Over Two Years! Say WHAAATTT???

It's been over two years since I posted? That's longer than Duck Dynasty has been on! (Just to give you an idea of what can happen in two years! SOOOO much has transpired,I don't know where to begin! It's late on on Sunday night or better yet, EARLY on Monday morning so I'll catch you up to date later. Feel free to comment and tell me what you'd like for me to write about. And especially, NAG me to write more often! In the mean time, have a painting kind of day! Debbo

Have a good day

Just stopping by to say I'm still alive and hope you've had a great day, no matter when you read this!

Hello, I'm Debbie and I'm Addicted to Blogs

Yes, I'm admitting it. I haven't been on MY blog because I can't quit perusing the OTHER blogs! OMG!!! It's like having one big decor magazine at your fingertips. I picked up a mag , at Wal Mart the other day, checked the price, $9.99!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't think so, scooter. And I loved the magazine, it had lots of goodies, but magazines wind up being given away or thrown away. My blog favorites, they're there forever and take up NO space. Watch it magazines, there is a "tipping" point for price. That's a buzz word used to describe where we will decide to not buy gas or change our habits, where it disturbs our life. $10.00 for a magazine, WAAAAYYY over the tipping point. Anyway, remember the magnetic board I made out of the Repeat Street cabinet door? I made one for my daughter in law. I included the ever popular before pic. EWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Art and 'nem

Martin's son, Art, has been here while he's on leave from duty in Afghanistan. He tells us he's never in danger. We ain't buying it, but it makes him feel good to say it, I guess. He's been having "Keenefests" all week. That's where all them Keenes get together and there are just as many opinions as there are people. I was looking at Art, he's so young, handsome, smart, polite, witty, all the things you'd love in a son. Then my mind lets me think of all the young, handsome, smart, polite and witty young men and women who have served our country and gave their lives. They were a valuable asset to society, and somehow, they just didn't get to finish their wonderful journey. It ain't fair, I tell you! Why can some slug have nine lives and our nation's finest are gunned down, step on an IED, give their life??? Then some place called a CHURCH decides that THEY know what God's thinking. I heard the daughter of Westwood Baptist Cult, uh, Church say that the ruling from the Supreme Court that allows them to continue to picket and terrorize soldier's funerals happened because it would not have happened if God had not wanted it to. But when asked about some Supreme court ruling about gays, well, that wasn't what God wanted. HUH????? You gotta love crazy people, they're every where. I see stuff all the time and tell Martin that God's getting ready to take us all home. Luckily, that woman doesn't know what God's thinking. He'll always be in control, that's Jesus' dad, not all Gods are created equal. Jesus' dad has a grip on us and He promised he'll never leave us or forsake us. I believe him. Well, that's about it. I'll make my next post a little lighter, but I had to let ya'll climb up on inside my head for a while. Come back, ya hear?

I Ain't As Good As I Once Was...

but I'm as good once, as I ever was. I wish I could go back and talk to little 6 year old Debbie Adams. And then I'd love to talk to her every year of her life. I had a great childhood, which proves the theory that life is just kinda hard, no matter how you grow up. I can remember a friend of mind saying that she was in her twenties before she realized that not everybody liked her. What was not to like? She was kind, considerate, compassionate,pretty, and then WHAM! Her husband at the time acted like he just hated her. Boy, can I relate. You go from Cinderella to the wicked step sister in nano seconds. Happened to me for my 30th birthday. What a tumultuous affair that was. My ego could have schlepped under a snake's belly. It had to be my fault, right? I coulda lost weight, I coulda cleaned the house more, I coulda coulda coulda?? NO! It took me a while and lots of reading to realize it had nothing to do with me and EVERYTHING to do with HIM! I bounced around like a bebe in a boxcar, trying to make sense of it all and trying not to experience that again. I know what! I'll just not date, not interact with a guy, nada, nothing, finite! That kept those awful things from happening to me for a good long while. I got to grow up, be my true self, get my kids reared. For the first time in my life, I knew who I was, confident to express what I liked and didn't like. No need for validation from the outside. Is that what maturity is, self validation? I think so. You can't give what you don't have. Then ol Marty came along. He liked who I was for who I was. No changing needed to please him. Sure, we had to do some tweaking along the way, but I always have known that he loves me for ME. Don't gotta be a size 2, partying, drinking, dancing on the pole kinda girl. He likes "Creative Debbie", he's still amazed that I reared two pretty fabulous kids who are fantastic adults with no dad in the picture and NO child support. He doesn't care if I don't cook, clean, or whoop it up in the bedroom. He loves 6 Year old Debbie and all the years combined inside me. I Yam what I Yam, as Popeye says, and I'm loved.

