. This was dear to my heart because I have lost loved ones to Cancer and I have many Cancer survivors in my family so I really wanted a chance to sign this for my family.

In our spare time, I got to go to The North Market.

I had the best popcorn and the best glazed donut I have ever had. 

We got a sneak peak at pics of the new Christmas line. 

It is going to be a lot more Christmas items than usual.

Then on Monday, three of us walked to The Short North District of Columbus.

It was jammed packed with unique stores and boutiques. My favorite was a store called Global World. It was awesome.

I met a lately who had blue hair...on purpose. But just for conference.

And we even had one of our Thirty-One sisters get engaged on stage. She thought she was getting a free purse, but the boyfriend was on stage with her and when she got the purse he reached in and got a box and flipped it open, got down on one knee and proposed. She said YES of course. It was awesome. 

It was a fabulous trip.

Where's Waldo...

I'm not sure where Waldo is, but I know I've been MIA these past couple of day. Every morning I get up and think "I don't have time to do my blog. I'll do it when I get home from work." Then when I get home from work, fix supper and do dishes, next thing I know I am going to bed thinking "Oh no! I forgot to blog." But hopefully things are settling down and I will be back to normal soon. 

Not much has been happening these last two days. My friend, Theresa, is coming to work across the street from me for my bosses wife who happens to also be my friend. We are very excited about it. She will be the wedding planner at a new chapel that my friend Stevie is opening up. Theresa and I both love cats. I have several cute cat figurines, one which I keep in my office. So I told Theresa I wanted to find a cute one for her desk when she gets her new office. So in traditional Brenda/Theresa method, we both started Googling cat figurines. Here are some cute ones we found:

 

Simple, cheap and adorable

I was shopping this weekend and found the neatest thing. Chalkboard tape. Since I am obsessed with chalkboard stuff lately, I had to get a roll. It was about $3-$4.00. Then I had to find some craft ideas for it. I already had some chalk. As I was putting up dishes, I went to stick a Mason jar in the cabinet when inspiration hit. So I gathered my supplies....

I rolled the tape around the jar to get a measurement to cut the right length, allowing extra for overlapping.

The awesome thing about this tape is it is not sticky as you pull it off. I actually has a peel off paper backing on it. So when you cut it you don't have to worry about it sticking to everything. So I peeled the paper off. 

I slowly started putting it around the jar, smoothing out any wrinkles as I went. Oh, and did I mention it is removable. So if you get it uneven, just peel it off and try again. 

I had left plenty for overlapping so I was able to finish it off nicely.

Then I stuck my markers in it and wrote on the tape. Now I'm off to search the cabinets for more smooth jars so I can do one for Pens and one for Pencils. 

This was just so fun and so simple. Not to mention it feels good when you can do a craft from start to finish in 5 minutes.