"Woe be to him who reads but one book"

In my room

There are stacks
and stacks

and stacks....
...
... of books ... this isn't even a tenth of themAnd it's not even a hundredth of my wish list...

The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

I need some more bookshelves. And a bigger bedroom.

It's always "daisy-time"

filming

Remember that screenplay I was writing a little while ago?

We filmed it last Saturday!

Here I am directing

Nicky, my wonderful DP!

Susie, relaxing between takes

Sorry, that's all I can show you for now!!

picture of the day...

My brother... and my two nieces...

sweet!

if anyone likes to write...

here's a site you should check out spentcasings

Read from the bottom and work your way up... it'll be quite the ride!!!

In honor of Grandpa

An "M&M Toast!" For Father's Day

I'm feeling nostalgic tonight...

Can you blame me???

To College or Not to College...

e... that IS the question.

It's kind of a controversial issue, so I've discovered.

I graduated from high school 8 years ago. I didn't go to college. Not necessarily because I thought it was bad to go to college. Because I thought I didn't have any reason to go to college.

But, I've been thinking lately about college. I'm not considering going to college. I'm just considering taking some classes. Maybe online, maybe clepping... something.

And I have to say the thought of studying to learn something new, and the idea of taking a class and working hard for a passing grade, and eventually (maybe) earning a degree... is rather exhilerating!

I was talking with a friend of my mom's the other day. She's a "career-woman" in the sense that she went to college, has a degree, works almost full-time. She's great at what she does. She's married now and has a little girl, and I think that she would love to be at home with her daughter all of the time. And some day, I'm sure she will. But, at one point in her life she was not married, supporting herself, and being a wonderful example in the community, a blessing and a help to a lot of people. Because of the college degree that she acquired.

She told me: "College isn't for everyone. But, I'm always in favor of education." That brought a whole new perspective for me.

Why should we ever stop learning? I'm not saying everyone should take a college course. I'm saying, let's not let graduating from high school stop us from learning.

As long as it is in my power to do so... I want to keep learning. Even if all I do is read something in the encyclopedia every week. Get interested in a subject. Check out some books at the library. Learn something.

The REAL question should be: "what should I learn first?"

Calla Lillies in Green Vase

I bought this perfect vase about a week ago...

And then I found these amazing Calla Lilles...

And then I cut some flowers from the garden....

Happy thought, indeed!

How to write a screenplay 101

• Come up with an idea (this is the most difficult step)
  
• If you can't come up with an idea for the topic you were supposed to write about.... switch topics with someone else.
  
• Get some actors (sometimes actors should be drafted and assigned before you ask them to be in your skit)
  
• Find a good filming location. (The location should be accesible to film crews)

and appropiate for your film. For instance...

• Don't shoot a film about a race in a church
  
• Choose your computer wisely. If your computer takes 20 minutes to load your homepage, you probably have NOT chosen wisely
  
• Call your big brother and ask him how to write a screenplay
  
• Put a pencil behind your ear
• Write something
• Take a break to listen to Josh Groban
• Get back to work
• Have a read through with your sister
• Laugh
• Get back to work
• Finish (this is the 2nd most difficult step)

my people

Sometimes when one person is going to get their picture taken, other people jump into the picture, too....

Sisters

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters...

Pink Regency Dress

FUN FACTS ABOUT MY LATEST PROJECT:

• 
  
  The pattern I used simplicity 4055
• 
  
  I sewed the bodice, sleeves and buttonholes all by hand
• 
  
  Susie put my hair up and made me feel like a princess
• 
  
  Stephanie took my picture

Here's the front I made some changes to the sleeves and the bodice and added a waistband.

And the back

Closeup of the back. Added some ribbon to tie :-) Also, there's no elastic... somehow in the final fitting I ended up with too many inches in the back. It was too big so, rather than tearing the whole bodice apart I just gathered it in until it fit. I really liked the detail that the gathering added, so I was happy with it.

And finally, just some fun pictures!

This one is my favorite:

New Profile Picture...

Yes? No?

I want your vote!

Just for reference, here's the old one.

And here's the new one.

Flowershopgirl JR.

I think my baby sister may follow in my footsteps...

We picked some flowers from our garden.

