My first purse from my own pattern!

I'm planning on making my cousins purses for Christmas. I had all the fabrics picked out and was planning on making them all from the Buttercup bag pattern. Then I realized that they might actually use them if they didn't match, they're all in their teens. So I needed another purse pattern that was easy to make and a similar size to the Buttercup. I couldn't find what I was looking for, so I decided to just make my own. I love how it turned out!

I don't know why it took me so long to make up my own pattern for a purse. I make up my own quilt patterns and variations all the time. But I'm really glad I did it finally. It's a slim purse about 7"x12"x2". Now I'm looking at the fabric I got for my Birthday and thinking it would look really cute for myself. I just need to make sure I save this pattern and that I don't loose it.

Dropping your laptop is not good for it!

There was a bit of a pause in my blog posts at the end of September because dropping your laptop is not good for it!



This is an actual picture of the screen of my laptop after it slid of my lap. My husband even had to pass this around at work he was so impressed at the amount of damage. they are all software engineers He even wants to use this picture as his computer background. So see it served some purpose.

I just don't understand why my husband thinks I need a nerf shell for my new netbook!

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!!!

The Christmas albums are out in the stores and I just bought my first new Christmas CD of the year.

and my fortune said ...

Last night my family went out for Chinese food, when we were done and the fortune cookies came I reached for a cookie at the same time as my husband. I let him grab it and then he gave it to our daughter. I got mine and opened it. However Daph couldn't get hers open so we traded and I read my fortune.

Do not rush through life. Pause and enjoy it.

I have to say that I've never had a fortune that I felt I needed to share, unless it sounded dirty, but this one seemed so appropriate.

A little over two weeks ago my best, basically a sister, friend called me at 12:30 pm with the news that her husband of almost nine years had unexpectedly died. I flew out a few days later and was able to go and spend a week trying to help her and her three boys.

I know she hates it when people say she's strong, so I won't! However I think what people were seeing and amazed at was her ability to see the positive. As much as she was devastated by her loss she could still look at the fact that they had had an amazing summer as a family. The economic situation meant that her husband had been home with them all a lot. They had great memories of gardening and just being a family.

They had spent the evening before just talking, and she always told her husband how excited she was to be his wife, so she didn't feel like there was anything left unsaid.

There were so many things that she found to be thankful for.

She wanted only a positive message at the funeral. That we are saved by Grace and Love endures. Even the music, Simple Gifts followed that feeling. And just to make sure people didn't leave crying she had them play a very Dave piece of music as we left the funeral, Aerosmith's Walk this Way.

So it just felt right to share my fortune with anyone who reads this, and to remind us all to slow down and find the things that we are thankful for.

Take the time to enjoy life, don't wait to get new pictures, let those in your life know how much they mean to you, and don't assume there will be time to do it all later.

A couple more pictures

After I published the last post I realized that a few of the pictures were missing. It just seemed easier to do another one.

A little extra time on my hands

Today I found myself with about 45 minutes between appointments, and amazingly I had my new camera in my purse so I just drove around and took some pictures of the fall colors and whatever struck my fancy!

There's actually enough snow up at Lake Tahoe that people have been snowboarding!

I think I really like my new camera!!