Don't hate me because I met Jim Caviezel

I mean, just because YOU didn't get to meet him...hey, I'm just going on with you. I had the priveledge of meeting this nice gentleman last night as he spoke at my church, believe it or not. He spoke about stepping up and being a man. His career got off the fast track when he did the role of Jesus in Passion of The Christ.

This is Jim in Deja Vu.















As our Lord Jesus in Passion of The Christ. Hollywood pretty much blackballed him from top roles. I read where he was passed up by Bryan Singer for Cyclopes in X-Men after he played Jesus. Make no mistake, he is a true believer and stands for Christ.








And as the Count of Monte Cristo. I have always thought he was great, but after I looked into his eyes and shook his hand, I have a new perspective. By the way, his eyes? They're green, not brown. And I thanked him for doing Passion and told him I loved him in Count of Monte Cristo. Okay, so I got a little star-struck. But he's the first reknown actor I've ever met.
His latest project is a voicing gig on The Word of Promise.

WIP Wednesday: The Boy Scout Quilt....Delivered!

Two years is way too long for someone special to receive a quilt! But when you have more ambition than ability at the time, it's totally understandable.

I started this quilt as a thank you to a special scout leader named Chip. He had a great influence on the boys in our pack and now in the troop. What I admired about him was his willingness to give of himself, a trait that is lacking for allot of us in this day and time. And he made time for my kid, the Rock Star. The Rock Star got interested in guitar because of this man.


He's like that with other kids as well, and makes time for his family, too. For those of you who have read about my adventures with Jane, he's her other half.

Here's the label that Debra made. Isn't it grand? Go and see her for your label needs, too!


He looks happy and he was over the moon about it. Chip even took it to his special music room to see where he'd like to hang it.

Words really can't express everything I learned while doing this quilt. Just a few things, machine applique, machine quilting, using a quilt pounce, binding, measuring, and figuring out my creative style. I think I was more blessed by doing this quilt than any so far. I'm just tickled it's going to such a special man!

Quilt Everyday....the Results

You remember the challenge issued to "Quilt Everyday"? Well, here are my results:


Finally finished binding the Scout quilt! I had never done a GOOD binding before, so I'm at least pleased it turned out.

Debra is making me a label for it and I'll post it when it arrives. I'm more excited about the label than the quilt!

This is for Grandma Hunnybunny, but I'm not sure I'll make it by May. But I've been cutting out the fabric,(my biggest handicap) for a month now.

Spring Break.....By the Numbers

We took spring break down to the Emerald Coast. It was chilly the first day, but better the second. More pics in my flickr.com box to your right.





Spring Break .....by the numbers.





1. Rode 625 miles from here to the Panhandle with two kids in the back seat.



2. Ate off the value menu at McD's at least 5 times on the road.



3. Drove no more than 200 miles on a 1,700 mile trip.


4. Was waited on by my Sister-in-law at least 50 times. I think I'd really like to have a wife....





5. Broke up at least 20 squabbles by the siblings in the back seat.









6. Reunited one family. Meet The Hunnybunnies!

7. Went to ONE quilt store on the coast. Bought 3 fat quarters



8. Lost 6 pounds on this trip, McD's and home cooking, too!





9. Outran one tornado.







10. Made 3 quilt blocks.


11. Made one Great Grandma Hunnybunny happy....priceless!

Edward Scissorhands has nothing on us...

If your husband tells you, "Sure, I can trim up the boy's hair." , be sure and distract him. Then, run, take him to Super Cuts, Fantastic Sam's, or Great Clips. But don't turn him loose with a trimmer. Hunnybunny really thought he could do it, but the more he took off, the more he had to take off, if you know what I mean.

I loved Johnny Depp as Edward! In fact, back in Tennessee, someone named their salon, "Scissorhands" after this movie.



It was all smiles at first. Pickle posed for the camera. But as this haircut progressed, he was looking more and more like....an inmate!
See, even Pickle is astonished at the amount of hair he lost!

Here's the smile I love! What a good sport he is! The haircut does make you notice his big, baby blues!

And here's the cheesy one. He does this one when he wants something...followed by a big "PULEEEEEEEEEEZE!"

