Sunshine on my Shoulders Makes Me Happy

The sun is out and because I am late with my "Thursdays of Thanks," today I am expressing how I am thankful for the sun!!!!  Living in Florida, sometimes I take it for granted and even complain about the heat.  But, after some dreary, cold days when the sun doesn't make an appearance, I realize how much I love it and how it makes me feel so much more positive, giving me those feel-good vitamins! :-)

When you are working in a cold, dank building or are just having a mediocre day, believe me, it makes such a difference to just get outside and sit in the sun for a few minutes, close your eyes and let the warmth blanket your body.  Think about how it makes you feel and be thankful God has given us such wonderful things that can make us feel better in such simple ways.

So, with it being mid-February and the projection of a 76-degree day, I am making a point to get out and enjoy this beautiful day!! 
I wish everyone a bright and sunny weekend!

Thursdays of Thanks

This Thursday, I am thankful for rain.  Yes, rain.  Some people find rain very annoying...it creates more traffic and some more accidents; your shoes get wet; your hair gets frizzy...and let's not even mention the old scenes where cars run through puddles and the people on the sidewalk get splashed.  I agree there are some not-so-great things about it pouring buckets.

But, last night I woke up in the middle of the night because it was raining so hard outside.  Listening to the sounds with no other distractions brought to mind how much I love hearing it rain and knowing that it is not only soothing to hear in the middle of the night, but that it aids in sustaining so much life in the world.  From plants, animals and crops that are farmers' life work and food for us, to people around the world who depend on rain fall for their primary source of water.  It is a gift.

"And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down.  Without the rain there would be no rainbow."

Thursdays of Thanks

I am so thankful for generosity.  This week I was able to be part of the North Florida Extreme Makeover Home Edition.  That was due to the generosity of my neighbor and friend, Sarah, who is in PR, knows I was and was working on the PR for NFEMHE.  So, she kindly asked me to be part and help out and I gladly accepted. 

But, throughout the week, what I saw was how generous other people really are, when their hearts are in it.  There were literally hundreds of people that gave their time, talents and energy to make an unbelievable and very deserving gift for Coach Prewitt and her three adopted girls.  Not one of those people were getting any recognition on their own, but they worked relentlessly 24 hours a day to make sure things were done and done correctly.  And, yesterday, the day the family returned to see their double-wide trailer turned in to an amazing, safe, efficient home, the support from the community was heart-wrenching.  Standing there seeing and talking to many people who just wanted to do something nice; people who had taken off work from their jobs to do something above and beyond for a woman they may not have even known and without getting anything in return.  There was a resurgence of my faith in other people to do good things even when no one's watching.

I am thankful I had the opportunity to be part of that experience.

The Prewitts running in to their new house!

The Prewitts, along with Ty Pennington, thank the builders of their new house.

Sew What I'm Not a Seamstress?!

I am not a seamstress and that fact has never really bothered me at all.  I can sew a button so that it will stay on, but don't ask me what kind of stitch I should be doing when I do it because I have no clue.  I learned a few cross stitching skills from my mom when she used to do that a lot  in the early 80s, but that's about it.  I've never wanted to sew, have a sewing machine or torture myself by continually trying to put a tiny piece of thread in an even tinier eye of a needle.

But, for my sweet friend and past boss, Jane, and her sex-not-yet-known and name-not-yet-known baby, I made a concession.  I had been looking at some cute sock monkey things because I thought they were adorable and could serve as a unisex gift.  But, instead of buying something, I decided at somewhat the last minute (typical) that I should MAKE one.  There were patterns all over the Internet, so it must be easy!  How hard could it be to sew two socks together in pieces, even for a non-seamstress?!  I was going to find out!

I got the socks, the patterns, the stuffing, the needle and thread (no sewing machine here) and started to hand-sew this little primate.  After day one (I will not say how much time I spent because even novice seamstresses would gasp), the first sock actually took on the shape of a little body.  I was excited.  Then, I started stuffing and, pop!  My seams were obviously not sewn correctly and were not going to hold, so I started again and finally got the seams (no matter how incorrectly they were stitched) to hold the innards.  Day two, the body got completely stitched up, ears were cut, stuffed and sewn.  Okay, it's getting there and it didn't pop over night, so day three the tail was created, stuffed and sewn.  Day four, it is a monkey!!!  Time for eyes and mouth and then I'm done!  Wow...it was actually a monkey!

I have to say, the monkey looked pretty darn cute.  I am still embarrassed about all the seams because although in most cases, I started out with the right stitches, I inevitably lost the correct stitch along the way and just kept going however I could figure out how to get it done.  But, no matter what, it was handmade with love by me for my friend.  So, I decided to put my initials on monkey's butt to fully complete my first sewing project.

Monkey needs tender care.  His tail, ears and arms may fall off if he is not handled carefully.  But, I hope he provides some fun and comfort in the baby's future.



Sock Monkey's Profile



Finished Sock Monkey