what goes on in my backyard...

well not alot going on here! Just working and living! :) Melibelle is still going strong! :) I'm LOVE LOVE LOVING spring and everything being green and blooming! It just makes me so happy when I look outside and see all things green! :) Especially looking through our back windows and seeing the green blet behind our house actually being green! During the winter it gets so depressing to even open the living room windows... so I usually don't.

Speaking of the backyard I was out there the other day with the puppies and I noticed A TON of ladybugs in this one spot of grass... So this may shock you but I had to go get my camera! Something about the little red polka dot gal's & fella's in the green grass screamed TAKE MY PHOTO! So I did! But as I got closer I noticed I was taking ladybug porn! So I tried to do the responsible thing and flick them apart so I wasn't going down that dark road of lady bug porn but no such luck. That ladybug man was on a mission! So I went down the dark road...



And then I took a nonporn ladybug photo!


In other news I took a fun little road trip with Chalna and Colin with destination bluebonnet land in mind! :) We had a wonderful time! Colin even called me Aunt Melissa... which of course melted my heart!! :) While Colin and Momma made a trip back to the car I snapped a few landscapes... enjoy!!

BUSY!

Wow! I under estimated how hard working in Tyler part time would be! I'm way tired all the time so far! And I've all the sudden had this steady stream of Melibelle customers so that's keeping me busy in all the other time I'm not at work! I'm sure the one or two readers of this blog are Melibelle FB fans so You've seen some of the new stuff! :)

Just wanted to stop in and say Hi! Nothing fun or exciting happening in my life! Just work, Melibelle, travel rinse & repeat! Hope you all( and by all I mean you Diana my 1 reader that's left) are having a wonderful week! :)

and b/c I can't do this without a pic... here's a photo from New Year's eve we went to ICE at Gaylord with Shannon & Amy! We all had a blast!

I'm talking about blah, blah, blah

So the nothing exciting is just that! Nothing exciting! I spent most of yesterday and today with some horrible stomach pains. Sat am I woke up and spent 2 hours sure that I was about to die... I have NEVER experienced anything like it. At one point I told D he was going to have to take me to the hospital and I didn't care about the cost... since I currently don't have insurance it would have been an EXPENSIVE trip! Luckily I did go, I called Nurse Joe and after he had me do a few test to make sure it wasn't my appendix he tells me I won't like this but he thinks it's gas. Yes I said gas. I'm like NO FREAKING WAY gas could be this painful. But turns out it's more than likely what it was. Then I find out from a few other friends and family that they've experienced gas like that, one of whom did have her hubby take her to the hospital. So I didn't feel quite as stupid!!!! More than likely I'm getting IBS which my madre has and thinking back over the years I've had smaller less painful but similar things happen like this so IBS is probably in my future! I tell ya I will do ANYTHING to NEVER EVER experience pain like that again!!!!

In other news I've taken on a new adventure! Beginning last week I started working at my Dad's company to start learning all the accounting and bookkeeping. For years he's wanted me to do so, the timing just never worked out. So this helps him and me, i get a job and he has me learning the accounting side of his company! May or may not be long term, time will tell! And for now I will be living in Tyler part time!! Another benefit for me! :)

Spring time is teasing us... it's been sunny and wonderful outside all weekend!! D was tempted and gave in last weekend and bought a tree to replace our charlie brown tree.. you may remember it from this post. And it pretty much still looks the same!! It just never grew... it wasn't dead but wasn't growing in thickness or height. So it came out yesterday and the new tree went in! I was feeling to bad to get into but I did take a few photos with my phone

that's Charlie Brown in the wheel barrow getting ready to go be dumped in the woods


And here's the new tree!! I can't wait for it to bloom... it's in the pear family of trees so it should bloom pretty white flowers before the leaves come in!


Our bradford in the back is already blooming and it's so pretty


Hope yall' all have a great week! I get to babysit Reese on Wed so I will for sure have a great week!! :)

Something old, Something new

So another long time has passed... guess this might be the norm! sorry! But here's my update for now! I've been spending alit of time in Tyler lately.

