When life gets in the way............

As I sit here at my desk, staring at my blank computer screen, I watch as the little cursor blinks on and off as if to say "Well aren't you going to write something" It has been so long since my last post and I don't really know why except to say sometimes life just gets so busy and overwhelming it is hard to put it into words. I have started to write this post on many occasion however the words were clumsy, awkward and just would not express how I was feeling. With the craziness of life it left me with very little time to spend in my studio creating and very few projects to share with you. Nothing left to do but cancel the post and wait until another day. It is not that I didn't think about my blog or the friends that I have made through my blog it is just that the right words would not come to me and the longer I waited the harder it became. So tonight, as both my husband and my son are out for the evening and the house is so quiet I thought we could catch up for a bit. I will not bore you with all the little details of the past two months just the highlights........

I guess the biggest event occurred at the end of June when my husband underwent gastric bypass surgery. We had been preparing for this event for such a long time and were both quite nervous as the time drew nearer. The fear of the unknown---wondering if this was indeed the right decision for Alex and our family

The morning of the surgery finally arrived and we took our "before" picture.......

The surgery was a difficult one and we did have some frightening moments. Alex's blood pressure became quite high and he remained in the ICU for several days. He was finally able to return home to continue his recovery process, which again was difficult for him. The next several weeks proved to be a very stressful time for our family. It is hard to watch someone you love go through something so difficult. It was a helpless feeling. Alex has been feeling much better these days. His blood pressure and blood sugar have stabilized and he has reached a weight loss of 60 lbs. We are now looking forward to continued success.

This picture was taken this past Friday at Alex's football media day. I will be sharing more pictures of this event in another post soon. It was such a wonderful, special day.

When our sweet and loyal friend, Maggie started to become ill after Lucy passed away we did our best to nurse her back to health but finally had to make the decision not to let her suffer any longer.

We miss her terribly but are so thankful for our little Sassy to bring smiles to our faces. It is fun to watch her grow and develop into a wonderful dog. She does live up to her name however but adds such joy to our family.

Well the last thing I want to do is to turn this post into the lyrics of a country western song. I have had many blessings in the past two months as well.........

Celebrating Father's Day with my husband and my dad. Reminding them just how special they are to me.

Celebrating the accomplishments of a very special young man. Jeremy and Alex grew up together and he spent quite a bit of time with our family . Jeremy joined the Army earlier this year and successfully graduated from boot camp. He came by for a visit before being deployed. We could not be prouder if he were our own son.

Now that things are slowing down a bit I have had time to work in my studio. I have been busy creating new merchandise for my space at SweetPeas. I am happy to report that things have been going well with that venture. I do have several projects that I am excited to share with you all. Perhaps now that I have broken the blog silence the words will come easier for me. I will be back soon to share some of my new creations. Thanks for being patient with me my friends and I look forward to catching up with all of you.

Fondly

Mimi~

Things that made me SMILE today.......

The days seem to be flying by so quickly....sometimes it seems the alarm clock rings at 5:30am and before I know it, time has ticked by and the clock reads 10:00pm. I wonder just were this day has gone. I go about my day doing all of my everyday tasks not really thinking about the day itself. Today I decided to make a conscious effort to appreciate the day. To really be aware of the things throughout the day that brought a smile to my face.

When Emma brought a game with her today and happily announced that we would be playing it together, I realized how long it had been since I played Hi-Ho Cherry-o. Alex and I used to play it all the time together when he was a little boy. Remembering those times made me smile.

As I was walking back from getting the mail, I really took notice of my beautiful peonies, the sweet little rose buds getting ready to bloom, and my front porch which welcomes friends and family. Each in it's own way brought a smile to my day.

The girls and I had such fun with the bubble wands today. It was a bit windy so we just held the wands into the air and let the wind do all the work.

This last series of pictures not only brought a smile to my face but it actually made me laugh out loud. I hope it brings a smile to your day as well............

All that I can say is---It's a good thing she is cute!!!!!

