10 on Tuesday...

1. Tyler left today for boot camp. I do know that he arrived safely in SC already. And I cannot wait to see him in August.

2. I made this today because he is on my mind and in my heart
3. I am so glad this is the final week of school.

4. I love promoting CatScrap by writing on their blog and updating Facebook and Twitter.

5. Catscrap has good sales on Tuesday and Wednesday :)

6. It is so hot and humid here that it feels like August. This does not make me want to go to soccer practice.

7. At least our pool is open and in working order.

8. Hoping my Olivia does not have swimmer's ear already. Headed to the doc at 3:30p.

9. Planning on BLT sandwiches for dinner.

10. Headed to the dollar store to get paper doilies (hope to find some like this) for bag toppers for all my teachers' gifts. I will share photos later in the week. Pin It

Tomorrow...

Shelby + Tyler

Tomorrow this guy will be gone. Off to boot camp and to serve in the Army. I will take any of your best wishes, or prayers if that is more your thing.

Olivia + Tyler

It's hard saying goodbye. I know, I know he is doing a good thing but it will not make me miss him any less.

Good luck Mr. T. Be smart and be safe. Pin It

Memorial Day

(click photo for source)

This is always an emotional weekend for me. I have talked about it a bit before on this blog here, here and here but 11 years ago I had three little babies. Three babies that arrived far too soon and therefore only survived a few days. Max, Mallory and McKenzie. My babies. Early on, if I even heard one of those names it would unsettle me but time does have a way of healing. As does mothering two pieces of perfection named Olivia and Shelby. I guess you never know why, and I did question many things in those early days, weeks and months. But I did survive and I did not give up on being a mother, thank goodness. Well actually, thank God.

So I am tender. My emotions are right there. Combine that with the fact that my nephew is leaving for Army Boot Camp on Tuesday and I am a mess :) I wonder about the timing of things. Why is it that Tyler is leaving so near Memorial Day? I have thought a few times of declaring it unfair. But really it is a great thing. He is determined and proud and although it is very hard for me to accept that he may ever face danger, I am proud too. And the next 17 weeks or so are in reality only a blip on the radar screen. I have to remember that. Time has a way of moving swiftly when you need it to and also working magic.

Memorial Day.
Memories: recalling old ones and making new ones.
I will put one foot in front of the other and do just that this weekend. Pin It

Tonight's Dinner-Tomato Walnut Tilapia

I did not get a chance to share a meal plan on Monday but this was on my list to make and we had it tonight.

Tomato Walnut TilapiaI left out the walnuts in the topping because my husband doesn't like cooked nuts but this still turned out crazy good. This is my first time ever baking a completely plain fish filet from scratch. I bought a bag of frozen, individually portioned, tilapia filets at Kroger and this worked out perfectly. I made four and was glad I did because I had no trouble eating two myself!

In other cooking news, during a bad storm last night, we lost power for 6-7 hours. As of this morning, my microwave turns on and sounds like it is working but nothing heats. So far we have not found anything else to be out of order but in less than 12 hours, I realize how often I used the microwave! Tonight's dinner was dramatically changed since I could not cook my baked potatoes (quickly enough, we did not get home from soccer until 6:15), or heat my corn or the girls' chicken nuggets in that fashion. Or melt my butter for the fish topping. And on and on. Looks like we will be buying a new one and I know it will not be inexpensive as ours is built in above the stove. Of course, compared to the devastation in Joplin, MO this pales in comparison. Heck, it does not even register a blip.

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Ballard Designs Knock Off Bulletin Board

Slowly, after painting the walls in every room on our lower level, we are returning to some semblance of order. One key was getting our kitchen shelf back in place and functional.
Good news:



I love it's new grey and yellow paint job. Bad news? The paint will not adhere solidly despite everything we have tried. So...this may only be a temporary solution.
Moving on, today I knocked off the Ballard Designs Sisal Message board. Their price $139+.



Granted, their version is larger BUT



I made this using a 16x20 frame I already had and a rug from Target.



The rug was $12.99 and actually big enough to make 2 boards. I simply placed the cardboard backing from the frame on the rug to use as a cutting template. I placed it inside the frame, minus the glass and voila:



I got this. Start to finish, it only took about 15 minutes.



What do you think? I need a few more straight pins for fasteners and I hope to make a few decorative push pins as well.

My project is linked with others here:

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone Pin It