My Mamaw Joy passed away; this was the closest I've EVER been to death. I was in the room when she passed away and I sat in her room at hospice for 4 days prior, and the day before that at her nursing home. I sat there and watched her calling to her dead sister. It was very hard and very easy all at the same time. Simply I knew I wouldn't want to be alone in that moment so I just sat even when I was really scared and didn't want to be there alone I did. Once Lins rescued me and sat with me for a few hours and I was never more happy to see her face. Other times my Dad would be there, other times my Step-mom would be there, other times my Aunt Diann, other times friends of Mamaw Joy and our family. But it was in the time I was alone that I have never been so scared in my recent memories. She passed away very peacefully and I was so thankful for that. Then it was VERY hard, then I went with my Dad, Aunt, & Step-mom to the funeral home. There we started to be us again, but slightly different. As with other deaths I've experienced in my life it doesn't seem real at first. Then at the funeral home she just looked asleep, just like my Granddaddy. Then we spent the next two days with family and man did that feel good. As everyone has grown up and became adults most the cousins are spread out and we don't get to see alot of each other. So that was really nice to see them all and visit. And got to know some family I previously did not know and think I made a good friend or two out of it.

As a result of all that I've been sent on a new quest... documenting my families history and making sure it doesn't get lost. No shock to you but this journey will start with photos! Aunt Diann was kind enough to give me alot of Mama Joy's photos to scan so I've been on a scanning spree!! So here's one of the something old... here's a few pics from Mamaw Joy's photos

this picture was her church in the town she was born in Loco, OK around 1930... you can see she wrote Joy and pointed to herself in the top row


I'm not sure when this was taken but It's one of my fav of Mamaw Joy as a young lady


This is my Papa Jack who passed some years back... I'd never seen a picture of him this young


This is Mamaw Joy & Papa Jack... not sure what year and if they where dating here or married but man don't they look like two crazy kids in love? Not sure when they got divorced... I never remember them being married but they look amazing and in love here... wish I could have known that!

and the young Mamaw Joy & Papa Jack again


Her most recent picture I have scanned... Aunt Diann let me have the ring she's wearing in this photo. I love it


Now for the something new part!! So in my last post I showed you us building a sofa table... well drum roll please... the finish product!




Then for the second something new, I was so Happy with the way the sofa table turned out I felt inspired and confident and with our new washer and dryers we had alot of extra room in our laundry room so I decided I could wing a table with my own plans in my head!! While there were a few bumps along the way, I'm OH so happy with the results!! It's no grand piece of furniture but it's VERY functional and it fits perfectly!! So I'm proud! :)


Now for the second and third something old... You all know I'm into quilting! And you also know that from this post,my Nanny's dad, my Great-Granddad's quilt are a great source of inspiration for me. Well when I was home last week Nanny was in the giving mood and gave me a real treasure!!! It's a quilt that my Granddaddy's mom made the quilt top from Tobacco sacks around 1930. Sadly she passed before finishing a bunch of quilts and Nanny had her Dad quilt some of them... so I have a quilt that my Great Grandmother from one side sewed the top and my great grandfather from the other side quilted! How special is that!! I'm just smitten by this little quilt! Of course it will never be used but I will be putting it on display when I get my quilt stand made! Here she is...

and a close up of the front and back


The other thing that she finally gave up was a table cloth my great-grandmother on Dad's, Mom's side(AKA Grandma Ham), made when him and my mom got married! She'd been saving it all these years in her cedar chest for me! While it's not my house style I still ADORE it!! Of course we would NEVER EVER eat on it... it sure looks pretty on my table!! I just couldn't wait and tried it on my table tonight! It needs to be cleaned and ironed but I'm scared to take it anywhere! After-all it's been folded in a cedar chest for 22 years or so give it a break!! :)


Here is only one of two photos I have with Grandma Ham and myself... I was about 3 months old here. Just think those same hands holding mine here cross-stitch the table cloth that is now on my table. Just something SO amazing about that... this is why I want to make things with my hands for those I love!

I've failed you again blog...

However you did get a face lift yesterday!! :) this is my apology gift!! hehe! I've been taking a break from all things electronic and just chillin... a vacation from electronics if you will! And I never got around to those Christmas pictures I promised... our Christmas wasn't the best this year so i'm done with it! Sorry!