And she helped me arrange them.

She loves to smell them.

Beautiful!

*NEWS FLASH*

BREAKER*** BREAKER***BREAKER...

THIS JUST IN...

"Statistics have shown that the more birthdays you have... the longer you live."

Go figure....

1950s dress

This is a dress I made last fall. I really liked how it turned out but the weather got cold so fast that I wasn't able to wear it. Anyway, here it is!

The fabric is cotton. Gotta love cotton...
I remember this dress was a cinch to put together. The bodice and sleeves are all one piece so I didn't have to set sleeves! Yeah!!!
The pattern was an original pattern from the 1950s... sadly I can't find the envelope to take a picture...
Photography credited to my lovely sister Steph!

Taking Care of the Ladies

Is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen??

TAKING CARE OF THE LADIES

follow the link and click on the "play video"

Mother's Day

My mom deserves a lot more than one day to celebrate how great she is.

Another 1950s dress...

I know I must sound like a broken record... but, did you notice in my "About me" it says I love all things vintage?? :-)

Anyway, this dress did NOT come from an original circa 1950 pattern. I sort of cheated. Although, I'm pretty sure the pattern is out of print so that makes it vintage, right?

I really wanted a chocolate brown/white polka dot printed fabric but I had to settle for this. Maybe I'll find the brown another time and make something else.

Side pose... see our beautiful trees?
The gloves were my great grandmothers'. :-)

Quote of the day...

"We're too young

To realize certain things are impossible...

So, we do them anyway."

-William Pitt

Amazing Grace

Tech support

Since Katie's blog is hilarious right now, I thought I'd cheat and just link to her. I'll post something of my own soon, I promise!

Katie's Blog

Idiots

I normally refrain from using this term. But, after a little discusion on it in the last post, I looked it up.

Here's the definition:

Idiot- An offensive term for somebody who has a psychiatric disorder or a learning problem but who is exceptionally gifted in one particular area, for example, rapid mental calculation, architectural drawing, or remembering facts.

I don't know much about Hemmingway. I never liked anything he wrote, and I know he had some issues. So, I don't know if the term applies or not.

Some people say he is "exceptionally gifted." I wonder if, like beauty, talent is in the eye of the beholder?

Reply to writing post

Um... I didn't really laugh. It was more like... "OH! So, that's what my problem is!" :-)

I think the person that said that was Ernest Hemmingway. I'm not for sure on that, though. Do you remember Tyson?

writing

“Real seriousness in regard to writing is one of two absolute necessities. The other, unfortunately, is talent.”

Don't make me laugh...

Molly Gibson Dress

I made this dress using the Sense And Sensibility Romantic Dress Pattern. I modeled it after this dress...

of Molly Gibson's in one of my favorite movies Wives and Daughters! I thought it would be fun to make for around the house wear!

Front

Back

Wonderings

Yeah, sometimes I wonder what the point is to my life. Why do I live the way I live? Who am I touching? Did I miss something?

I'm getting older by the minute. Life is flying by. I wonder sometimes if it's too late to jump on the train. It's already going too fast and now I will forever be destined to follow the tracks, only ever seeing where everyone else has already been.

Maybe there is a special train that will come. Maybe it's just for me. I can board it and be off to new places. Places I'm supposed to go. Places I need to go. Maybe I'll get to those places at just the right time, arrive at the perfect moment. Everything will be clear, crystal clear. I'll wonder why I ever doubted.

But, maybe there is a special train for me... and it already left....

Dog praying...

I got this picture in an e-mail the other day....

And I couldn't help thinking of this verse....

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

The day is cold and dark and dreary...

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.

picture of the day...

One day this winter we got "snowed in" with some overnight guests! It actually ended up being pretty fun!!

Here I am with Kristi and Elisa and Sarah B. You guys are welcome to come over anytime we're expecting snow!

Our Babies...

Whom we affectionately refer to as "Fun 1" and "Fun 2"

Life without them would be no fun. :-)

A Matter of Life and Death

The Supreme Court has upheld President Bush's ban on partial-birth abortion! Praise the Lord!! Here is a link to an article on the subject posted at WorldNetDaily.

This is a battle won! Keep praying! We still have to win the war!