Mamaw's Place

4/21/15

Some people are unbelievable...

Please read this article from Ask Amy. Amy Dickinson is an American newspaper columnist who writes the syndicated advice column Ask Amy. I was very impressed with Amy's response.

Amy hit the nail on the head with this one. As I read the letter from Sad Sister, I couldn't help but think "What kind of sister are you?" Why would you ever treat ANYONE like they don't belong, much less family, simply because your income/expense level is not the same, your marital status is not the same, your interests are not the same. That is frankly nothing but a bunch of bull as far as I'm concerned.

I have so many wonderful, precious friends that I would be lost without. We range from ones who have to pinch every penny to make ends meet to ones who can basically do anything they desire and never worry about the expense. We all have different interests and different tastes. We plan an outing, invite our friends and let the FRIENDS decide if it is something they want to do.We don't prejudge them and say "Well this one doesn't shop, this one doesn't do fancy restaurants, this one is a single mom, etc." We just say "Hey, we are going to.... Do you want to join us?"

And to use the excuse that her and her friends are active church goers while her sister only goes sporadically. Excuse me! When did maintaining friendships and showing Christian like attitudes only apply to people who go to church.

That remark was probably to me the most condemning of all Sad Sisters comments. Reading between the lines, you will notice that Sad Sister says they are all "church goers". Correct me if I'm wrong but simply being a "church goer" does not a Christian make. It seems to me she is more obsessed with the image of saying she goes to church than actually living what she learns while she is there.

I am sorry. I did not mean to get on a soap box but this story really got to me. I just can't believe some of the excuses she used to exclude her sister.

4/20/15

Weekend Wrap Up

Well, it has been a fantastic weekend. It started off with the 10 mile yard sale. I didn't have as much luck as I like to, but I did get a few things. This was probably something silly, but I just couldn't help myself, not for just a dime. But it is the Cheerio's bee. I love whimsical bees and my favorite cereal is Cheerios so I just had to have it. It's a Pez dispenser.

My next exciting find was this gorgeous silver sugar and cream set. I am in love with it. I have always wanted a set like this.

As you recall, my new office has some black and white Thirty-One organizers in it. So when I saw this cup and coaster, I knew I had to have it.

I also picked up this brand new project planner. it had never been used. It is perfect for someone who had so many irons in the fire like I do.

I got this recipe book from my daughter-in-laws booth. It has some awesome recipes. She teased me about buying it because of the cake on the front. Sad to say, but she was right. :) But I did find lots of recipes inside that I would like to try out.

I found this cute little picture to set on my desk. It is one of my favorite bible versus.

I had hoped to find another wooden pelican. I found one last year I loved. I was lucky and found this little guy for just .50 cents.

Found this cute little rooster. My camera went nuts though and I didn't get a good picture. But I love it.

The bargain of the day was these two white milk glass bowls. I got one and my daughter got the other one. They were .50 cents each. She saw where someone put Styrofoam in them and then did a flower arrangement. We are going to try that.

I went with the thought in mind that I would like to find some plastic bowling pins to use for a little carnival we were putting on for Children's church. Imagine my delight when I was able to get a set for just .50 cents. I forgot to take a picture before I took them to church but they were similar to this with farm animals on them.

I spent some time Saturday evening preparing the games. Then I crashed on the couch after supper. It was a long day. Sunday I went to Sunday School then we had our carnival for the kids of Children's church. They had a ton of fun. I didn't get any pictures of the them doing the games, but we played alligator when it was all over and I did get a pic of that. We had already cleaned up the carnival games by then.

Last night was the 50th Anniversary of the Academy of Country Music awards show. I rarely watch any of the music event shows unless it relates to Country Music then I never miss them. I miss the ACM awards one year on TV but it was on the radio so I was able to listen to them. I love watching the various reactions when people win and you can tell by the look on their face they did not think they would. It was a great show. I was happy with most of the winners, but I was a little shocked to say the least at single record of the year. I sure didn't expect it to be I Don't Dance by Lee Brice. That was a good song, but song of the year? And even though I was happy for Luke Bryan as entertainer of the year, I really had hoped Jason Aldean would take that one home. But all in all, it was an awesome 50th anniversary show with a lot of recognition going to a lot of people who deserved it.