I Does What I Likes

When I was in the first grade, I had to stand in the corner (that was the punishment back then) three times. One time it was for singing during the prayer. Why did I do that? Mother said I would play outside and be so intent on what I was doing, I'd tinkle on myself. So I DO have some degree of concentration, but it definitely has to be something I love. Math? Blah blah blah. English and Art, that's what I love. I love to write, but not read. Right now, I'm doing what I love best, painting and helping others become painters too. You would be SOOOO surprised to find out how MANY kids LOVE to paint! Why can't that be the reward for hard work in math or science. I think I would have stepped up to the plate if that had been my reward. OR I would have been thinking about the painting too much, who knows? Anyhoo, I hope you like the before and after of an old cabinet door.

The carport

It's one of the few downsides of being crafty..junk. I gots lots of it. Only it's not junk to me, it's a project that is yet to be finished; well, let me be honest, yet to be started. But if you call me at 2:00AM, and your child needs a science project by 8:00AM, I'm your girl! I even "shop" in my own craft shop. I have ribbon, paint, hardware, patterns, both wood and paper, scrapbook stuff, brushes, blah blah blah. Then there's the carport. That's where all the wood lives that I use for ornaments, frames, etc. I have a shop out back with all my tools. (That's a WHOLE other story) Today was the day to clear out and pare down all the wood. In the mix are paint cans, and all kinds of things that got on the back burner during the winter. Uh and Christmas decorations and tree, Senior Chief Keene was supposed to already have all that outta there, aHEM!!! It's not all cleaned out, but I can at least pull my car in where it belongs! Anyhoo, great weather we've been having. I'm including some before and after pics so you can see that OCCASIONALLY I finish a project or two.

Kitchen Leftovers

So, you're thinking FOOD? Ah, not at my house. I'm a painter, not a cooker, chef, whatever. We just changed everything out in our kitchen. Totally changed the look with colors and very little expense. That's why I have leftovers! Didn't want to put my pretties in a yard sale! That big cup with a rooster on it, you can put a plant in it, it has a drainage hole in the bottom. The chef picture, it is 18x30! The mat was especially made by Joannie at Interior Attitudes. Maybe you'd like one of my leftovers! Just leave a comment, I'll get in touch with you and send an invoice from PayPal, then it's yours! Pick up at my house or arrange something else!

Maybe Just a Blogette Would Work

Yep, maybe I just do blogettes, that's my new word. Last blog was last July, that should tell you I'm not a daily blogger. I WANT to be, I NEED to be, but life gets in the way. I've also been under a computer curse. My awesome laptop that my son in law gave me crashed. I was just sick. I've used it for about 2 years and I love it. My smart techno savy son, Tate has me going again. Tate would be the father to Who Dat. Well, we know now that Who Dat was a GIRL!!!! Radley Ruth Nations, born on August 5! First girl in 40 years on our side of the family! I'll post the video of the family finding out she was a girl. Even if you don't know us, you'll laugh, cry, wet yourself, you get it.
Mikki and I have had some "girl" days, which I love so much! She inspires me to be better. I wish I was more like her....
That's Radley in the picture, now 6 months old and her big brother, Tucker who just turned 14. Lord, I LOVE that boy! And now, the Radster is right up there with him.
Since I've posted last, Radley was born, and my aunt passed away. What's that song about "and when I die and when I'm gone, they'll be one more child born to carry on" Blood, Sweat and Tears, I think. My aunt was 85 and some change and had only been on medication a few short months. Had never had high blood pressure, nothing, was healthy as horse. She was a cool person and if you met her, you would never believe she was 85. I'll miss her so much, already do.