I've found this UBER kewl girl that's my new hero... Ana at Knock off Wood. She is girl power all the way!! She builds furniture and all by herself no hubby needed! :) She's started this blog to share free building plans with all of us for knock off's of popular stores such as Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Land of Nod and more! For us I could not have found her at a better time... you see we've (ok I've been) drooling over this console table at PB for months and months



but if you click on the picture you will see good ole' pottery barn wants $499.99 for this little lovely! Well that's just not gonna happen I mean come on PB... it's just a little ole' console table! D and I had already decided we could build is and where gonna wing it when I found Ana!! Can you hear the angels singing and see the light? Ok well I did when I found her web site! You see she had plans for the coffee table in this very same collection with promise to post the console table plans soon!! So I waited and not to long after that promise up went the plans for my beloved table! So One weekend D and I headed to Lowe's to get the lumber and supplies needed!

the supplies


We're off to start the building process! This being thine first piece of furniture either of us had built we where slow! and of course I had to document it all... here are some picture from during the process!

D getting to play with his toy he bought himself with his Christmas gift cards!




Aren't I stylin'?!?!?!?! Ok people we chose to do this during the freaky weird freezing cold weather we had... we were excited about our project ok and couldn't wait for the warmer weather!


The stain is still drying so you will have to wait for the finished product but I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO happy with the final product!! It's far from perfect but we learned alot and had a good time doing it together! And for the rest of our life we will have this nice piece of furniture! Every time we look at it in our home I know we will both feel proud and think we made that!!!

And we will for sure be doing some more building!! IT was so much fun and so cool that we can make our own furniture! And Ana points out that even the PB $499 table uses plywood where they can and just uses real wood on the finished side of the product. So we have something that looks just like their's but is real wood all the way through!

My house is almost all done

being Christmas'd up and I can't wait to share with you!!! It will be soon!! :) Stay tuned!! :)

I'm truly sorry blog

You've been so neglected and abused. You must have felt so lonely and scared. I will TRY not to let so much time pass next time.

I've been busy... so sue me! Besides if your on FB and follow my other blog you know most about me and what I've been up to!

Here's a funny story then I have to get back to it...
Yesterday I stepped out on the back porch to let the rug rats out, I'm standing in the doorway waiting impatiently for them to finish. When I see something move out of the corner of my eye to the right of me... (this next part pretty much all happened in slow motion) I turn my head to the wall and about 10 inches away from head is the BIGGEST SPIDER I'VE EVER SEEN. (side note we have some big spiders at our house thanks to the woods... but this was like the momma of all spiders) I was pretty much frozen for about a half a second then I'm pretty sure in one swift move I jumped off the patio into the yard (which was kinda far). As I'm yelling profanity and freaking out... if anyone was watching they got a great laugh! So then I'm standing in the yard, both the dogs at my side staring at me like I'm crazy, thinking well crap... how am I gonna get back inside! Clearly I'm not walking back through that doorway... it could jump on me and kill me. So I stood in the middle of my back yard pondering other options... after about 5 min i have NONE. All the other doors are locked and I have no keys. Another 5 min goes by as I try and build up my courage to run back through that door way... I finally scoop Bitties up (cause she's the world's slowest dog if I want her to move) and tell Sophie HURRY. So we all made it safely inside... no spider followed or attacked us!

You think it's over here... hahahahahahaha sadly no. I then realize CRAP it's only 3:00 and Daniel won't be home until late tonight, yet the dogs will still need to go out no doubt. So we went to the front yard ALL STUPID DAY. around 6:00 I got brave and decided to see if my little friend was still there... he was. So D finally comes home and I make him go outside to kill the stupid thing... of course he's gone. Sneaky little bastard.

Still going... so this morning I was half awake when D came to get the dogs to feed them and let them out. Mostly b/c Sophie (the world's most impatient dog when it comes to feeding time) was banging her house door... I was happy! I hear the door open and close too fast for them have all to gone out. I wait, D opens the door and says HE'S BACK AND YOU WHERE RIGHT HE'S HUGE!!!! See when I called D yesterday to tell him of the horrific situation he was like oh cmon' Melissa he can't be that big. So I of course sit straight up in bed and say "SEEEEEEE I told you he was huge... what are doing still in here go kill him"

Moral's of the story 1. I will not casually stand in the back door way ANYMORE!
2. I'm right... D should learn to listen to me more!

Ok Back to pictures!! :)