4/19/15

Sunday Songs

His Amazing Grace

4/18/15

It's Saturday!

It is 7:30 in the morning. I have been up 2 1/2 hours.

Straightened up the house.

Have a load of laundry already washed and in the dryer.

Made my list of things I would like to look for at the 10 mile yard sale today.

Checked Craig's list to find additional yard sales.

Got the prized together for a small spring carnival for children's church tomorrow.

Came up with 7 carnival games for them to play and gathered the supplies to create the games.

Getting ready to eat a bite of breakfast and get dressed so I can head out to the big yard sale in about an hour.

Do I know how to use my time to get things done when I want to? Heck, yes!

Happy Saturday! Enjoy your day. I am sure I will have a lot to report back on Monday in my weekend wrap up. Stay tuned.....

4/17/15

Flitterin' Friday

My thoughts are flitterin' everywhere this morning. I am going to have a yard sale in the next few weeks so I am cleaning out closets. I found the roosters that belonged to my Grandma Garretson, (though I originally thought they belonged to Mamaw Eden). They are old and fragile. Lots of chips and nicks. The paint is worn and you can see where she has had to glue them back together a time or two. I need to find a safe spot for them in my kitchen.

The third one I had is the one I am giving to my sister, Rachel. I know she will love it. I told her we will have to visit to exchange it. No way am I risking shipping it as fragile as they are.

There is a Thirty-One bag that I love and it is the Organizing Utility Tote. They have discontinued it and replaced it with the Zip Top Organizing Utility Tote. I don't like the one that zips at well, but I still like all the pockets and the room inside. I am in love with the Bubble Bloom Pattern. I would really like to have this bag, but for some reason I have not bought it.

Then last night when I was going through my closet, I found one from last spring that I earned for free. That pattern was the Citrus Medallion. I even earned the free Medium Zipper Thermal to go with it. I had forgotten all about it. I even had it personalized with Flitterin' on the other side. It is basically the same colors that are in the bubble bloom pattern, but I love the fact that it is the original Organizing Utility Tote...no zip top. I am so excited that I found it.

I decided to dig further in the storage to see what other Thirty-One I had. I had forgotten about my craft I got for free from my first party over 3 years ago before I ever started selling it. I put my new yarn project in it and my scissors and other craft paraphernalia in the matching mini zipper pouch. Now I'm ready to start my craft project today.

That triggered me going through all my Thirty-One items to decide on the perfect bag for conference. I put my normal conference items in each bag to test it. Turns out almost everything I have has two straps so I have to worry about straps being aggravating or slipping off my shoulders. Some bags were too big, some were too small. The things that were cross body were not big enough. I knew we couldn't take back packs but I checked and found out the Cinch Sac would work. I am going to have a party in May and with my free hostess credit, I am going to order this for my conference bag. So happy to have that problem solved.

Well, tomorrow is the 4th annual yard sale in Sevierville, TN. It started out as a 7 mile yard sale four years ago. The title has changed as it has grown. This year it is the 10 mile yard sale. I got fabulous bargains every year. Even scored some Federal, Pyrex, and Fire King bakeware a time or two. I am looking for a nice rug for my office and a flower pot for my philodendron. Obviously I will be checking out anything vintage. I would love to find a good buy on a TV for my home office. The one I bought 3 years ago for $5.00 does not work with my HD box for Direct TV. I am also going to look for some vintage aprons. Here's a pic of one spot from previous years.

Hope everybody has a great weekend.

4/16/15

The Summers of my Youth

I remember summertime when I was young as a time of wonder and excitement.
We would play outside for endless hours. Sometimes Mom would fix our lunch and we would eat it on a blanket in the yard under the old oak tree.

We would take walks to the store and library. We usually had a quarter and would go to the Stop & Shop and get 25 pieces of penny candy.

My favorite was banana Kits, Pixie Sticks, Sixlets, and BB Bats.

My favorite food in the summer was a cheese sandwich with Miracle Whip and pickle on it.

My favorite drink was grape Kool-Aid with lemons squeezed in it.

Sweet summertime memories.

4/15/15

A tea party...

It has been suggested to me that a tea party would be a great theme for a Thirty-One party. As usual I went to Pinterest to get ideas. Love the idea of these little sandwiches.