My Little Neglected Blog

NO Excuses. I've just flat neglected my little blogspot. How ELSE are you supposed to know what's going on in my head? SOOO much has happened since my last post. Our grandbaby, affectionately named Who Dat, because we don't know what WHO DAT will be, is due next MONTH!! Has THAT time ever gone by fast. Can't wait to meet him/her! I won't care what it is, it will be our little baby!
Paintin' Sisters is a GREAT success! Jennifer and I just love what we're doing and so many people refer to it as "painting therapy"
We have a busy, busy July planned so we can make sure we have time off for these new grandbabies, her daughter is having Karter Layne in August too, if not before!
I'll try to check by here more often. Shucks, I'm on facebook all the time, I could scoot right over here and check in, couldn't I?
Catch ya later!

New Creation

Here is my holiday tree. There are two views, but they are of the same tree, just different decorations on them. See what ya think and let me know!

Who Dat talkin' bout beating dem Saints, who dat?

Whoa Nellie, The New Orleans Saints won today and are going to the Super Bowl! We Southerners had a dilemma, pull for our Mississippi son, Brett or our beloved Saints. I think it was 10-1 for the Who Dat boys! Brett already has a Super Bowl ring, so we don't feel AS bad for him, but it was hard to see him lose, he's such a competitor. One question, where was the Reggie Bush we saw last weekend? Man, he was on fire...maybe THAT will be the Regg that will show up in Miami, we can only hope. Well, have a good week and hug your loved ones!

Uh oh, I'm in trouble now....

My how the time has flown!!! In my defense, I tried to blog one day, and this crazy laptop cursor jumps all around while I type. I had a ton of stuff written and ba-ling, I hit a key and it ALL erased! I'll tell you the truth, I said some "wirty dords"! Uh huh, I sure did! ooooh I had all these thoughts down and was just a perkin' and shazaaammmmm, they wuz gone!

Let's see, a thought for today, nothing is as good OR bad as it seems beforehand. I'll let you ponder that for a while.
The Paintin Sisters are cranking up art party classes at my grandmother's house. We're calling them parties, because there is some instruction, but mostly we're going to have fun. Jennifer and I went to Easely Amused in Jackson for one of their soirees, but found that they go really really fast and there were 48 in our class! Our classes will be around 10-12 and we'll be embellishing our canvases and you'll actually learn some stuff so you can do it at home. We'll have a few supplies and some finished products if you're interested. Sign up so you can be a Paintin Sister Too!!!!

Hello Thursday, wait, goodbye Thursday

My life has been on warp speed this week. Do you have this problem? You plan something a month ahead, nothing is going on in your life for weeks. The day comes, forty things will have to be done that day! Jennifer and I have had a "girl" day planned since Christmas. My sweet daughter-in-law and my son gave me a gift certificate to Michael's. It has been burning my pocket, but we decided it would be better to wait until today. Fifty things have popped up in the last 24 hours to interfere, but we "got er done". We had such a great day, went to Apple Annie's, ate at Chik Fila, went to Michael's and then Hobby Lobby. I'm tired now, but what a great tired! My senses are on overload. I had sooooo much fun working on that gift certificate and I STILL have some left on it. I got things I had been wanting and just shopped like a mad woman. Ok, time to wind down! Catch y'all later! OH, and I lost another pound yesterday at Weight Watchers! Wooooooo hooooo!

Let's see, it's Sunday, then MONDAY, then.......

