I got a wonderful swap in the mail from NTDOLLS... Nancy!!! Oh what wonderful goodies I received!!! Happy day!!! The most adorable make do pumpkin head... Just too dang cute!!! Candles that are to die for smell!!! How fitting since Cranberry is one of my favorites!!! Also a bag of wonderful potpourri rosehips and cinnamon sticks with cranberry refresher oil!! Buttons....love buttons... a great tablet that I can never have enough of a wooden bobbin and beautiful laces and trims!!! Just wonderful!!!! Many many thanks Nancy. I cant wait to do another swap on our board!!!!

It's official... Shane is an Airmen!!! What a wonderful time I had spending with him this last weekend!! Thursday we got the first glimpse of him at the Airman's run and then had to wait a couple hours til the Coin Ceremony. Very moving to hear the Airmen recite the Airman's Creed and receive their coins. Then it was time for me to make my way down to see him for the first time in 8 1/2 weeks. Oh the tears flowed when I grabbed on to him and hugged!!! He did so well... he sniffled and fought back the tears. I was so dang PROUD of him I could burst!! He looks so good in uniform!! Shane has never been a bad kid or one that caused troubles...but boy could you tell the difference in him. He isn't a boy anymore but a MAN. Everything he says is "yes mam, or sir" Its unreal how grown up he is!! Of course the goofy side is still there but not in public....lol While there we were finally able to get his college credits straightened out and he was able to sew that first stripe on his arm!!! Of course that meant having stripes sewn on all his clothing,,,, $80.00 later!! But its a pay raise and heck college he hated paid off!!!

Mom, Rhonda, JoAnn and Chris all flew in on Friday for the actual graduation ceremony. Shane was so happy to have them all there and if he didn't say it I know he mentioned it to me several times!! Poor mom walked her legs off!! Had some great food while down there but there is no way in HELL I would ever want to move there!!! HOT and DIRTY!! ick!!!Now Shane will stay at Lackland AFB for another 14 weeks, if all goes well with tests and training he will graduate Security Forces and come home finally for 10 days at least!! I am counting down the days to see him again especially back at home. The hardest thing was having to say good-bye and I am still having my moments when I talk about him. One nice thing is he has his cell phone and can call in the evenings. Once he can get online he will be able to use his new laptop and life won't be so boring for him in the evenings.So now I am back home and reality must take over again. I have got to sew!! I see on my moms blog that Christmas is 121 days away!! That's right around the corner!! I looked out in the yard yesterday and the weeds are quite happy and the grass is long..UGH that's a day of work in itself! I have all the walls to paint in the house in the worst way and a wedding that needs to be planned.... What is time? I don't know I'm not using it wisely and need to get my act together!! So after a few errands today I am sewing on two Santa's...if I can get them done then I will work in the yard tomorrow and maybe somehow I will get my long list of things to do DONE!!!It's good to be home and my cats missed me!! Brandy won't seem to leave me alone now. I think she thinks I'm leaving her again!! I miss Shane but I know he is safe and eating well. Until he comes home I will start checking off the days on the calendar once again.......

The Day has came!!! We are off to Portland and have an early flight out tomorrow morning for San Antonio!! Hard to believe Shane is almost finished with BMT and graduating. It feels like forever since I have seen him!! I have had quite a few phone calls this last week, some short and some very long. He has been very talkative!! I plan to take lots of photos so my blog may be full of them....hopefully will update while on the trip. OH I am so excited!!!
I have been pretty busy sewing and did quite well on Santa's this last week. Last night I listed Galinda on a 5 day auction since I am leaving town. So much to do when we return from our trip!! I thought I would have a bunch of dolls stockpiled and ready to list in the fall... LOL NOT!!! Why do I have these high hopes and then not follow through with them?? So obviously I will have to put my foot down and sew and quit procrastinating!! But then there's all the weeds that need to be pulled before the rains start, and then all that painting that needs to be done inside the house!! Not to mention the wedding, Duck football games and Maui...OH such a busy schedule coming up!!! I need a clone!!! Anyways... I have so much to do here I need to get off this computer... Procrastinating is one of my crutches in life... I haven't packed yet!!! We leave in a couple hours!!! Wish me luck on my trip!!!