Rules for socks

I don't claim to be an expert on men, but let me tell you about a recent phenomenon I found....there are rules regarding the wearing of socks. Since Hunnybunny and I married in 2002, these rules have dominated and I was totally unaware of them. Finally, I asked him to break the silence so we can all be educated.

Top Ten Rules for Wearing Men's Socks

1. Socks can match either the shirt or pants.

2. Hunnybunny prefers that they match the pants because they blend in better.

3. You wear causal or dress socks with casual or dress shoes.

4. Never with sneakers.

5. Don't wear athletic socks with casual shoes. (running socks with oxfords)

6. Never wear dress socks with sneakers.

7. If you wear black shoes, then you wear black socks.

8. And if you wear white sneakers, then you need white socks.

9. You can wear patterned dress socks with solid dress suit.

10. And the cardinal rule is: Don't wear tube socks with shorts.

Also here's a link to some style rule commandments.

Ricky Tims on CBS

Thanks to my college buddy, Sandy...I knew it was coming up, but didn't watch. You can follow this link.

Here's the quilt I saw upclose, Bohemian Rhapsody by Ricky Tims.

The Top Ten Reasons Alton Brown Annoys me

You've seen this guy on your tube. As far as I'm concerned, he is the cooking anti-Christ. ( Just a figure of speech, people. Don't email me.)
Oh, he doesn't mean to be. He simply flies in the face of everything you've ever been brought up to believe about the kitchen, cooking, utensils, and procedures. Being the daughter of restaurant owners, sister to a sous chef, and not a half bad cook myself, this guy just grates on every one of my nerves.

Here are the top ten reasons why:

10. Hunnybunny likes him He really admires the way he cooks. Now he's getting more courageous in the kitchen. The jury is still out on if I'm liking that, but he does cook allot more. Now, if only he'd clean up!

9. I really hate the cheesy openings he does. And the gimmicks he does. Hasn't anybody told the guy that most people channel surf until he gets done with that?

8. Most of the time, he talks so fast I can't catch it all. I'm not sure he's a southern boy, but I could be wrong. He does live outside of Atlanta, but he talks like he's from up north somewhere.

7. He makes an entire program out of one food. I'd like to see what he can do making an entire meal....like Rachel Ray.

6. He makes me feel like I don't know what I'm doing in the kitchen. Dude, I grew up in the back of a southern restaurant. (My earliest memory is the smell of the bleach sanitizing dish pan.) I might know what I'm doing, but not when you're on TV.

5. Hunnybunny tells me while I'm cooking, "But Alton says.....". and now we are buying even more kitchen gadgets, like whisks. Whatever happened to using a fork to beat your eggs?

4. He uses "Uh" as a catch phrase. I guess that's not enough to dislike him for. The idea is to get you to watch the show and I'm told that appeals to his male audience.

3. He refers to himself as "The Culinary Bill Nye". Yes, he does take the science of cooking to the masses, but that's quite a boast. Bill Nye rocks!

2.Now we have to watch him every time "Good Eats" comes on, regardless of whether someone else would like to watch something.

1. He cooks so much better than me! As Stan Lee would say, ' Nuff said.

Teach .....your children well......

I used to remember all of that song. But that was before my brain became M.I.A. Here's a couple of short Pickle funnies I thought you'd get a kick out of. We have always given our old cell phones to Pickle to play with. Probably not the best plan we've ever had as the batteries were still functional. And that means that even without a sim card, you can dial 9-1-1. You know where this is going.

Pickle has been learning why to dial 9-1-1 and apparently he's learned how. He hands the phone to me saying, "9-1-1, Mommy,9-1-1." He got a 'boo-boo' on his toe when he tripped and thought she should know about it.

Made with free image tools @ TXT2PIC.com
The other funny this week was as I was changing his clothes. "You can't see me, Mommy."
"Yes, I can, and even your tinney, heeny, hiney(tush).(hey, I don't make fun of your family-isms.)"
"No you can't, Mommy, my butt isn't open." It'll take a minute, but you'll figure it out.

Quilt Everyday.....with us!

The Quilting Diva is challenging us to Quilt Everyday. That has always been my dream anyway, so I'm in.

Happy Sadie Hawkins Day!