With Gratitude and Thanks

On this most special of days, I wanted to take time to express my gratitude to the men and women who with their unselfish service, protect our country and guard our freedoms. Thank you to our veterans who without their service we would not have this blessing of freedom. And to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice--we remember and honor you and your families on this day.

I wish you all a wonderful Memorial Day as you celebrate with your family and friends.

Take time to remember ...................

My Patio

With the days of Winter a distant memory and the threat of frost behind us, it is finally time to venture outside and ready the patio for Summer. My patio is one of the things I love most about my house. It is not a very large space but one of comfort, one that invites you to stay a while with a good book and a nice tall glass of iced tea. We have had many a family gathering on my patio and in the Summer it becomes an extension of the inside rooms of our home. As a family we eat our dinner on the patio and even my husband enjoys watching a favorite sporting event while seated among all the potted flowers. I finally finished up the last bit of planting today and then grabbed my camera to snap some photos to share with you all.
Gardening gives me such great pleasure. All of the amazing colors and the small details of each flower that makes them so unique unto themselves. This year while preparing to plant, I began by collecting all of the clay pots and containers from the shed. Each time I entered the shed I heard the tiniest of chirps. For the life of me I could not figure out where that sound would be coming from. Then out of the corner of my eye I noticed a nervous Jenny Wren with a little worm hanging from her beak flying from the ground to the roof back to the ground. I quickly stepped from the shed and watched to see where she was headed. To my surprise, she flew right into the shed and it was then that I realized where those little sounds were coming from.....
In my haste to clean up at the end of the season last Fall, I carelessly hung a wilted and withered geranium plant on a hook in the shed promising to empty it at a later time. Well that time never did arrive and it is a good thing it didn't. That sweet little bird decided it would make the perfect place to call home and to raise her precious babies. This is what I saw when I carefully peeked inside.
I guess I made just enough noise that those tiny babies thought I was their mother bringing them something yummy to eat. Four little mouths open wide waiting for their lunch. I gathered my containers and quietly closed the shed doors as not to disturb this wonderful new family. I feel blessed to have been allowed to witness this newness of life in nature. A little miracle ......

What Have I Been Up To????

Once again time has slipped away from me. How easily that seems to happen these days. A friend asked me this morning if I had given up on my blog----Oh my goodness no---I just need a few more hours in my day. Anyway here is a little up date as to what is going on in my life. Oh I knew having a new puppy would be lots of work but somehow I forgot just how much. What a little fireball she is. In my mind I pictured her laying by my side in my studio as I worked on all of my projects. As it turns out she does love being in my studio however her favorite thing to do is grab hold of the end piece of nicely wound ribbon and run for her life. She is so playful and fun. The house training thing is still a work in progress. Let's just say if you are looking to purchase stock, I would suggest Bounty Paper Towels or Clorox Clean Up Wipes. All of my favorite Somerset Life and scrapbooking magazines have been put on the shelf for now. They have been replaced with puppy training magazines and books on understanding your Beagle. Apparently Sassy wasn't overly excited to see that I was reading all about how to teach her to be a well behaved little girl.........

She has certainly stolen the hearts of our whole family.......

Another exciting event for our family was Alex's Junior Prom. We had been preparing for this for weeks---the new suit, shoes, shirt and tie were all purchased as were the corsage and boutonniere. Finally the day was here.....He looked so handsome it brought tears to my eyes. Could this young man standing beside me actually be my baby boy??

His date was lovely

Alex and Tina attended the prom with a group of friends and we were invited to the home of one of them to take pictures. The had a beautiful yard, the perfect place for photos. They whole group looked so wonderful.

Alex had a great evening. What an exciting time in his life. He has so much to look forward to. I could not be prouder.