Whoa, NELLIE! Where did Monday go? So much for blogging every day. In my defense, I did clean a little yesterday and tried to stay off the computer. You can blow hours on this thing and it seems like minutes, then you wonder why your back is killing you, your eyes burn....Tomorrow is already weigh in day at Weight Watchers. I've tracked everyday, haven't gone over my points, done my walking all but one day. If I haven't lost weight, I've developed some good habits and that's what is all about anyway. Dr. Oz says it takes about two weeks to develop a habit. And you do that by just doing it. It seems insignificant at first, you can't imagine on that first day of walking that it's doing ANY good..then that third day, it's easier to lift those big ol legs, day four you have a little more pep in your step, the good food you're putting in your mouth doesn't give you indigestion, you're sleeping better, more energy during the day, you feel the poison going out of your system. Why oh why do we relapse in to OLD, hurtful habits? Your body rewards you when you do well and punishes you when you don't, simple as that. It DOES boil down to habits; Oz and Phil both say to not "white knuckle" it and just try to NOT do something, replace a bad habit with a good one. Keep doing it until it clicks in your head. LORD, PA LEEZE keep me focused on this concept. FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS, consistent FOCUS, let me keep my eye on the prize. I don't recognize pictures of me now, that's not who I am inside. I love before and after pictures, there are plenty of those for me, I'm looking forward to an afterward picture. I'm on the road right now, please don't let me take a detour! How many more chances do I have before my health takes a hit? Ok, so you pray for me on this one and I'll pray for you on your 2010 projects! Now go out there and make a difference today!

Posted by debbo at 9:09 AM 0 comments

And at midnight, her coach turned into a pumpkin....

I almost let Sunday get by without a post. Not the end of the world, but I MUST listen to the voices in my head and let them out.....
What a great Sunday it was. Brother Rich compared sin to a parasite, which needs a host to thrive. My, what a good host I've been in my lifetime! See without a host, the parasite dies. It needs the host to even exist......I'm going to try to be a less cordial host, see if those sin parasites will start dropping off. Of course, the "debil" will put somebody or something in my path, craft dude that he is. But I will look at it in a different way now.
Things are slow in the arts and crafts world right now, but I sure needed to back up, rest, and punt. I have many ideas brewing, so I'll be busy again soon.
I appreciate all the things you guys are saying about the blog. I love me some writing. Martin asked me the other night when he read it, "Where does all that come from?" I just sit down and start writing. Don't ask me to duplicate it, can't do that. It's a one shot deal. I know this because when I write my column and hit the wrong key and lose it, I CANNOT remember everything I wrote. That's why I love the blog, I can look back, and I can share it with YOU! Paige Johnson Smith, one of my pseudo daughters, has joined us, everybody tell Paige, "HI!"
Lisa Pounds Breazeale was encouraged by the blog about losing weight, so see, Diane, alot of people are depending on us!!!
Whatever you're working on for the new year, best of luck. If you get discouraged, turn on that favorite song that makes you happy, put it on fool blast and scream at the top of your lungs!!!! I'll be praying for you, even if I don't know who you are, God does! 2010 is the time, we're all gonna DO it, I just feel it. Have a good week! See ya tomorrow!

Who brought in all these spider webs?

After all this cold, it's been kinda fun to hunker down in the house, catching up on my reading, watching a little tv, spending time on the computer. Now, I'm beginning to notice the same things I did when I was recuperating from knee surgery. I see spiderwebs, not cobwebs, that sounds quaint, and cute, these are not cute! My spiders have built condos, subdivisions, they have governors, a congress, and foreign ambassadors. And then dust! Yikes! I'm not even going there, if I don't wear my glasses, I can't see that. I had a friend over the other day. Her grandson was crawling on my floor and before you could say Martha Stewart, he had a foreign object in his mouth! I forgot that you have to sweep EVERYDAY when babies are involved. (That's a joke, or not) We have our poodle, George. He's our vaccum cleaner. Normally, there's nothing on the floor except a torn up paper towel, what he does if can't find food in it............ Our youngest grandchild is almost 13, so I've forgotten about clean, clean. That and I'm not tidy belle anyway. My mother's house was surgically clean, maybe I rebelled. However, later in life, thanks to dementia, she quit cleaning at ALL! Maybe I'll go the other way, maybe I'll clean like a mad woman when I'm older, or not.......;-o