You recall our friends from Dogpatch, don't you? I'm only using this panel as it depicts the origin of Sadie Hawkins Day. Once every four years, on Leap Day, it's said that a woman can propose to a man. Most just go to a dance in honor of this swift spinster, and invite the dude to go.

I actually went to an ice skating party that had a "Sadie Hawkins" theme. I got to ask the college class President, Mark, if he'd like to ice skate with me, and he said yes. I remember how I felt after that....like I had hit the lottery.

We decided to go out to eat this evening, which I always feel is a bad idea with two boys and the Friday night restaurant crowd. "Bark at the Moon" came on the radio, to which I heard my 4 year old attempt to sing along.

"I don't know how he even knows the tune!" Pipes up the Rock Star when we turn to look at him.

"He watches you," reminds Hunnybunny, "and whatever music you listen to, he's going to think is cool."



R.S. turns to Pickle and says, "I really like the Bratz CD, Pickle."

Tag....I'm it.

I've been tagged by The Passionate Quilter, a new blogging friend, whose handle I don't know. My apologies.

DA RULES:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.

2. Post THE RULES on your blog.

3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.

4. Tag 7 people and link to them.

5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

The first random or weird fact about me is that I used to be a disc jockey back in the 80's. You know, when all the girls' hair was the 'closer to God than you' bit. Played top 40...it was my favorite job.

Next would be I had seven step-fathers. My mother was beautiful, what can I tell you? She just never found the right guy.

My husband claims I have an affinity with Darth Vadar as I am a Hosehead....a CPAP patient.

I didn't get a permanent driver's license until I was 32 years old. Drove on my learner's permit all that time.

I have sons 22, 12, and 4. Is that random enough for you?

I could live on the beach the rest of my life, but would have to wear 60 spf sunscreen as I burn very easily. But, I'd do it.

I really love vegetables. I'm a closet vegetarian.

I tag Deborah, Angela, Leanne, Suzanne,Leah and anybody else who doesn't mind getting tagged again!

More than just a little hacked......a quilting rant.

A friend and I went to a "Hand Quilting" class hosted by our local library. I'm always up for learning a new technique, getting new ideas, all that comes from associating with quilters. Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed. The entire 'class' was a "show and tell" of all the quilts she'd ever done. While I enjoy that, that wasn't why I came. Another thing was that she didn't know the terms. I'm serious, she had no idea what "traveling" meant in the hand quilting world! Also, she said she could only do one stitch at a time and encouraged us to do the same. While she brought "supplies" for us to use, the fabric we did our practice on was so chincey ....OOh....it just aggravated me! I can see not using your $9 fabric on a class, but not use the $1 fabric from Wally World!.

It wasn't just that. She wasn't very passionate about quilting. Sticking to cheater quilts and presewn panels doesn't constitute quilting to me. I think what bothered me most was the way she dealt with the beginners. She had no encouraging words for them, such as, "Hey, that's coming right along." or, if it's not good, (such as my case) "Don't give up. You'll get there!" would've been cool to say. She wasn't up on any of the new techniques,either. I'm just saying, it was a waste of both of our times. I've always felt like the teacher had to be as excited as the student. Well, that didn't happen, either.

The tell-tale sign that the class was unsuccessful? Everybody left before it was over.

Something quilty this way comes....WIP from the past

You all remember my Quilt of Valor that the Quilt Studio web ring took as a project? My part was the piecing, and I did have my issues with it.
The next step was quilting it, and it was done by the wonderful Deb at Contemporary Traditions. Didn't she do an awesome job?! She was kind enough to let me use her pictures. What's funny is her camera actually made the quilt look correct...color wise. My camera made it look like a cream color. I guess I need that Ott-Light after all!

I don't know about you, but I really love these feathers. Man, did she make it sharp!

Also, she gave us a tutorial
featuring this quilt. I'm still pretty apprehensive when it comes to borders, and she was nice enough to break it down for us.

So, go to her website and give her some love!

WIP Wednesday....on Thursday.

Don't get too excited....two posts in one day, that's not like me at all. But for those of you who thought I wasn't quilting, here you go. The binding is being sewn on. I've actually worked on some Boy Scout neckerchiefs this month, but that doesn't constitute quilting.
I'm determined to get this to the recipient by the end of the month or die trying. Of course, I've said that before in the course of two years trying to finish it. Glad he's a friend of mine.
Maybe it will turn out after all.