I'm back and blogging again!!! Well at least today I am...LOL I don't even know where to begin so much has happened since I last decided to write. I had girls trip in CA, and my sister and Brother in law arrived last weekend. Things have been going very quickly here and seems a day starts and ends without much of a blink of an eye. So much I want and or need to get done...and the days are over before I begin.
While Rhonda and Brian visited we went to the ocean twice. The girls loved searching for shells and we had two of the most beautiful days here to be at the ocean!! The heart in the sand is a jellyfish in the perfect shape of a heart... SO COOL!!!! Rhonda and I also took the girls to the Wildlife Safari park south of Bandon. I had never been there and was nice but a little spendy. A little of everything at the park and sometimes quite stinky!!! Regardless it was a nice but short visit. I hope they enjoyed themselves as it seemed we never stopped moving while they were here.
Tuesday is finally the day Steve and I leave for San Antonio!!! I cant begin to write how excited I am to see Shane again! He left on June 23rd and it feels like a lifetime ago. All the letters and the few phone calls have been very positive. He seems to have no time to miss home or his things/friends. New friends have been made through BMT and he sounds happy. I do catch the occasional he can't wait to see me comments.... Of course that makes me happy!! We will arrive in San Antonio on Wednesday. Early Thursday morning is the Airmens run and coin ceremony. We will get to spend time with him on base the rest of the afternoon. Friday is graduation day!! Mom and Rhonda,Chris and JoAnn are all flying in to see him graduate. He is just going to burst I have no doubt!! I am bringing my box of Puffs with Lotion!! Friday after the ceremony he will get a town pass and again on Saturday. He wants to visit Sea World so will hopefully get to do so. Sunday will be church with him and base liberty unless he gets honors then he will be able to have another town pass. Regardless I have to say goodbye to him on Sunday evening. We leave Monday evening but he starts tech school Monday morning and will be there for another 13 weeks. SAD!!! One positive note... he will have his new cell phone and the new computer we bought him for graduation!!! He is going to be so happy!!! Oh yeah and his xbox 360 and games... he said he cant live without those!! MEN!!!
I am sewing again and will list two more dolls today on ebay....I will blog again once I get them on there!!! Til then.....

Nice way to wake up this morning!!! Shane called!!! Although a very short but brief talk all is going well. He sounded upbeat and is looking forward to BEAST next week. Whew..its a countdown now and I cannot wait to get to San Antonio!!! Seems the AF needs Shane's transcripts also from College of the Redwoods... if all goes well they will move him up to an E2 now and he will get more pay etc. Shane said he has written a couple letters since the gas chamber last Tuesday but as of yet I have not received them...so on pins and needles to read!!!
I guess it was fun, that's all he said about it.

I actually have been sewing again!!! Nice to get my sewing machine back from mom and dad!!! Wow you don't know what you miss until its gone!!! I had bought another machine thinking my PFaff wasn't going to be repaired... but Dad got it fixed and it is so nice to have back!!! So I have set up two machines on my table... nice to not have to switch the threading as often.

Two Santa's have been listed on ebay I know its early for Santa's but they are truly my favorite thing to make so more will be coming!! Today I should finish off one of my fall dolls and get listed. Trying to be productive here!!!

Another week down.. thankfully!!! 25 more days and I am off to San Antonio to see Shane!! The days can't go fast enough now. I had quite a surprise today. I was busy sewing and heard the doorbell. Looked out the window and saw Seth's blue truck outside ( Seth is Laresa's boyfriend) I went to the door and I could see the nervous look on his face. I asked him to come in, he took his shoes off and we went upstairs. He sits down and I am like thinking... OH you aren't here to tell me you are breaking up with her?? I cant deal with it!! BUT... quite the opposite. Seth asked me if he could marry my daughter... I about came out of my skin!!! I am very very happy!!! He told me he had the ring bought and wanted to ask her tonight after she got off work. OH I wanted to tell everyone!!! But I kept it to myself. Later they both showed up to show off her ring... Beautiful!!... She is just beaming from ear to ear in shock!!! He took her out to the ocean on a lookout cliff and showed her the driftwood that spelled out Will You Marry Me? in the sand. Seth said her eyes looked like a deer in headlights... totally shocked!!! Her comment was NO WAY,, YOUR KIDDING ME!! SERIOUSLY?? LOL. He was so scared to do it!!! So for all the crappy things that have been happening I hope this is the start of new beginnings...

What a whirlwind roller coaster I have been on... CA and back and my mind is so full of things whirling around. It's got me on the edge. I have been wanting to go to the ocean for days now and today I just did it regardless of the weather. It was 53 degrees out and I took off the flip flops put on a jacket and walked along the beach. Listening to my music and just taking in all that was around me... TRUE HAPPINESS. I have so many emotions inside and I find such solace visiting the ocean to just sit and think.
I have heard from Shane a few times through letters this last week. Everything is going very, very well.... he actually has never complained about the heat, the yelling or not being home. So many of the guys are crying and wanting to go home so I take comfort in knowing he is adjusting to BMT. Shane says the food is AWESOME!!! Here is a list of his typical day of eating for him... Breakfast, 4 Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, 2 hashbrown patties, an omelet, biscuit with cherries on top and an apple. Lunch, 4 Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, and whatever is there for lunch, Dinner, 4 Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and whatever is on the dinner line. He has hot dogs, roast beef, chicken, onion rings and spaghetti...He is eating so that's always a good sign!!! I've never heard him eat so much in my life!! 27 more days and I will be in San Antonio to see him graduate!!! Buying the Puffs ahead of time cuz there is no doubt I will be an emotional wreck.
My creativity has been pretty much non existent... sad to say when I've got others asking for things and I cant seem to focus. Funny how there are certain things that can consume your thoughts and nothing else seems to matter...... but a reality check .. I need to get busy!! OH and for those inquiring minds that wondered what happened with the front door.... I came back from CA and it Steve had paid someone to paint it.... GLAD IT WASN'T ME DOING IT!!! Miracles do happen...