Going home and such

I added a playlist to the blog; if you don't want to listen just hit the stop button. But my first selection is Feels Like Home. I just love HOME. To me, that's my safe haven, where I KNOW I'm loved. The world can be so cruel. My mother always made sure that our home was safe and peaceful. I would get homesick just spending one night with my friends. I went to ocamp one year and I think I cried every day. My home is like that now. I am enjoying being at home and working from home. I have to sacrifice a little, but it is so worth it to not be in the middle of the chaos known as work. And not just the job I left, but any job. It's downright depressing, if you think about it. You have to eat when the job says eat, use the bathroom when the job says to, and on and on. And if you feel bad, you have to call and tell someone why you can't work and possibly make it sound worse to justify staying at home. Or if you just want a DAY, to piddle around the house or clean closets or catch up on housework, you feel compelled to SAY that you're sick so you can have a day off. You are sooooo valuable that they can't make it a day without you, but you know the truth, you're just another drop in the bucket. Well, I'm home and I AM the bucket and I can go to the bathroom whenever I want to and stay in there as long as I want to. I am somebody at home and I count. My prayer for today, Please Lord, help me make it in my little home business so I never HAVE to go work for someone else again. AMEN

Walkin and Stuff

A few years ago, (probably 15 by now) the local Junior Miss pageant people invited we "has beens" to get on stage and do dances and such. Luckily, they gave us some time to prepare and I was already on a walking program of three miles a day. I upped that to another 3 miles in the afternoon. I enjoyed it sooo much. Probably one of the fittest times in my life. I did well in the program, we had so much fun. I kept on walking and walking even when the weather got a little cold. But it came the time that it would rain so much or icy or whatever and I couldn 't. I would actually ride over to the park in my car and just look and cry, it meant THAT much to me. Warmer and better weather came, but I never got back in the groove like then.
I've bought, machines and the recumbent bike is one of the best. I look forward to riding it, SOMETIMES.
I've been going back to Weight Watchers. A number of my friends have had the surgery, but that's just not for me. I just believe there's a skinny girl in here trying to get out and we don't want to cut on HER!!
One of the greatest parts of the WW meetings are the tips and ideas from the other ladies.So one girl has almost made her goal and she got serious a few months back. Until you get serious and quit playing with ANY plan, you won't be successful. My friend uses the Leslie Sansone walking DVD. The weight is melting off! Comined with her excellent knowledge of the WW plan, and
FOLLOWING it, and her own special things that she invents using that knowledge, it is soooo working! There is a one mile walk up to a five mile walk dvd. Leslie uses light weights, round balls, but you dont't have to use them. I have some old barbell type weights, so I started the walk....Lost over FIVE lbs this week!!!!! I love it , and quess what? I LOOK FORWARD TO IT! YEAH, I'M BACK! So thanks Diane Stokes of Liberty, MS, you are inspiring us! THere's no excuse not to walk, now. Any time, no special equipment, clothes, nobody's watching ! Wish me luck, I want to inspire others like Diane has inspired me!

Shiver Me Timbers

Shiver me timbers! I'll let you Google what that means in pirate talk, it just seems to fit right now since the temp is going to be about 12 degrees tonight. All I can say good about that is, bye-bye mosquitoes, ticks, most fleas, and maybe some love bugs! Once again "back in the day" I don't remember mosquitoes being quite as numerous or aggressive.. There are some pretty determined ones, now. This cold and ice will be JUST enough to get down deep and convince these little buggers to either not show their faces or be nice when the visit. My honey bun and I are going to settle in, watch tv, drink hot chocolate and generally veg, until the temps get a little higher. I may get some painting done, too. Gosh I went to my grandson's soccer game last night, yes LAST NIGHT!!In addition to my regular clothes, I had on a hoodie, a wool coat,ear muffs, a throw, an insulated cover, a butane heater, so I made it fine though I felt sooo sorry for the players. They won, so it was all good. I want to give a shout out to Marjorie Smith, Lisa Pounds Breazeale, Jennifer Smith, Kevin Laird, and Amanda Sherman, who all follow this blog! I appreciate you all and spread the word! As Maury Povich says, "until next time" See, ya!