My first edge that even remotely looks straight. But don't ask how many times I'm ripped it out and started again. I know, I know, ripping is bad, that's why I use a scapel.

Since it's Valentine's.....

here's some love for Grandma Hunnybunny from your favorite little man!


This is kind of a new face....


This is making valentine cards with the Amazing Jo-Jo.




And what Dyl Pickle post would be complete without the appearance of Spiderman? Pickle is wearing The Rock Star's ("Bubbie's") shirt.

An unexpected day off...sort of

Too much ice and snow to keep kids today, so I have a day off....well, sort of. I have to keep my own, and one other. But that's because her folks work in TV and stations don't close.

Here are some pictures that I took on my recent trip to the roller rink with the Rock Star and Pickle. I did TRY to skate, but was so afraid of falling, I took them off. Thankfully, they allow parents to WALK beside the learners.


Here's The Pickle with his skates. After a couple of hours, Mommy wasn't holding his hand, and he was doing great! His BFF, "Skywalker", met him at the rink.










Sorry the pictures are so blurry. But he was skating fast and it is a digital camera. It reminded me of his dad when we were dating....always showing off.












He looks as if to say..."Uh, Mom...I sorta spilled my drink."
















It's nice to have a friend to have fun with!

Across the Universe

No, we didn't watch the Grammy's, but we watched Across the Universe. And to say it was...trippy..was understated. The music was covered well. How can you go wrong with Joe Cocker or Bono from U2? Bono certainly doesn't sound like an "Irish rock star", as he puts it in the blooper reel. But like a New Yorker. Joe Cocker actually had three roles in "Come Together" and I had to ask Hunnybunny if that was him. He looked old when he was young. But he still has the pipes.
The story had more to do with the Vietnam War and it's impact. But they tried to cover too many story lines. They covered Martin Luther King's assignation, too. And while that was important for the time period, they just had too many loose ends to tie up.





I think they were trying to actually tell a story. While the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts club band was definitely fantasy. The Rock Star asked for this for Christmas last year, and I think I've watched it a lot more than he has! I was around 11 when it was in the theatre, and a huge Bee Gee fan. Peter Frampton, who was just a kid back then, had gone triple platiunm with Frampton Comes Alive!. They did a great job covering the songs, but the story was just too out there. It was great eye candy for the rest of us, though.
The bottom line: if you don't mind the abstract, you'll enjoy it. Visually, it's a beautiful flick. But if you're looking for story content, don't bother.







I guess the boys from Liverpool will never be topped but their music will most likely outlive us all. Currently, The Legal Adult has been sporting a John Lennon look and he's so pleased when someone notices. Of course, the people that notice actually were at Woodstock. He constantly asks me, "What was it like for you to grow up listening to that music?" First of all, I was just a little tyke. I was the only 4 year old who could sing all the words to Strawberry Fields. It didn't impact my life. It was my brother (who was 10 years older) who owned the albums and the posters.
Do you think if John had lived he'd have piercings? I'm just sayin'....

If Rome wasn't built in a day.....

...how about the Parthenon? This was The Rock Star's social studies project on Greece. My idea was that he could do a newscast from ancient Greece, highlighting the top stories of the day. But, he didn't want to. This project was put together the night of the Superbowl. Between commentators and Tom Petty, you could hear hammers in my kitchen. I had offered to help, but they (Hunnybunny and R.S.) claimed they were "fine". You might notice the roof is red as R.S. wanted it to be, and Hunnybunny said it had to be "terracotta". Whatever.....you'd think they were picky old women haggling about the color to paint the house!
I tried to help them figure out how to put it together, but of course, they didn't need a woman's help. They found out the hard way that someone who puts quilt blocks together might know a little about construction. Live and learn, I guess.
The columns are dowels that were cut in half and nailed to a fancy board. Materials cost around $25 bucks! That just hurts..ah, well. The price of an education.
The other part of the report was a presentation. He kind of botched that. While the project was outstanding, the presentation ....not so much. He got a "B". But, on the upside, his project was put into the school trophy case. I'll be taking a picture to bore you with later.