A Loyal and True Friend

When you bring a pet into your home you know you are going to love it. But what isn't realized sometimes is just how much. They become part of your family. You count on them to always be there, tail wagging, welcoming you home. Supplying you with that unconditional love even when you are crabby and have had the worst day. They can look at you with those brown eyes and easily change all that is bad to good. There is just something about that kind of love. And the best part is that as much as you love them they love you back twice as much. We had a bit of sadness in our family this week as we lost our beloved friend, Lucy. Her illness just didn't allow us to care for her any longer. Let me just say that it was the hardest decision that I have ever made. Her gentleness and meekness made her so special and loved by our whole family. I find myself missing her so much. I can still hear her tail wagging as it hit the wall beside her bed. I find myself still calling her name to offer her a treat. She followed me everywhere and I will truly miss her companionship.

Not that there is any good time for this kind of sadness, but it was especially hard for our family as today is Alex's 18th Birthday. We had been asking him for some time what he would like for this milestone birthday but he was always unsure. In light of this recent situation we thought it might be a good time to invite another puppy into our home. When we discussed it with Alex, his response was "That would be sweet". To interpret for those of you who don't understand the language of an 18 year old, that is a good thing. So we did some investigating and here is the newest member of our family.....

Athena Velvet Buttons

What a name huh???? Well seeing that our last name is Panormios (very Greek) we decided that it would be only fitting to have a matching first name. As for the Velvet Buttons, that addition was the contribution from the little girls I babysit. They too were having such a difficult time with losing Lucy that we thought it might be fun to include them on the naming of the new puppy. It worked---they love her too. Athena is a 7 week old, full breed beagle pup and I know from growing up with a beagle I have a lot of work ahead of me. But how could I not love this sweet little face?

Although I love this little darling so much already, there will always be that special place in my heart that belongs only to Lucy ......and it always will.

**********A LITTLE EDIT TO THE ABOVE POST***********

After spending the day with family and watching the puppy interact with family members and their dogs we have decided to have a slight name change. We had a blast watching her play and bark at all the bigger dogs totally without any fear. Chasing their tails and biting at their ears all in such puppy fun. We have decided that the name Sassy fits her personality a little better. Sassy she is but oh so sweet!!!! Sassy Velvet Buttons-------we could not love her more !!!

And the Winner is...............

Just to be sure this give away would be fair, I enlisted the help of my son, Alex to help me pull the winning name. (what a good sport he was)Without further ado, the winner is.........
Pam is a wonderful friend that I have met through my blog. She is also a very talented artist and creates the sweetest, most whimsical watercolors. If you click this link it will take you to her blog. Take a peek I know you will love her work. Congratulations Pam!!! on being the winner of my first blog give away. Thank you to all that left me a comment. I had fun with this give away so look for more to come in the future.
Pam just email me your address and I will send your prize right away :)

Happy Birthday Dandelion Wishes

I can remember it so well. Sitting at my desk, staring at my blank computer screen, wondering if I should actually begin a blog. "Oh I'll give it a try" I thought to myself. "Maybe my family will enjoy reading it now and again" As it turns out I was right. My family and my close friends did read my posts and would leave me a comment or two. I enjoyed writing and looked forward to their comments. So a month turned into two and then three and four. As time carried on, I began to notice comments from others that were not in my family. What fun it was to think that others actually visited my blog and then left me comments to make me aware of their visits. I began to visit their blogs as well getting to know them through their pictures and posts. And so I continued my blog, meeting and making so many new friends along the way. Four months turned into five and then to six until I sit here today marking the one year birthday of my blog. Who knew that my little blog would help me to meet and befriend ladies from all over the world. All because of this little thing called a blog. I am so grateful for these friendships -- the old and the new. So on this, my blog birthday, I want to celebrate and say thank you for all of your visits and comments by having a little give away. All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post. I will put all the names in a hat and pull a winner on Sunday April 19. Now for the fun part-------here is a little sample of the prize (just a sample, it's always fun to receive surprises)
******A sweet little birds nest, a hand soldered charm with vintage lace, and a package of peek a boo love notes. (plus a few more little surprises) *******

Thanks to all of you for making the past year so lovely with all of your visits, comments and inspiration. I am looking forward to another year full of friendships.

xoxoxo

Mimi~