New Glasses

Who is this young lady? Where did my little girl go? I knew this was coming, I expected this to happen, but even knowing, when it does, WHAM. I know she will always be my little girl, but at 10 she is growing up fast. Not too fast, but fast nonetheless.

Gone are the old glasses, which lasted her for two years. She was definitely physically outgrowing them, and then the optometrist broke off the nose piece! (Apparently she and nickel do not mix too well; hence the new plastic glasses.) Her friends were sad that her "Harry Potter" glasses were gone, but they passed favorable ("cool!") judgment on the new ones.

Then, to top off this "growth spurt," we had to have THE TALK about the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. I will not go into detail here out of respect for various readers, but this was much harder on both of us than any of the other versions of THE TALK that we've had this year. My, my, my, don't they grow up fast? At least she's not growing up too fast. And I'm thankful that she has the opportunity to grow up at all. I sure do love this girl. Or is it young lady now?

Fall Camping

We're back home from a few days of camping at Stone Mountain. Did you miss us? LOL

I don't know why I love camping so much. I guess the smoke from the campfire is intoxicating. Now I've got two houses to clean- our actual one and the camper. C'est la vie, n'est-ce pas?

Fall Fun

Our community holds an annual Sorghum Festival each October. Now, if you're not from around here, you're probably asking what sorghum is. It is a cane similar to sugar that grows in the area and is used to make syrup. The locals love to sop up sorghum syrup with a biscuit, but personally I can't stand the stuff!

Today was the parade so we took the girls. We enjoyed this little slice of Americana and home grown fun. I'm not sure who got more candy, the girls or me, since lots of my current & former students lobbed candy at me. I like to think it's because they like me...

Of course all the local celebrities were on display, from politicians to the beauty pageant queens. Miss M liked all the cars, but Miss A & her BFF loved the horses best. We even saw Off My Mountain Porch's daughter playing trombone in the band.

Think Pink!

What do you think of our new 'dos? In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, our hair salon offered pink hair extensions with a donation. How cool is that to raise awareness? I'm wearing mine in memory of my dear Aunt Marjory.

You may not be able to see my two- on my left- too well in this photo (I'll try to get a better one this week), but believe it or not, I did mine before the girls got theirs!

I didn't know it, but we (along with a few other teachers and students) set off a really big controversy at school. The principals informed us Friday that colored hair was against the dress code. Since I didn't interpret the code that way, off to the principal I went. My dear friend & co-teacher then went w/me to see the superintendent. (Yep, she's got a pink streak too! At least we were rebels with a cause.)

This morning the superintendent came to tell my co-teacher and me that we can't wear the colored hair. This afternoon they've decided we can. Aren't we pretty in pink?
Who would YOU honor with pink hair or an awareness pin?

Happy World Card Making Day!

Today, October 4, is World Card Making Day! Grab your stash or even some scraps and make a card (or two) today. It's amazing how a little card can brighten someone's day. Spread some cheer and have some fun!

Happy card making!


P.S. If you post a card on the 'net somehwhere today, please post a link to it in a comment here so we can all enjoy. Thanks!

P.P.S. Check out my friend Korin's blog! http://inkydoodle.blogspot.com/

Countdown

• 30 crafting days to Halloween

• 57 crafting days to Thanksgiving

• 82 crafting days to Hanukah

• 85 crafting days to Christmas

Quote of the Week

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~John Muir
(Here are the girls last October at Chimney Rock.)

Another Lost Tooth

My baby lost tooth #8 today! She is one happy snaggletooth.

Virtual Open House

This afternoon is my Close To My Heart Dessert Open House to showcase the new Fall/Winter Idea Book and new products. (Drop in from 3:00 to 8:00!) Here are some of the projects I've been working on in preparation for the big event.

Perfect Day workshop layout

Sanding Possibilities layout
September stamp of the month, Treasure Life

(This is hanging on our front door for visitors to see, with a picture of the girls on the back. I love seeing their smiles as I leave each day!)
Treasure Life "Fall Fun" layout
If you'd like to see more, check out my CTMH website: www.HaleyD.myctmh.com!

How many licks does it take...

to get to the center of the Tootsie Roll Pop? (Remember those commercials?!?)

Our puppy Shadow found this pop and had to crunch down to the center too! Bad dog. LOL

Or is it bad mommie? I couldn't resist snapping a few shots before taking it away from him!

Updates

Life has been too busy to post, but things are going well. School is off to a great start for all 3 of us girls. (Week 4 just finished!) They love their teachers and have plenty of friends, plus the school work isn't too bad either. (I LOVE having Miss A in 5th grade! She gives me hugs when she sees me. I know that probably won't last all year, so I will enjoy it while I can.)

Our dance classes have started back up, and M may even take two this year: the tap/jazz combo she's started and the tumbling class she wants to add. My adult tap class has doubled in size, so that is very exciting. Looks like our recital number didn't totally scare people off.

L's had quite a few generator jobs, so that is wonderful progress. All in all, life is good!

Godmother

My sweet baby nephew was baptized on Sunday, and I am lucky enough to be this adorable little fellow's Godmother (as well as his big brother's). Don't you love his beautiful gown? His mommy bought it when she was in Belgium and pregnant w/big brother.

I told the girls that no, I was not his "fairy" godmother. Miss A wanted to
know if she was now his godsister. Absolutely!

We were privileged to have our dear family friend, Father Wise, perform the baptism. He performed both my sister's wedding and ours, along with our then-priest (and also dear friend) Father Maddox.