Cinco de mayo

Well as usual about this time each morning I start wondering what we are gonna have tonight for supper... and so this morning I sent David the following emial to work:

From Me:
Would you rather have meatloaf at home tonight (that has been frozen for almost a year)

Or

Go to Crazy Jose’s for Cinco de Mayo? (and we have a coupon to use) after all it only comes once a year…. :c)

His reply back to me
I am wondering what you want to do? :)

Sounds OK to me.

My reply back to him
Well if we do the Crazy Jose’s then it would all depend on you being home around 5:30 and leaving soon after so that we don’t have to wait for a table and also get home at a decent time to start the babies’ bed time routine… I think it may be more crowded tonight b/c it is 5/5 and everyone will be in the mood for Mexican… but we should be OK if we arrive before the dinner rush at 6pm.
Bonnie


so I guess it will all depend on if or not he can be home early tonight. :)

Here's wishing you a happy Cinco de mayo!

Love from Texas! ~bonnie

thinking out loud...

OK, so if you don't mind, I am gonna just type/think out loud here. ;c)


why do I even bother blogging??? I don't' get much quilting done these days... remember my Friendship Star blocks laid out on the guest bed from February ??? still there!


how come I can't make a commitment to blogging more often? I mean, I take the time to read my favorites every day as the kids play... why not commit to posting a little someitsommin before looking around blog land. ((this is my goal that I can't seem to get into action))

October 2006

when I first stared this blog - it was way back when... WHEN Nora ACTUALLY took a nap everyday! that seems like ages ago! oh how I wish for that time again.... I use to get a "break" each day to look forward to. BUT NOT ANYMORE!

Nora quit napping on me last year, and now the twins are here..


Olivia and Paul Thomas do nap, but hardly ever at the same time! urgh! :(


By the way, I should brag on Olivia here - she is the perfect napper/sleeper!!! Her naps are like clockwork, and long! and she has been sleeping all night since her 8th week!..........on the other hand, her brother is the exact opposite! Terrible napper! 20 minutes after you put him down, he is awake!! - and night time *!#%&&*#$% I have long forgotten what uninterrupted sleep is - it's been over a year since I slept for over 4 hours at a time! well, on Valentines' he did sleep all night for the 1st time.. aaaahhh how sweet ;) But he can't really help it, he has breathing troubles and we are looking forward to his first Birthday so that he can have his adenoids removed.

OK, so back to thinking......should I rename my blog? I don't really get to post during nap times anymore..? and if so, what shall I call it?


something to do with bingo? since my nickname is bingo bonnie and that is in the address line?

do I want to begin sharing more of my hostess activities from the HGTV quilter's board? That may be good. then swappers could tune in here for updates and photos.. they love photos!

speaking of HGTV board - we are on DAY 32 of the Fat Quarter Bingo!!! four groups of players are sitting on pins and needles!!! ((Pun intended hardy-har-HAR!)).........I crack my self up! :) We should have a blackout/cover all winner any day now... I'm calling 2 numbers each day.

and as of Tonight - Aaaa..ALLELUIA!!! My mini 9 patch Round 1 is completely swappitty, swap, SWAPPED!
Tonight around 11:45pm I FINISHED! all that is left is taping them all shut... but first I have to make a trip to the store as I always add a little something "extra" to all of my swappers packages. I like to be a fun hostess :)

and speaking of that swap - IT kicked my hostess BUT all over and then some!! I have never tackled anything so challenging! I have swapped noodles before (before twins) and that was always fun.. but this was different. Mainly b/c it was so large and also b/c this time I had more life interruptions and could just spend 3 days and be done.... plus there was the bingo going on too and all the packages arriving at the same time! I think round two will be better. :)

as far as my hostess experience goes -I am so glad i had some experience under my belt. With the noodles I use to host - my largest month of noodles I had 28 swappers send in 166 sets for a total of 996 noodles. That was when we did the Black/White theme.

.....I can't believe I don't have a black/white noodle photo to show you... sorry. I use to take photos of all of them laid out... but can't find where I saved that - that was last year...

well for ROUND 1 of our mini 9 patches (finish at 3") we had 50 participants sign up... but only 36 followed thru to swap (thank goodness!!!) b/c those 36 swappers sent in:

192 sets of 10/set blue mini 9 patches = 1920 blocks!!!

***AND ***

169 sets of 10/set BROWN mini 9 patches = 1690 blocks!!!


I'll do the math for you - that is 3610 blocks to swap out!!!!

I just for got to keep up with the hours, but if I had to guesstimate - I'd say I spent close to 18 hours collectively. On and off and on and off again... over the past month.

and I'll spare everyone the details of all the problems that occurred this month during my swapping... oh the stress! like i need more grey hairs...


but in the end it all worked out! :c) and I'm betting I get some return swappers again for Round 2 in June. We're doing it quarterly... currently, sign ups are closed at 35 swappers - but, I am taking names for wait list only......(((what was I thinking when I originally let the sign ups go to 50 people!!?^%$%&??)))

oh did I say June, yes June is the next deadline!!!! I better make announcement to my group that I plan to be on vacation to Kentucky for the 4th of July... so I will not be able to begin the swapping until after we return from our trip! note to self - tell them tomorrow!


I wonder if everyone will mail earlier? I wonder how many "super swappers" I'll have again...? (people who send in 100 blocks of each color)

WHEW! I'm just glad Round 1 is over and you can bet that I'll be skipping off to the post office either tomorrow **if my Best Friend can keep the kidos for me** or on Saturday for sure as I can leave all the kids at home with David while I go BY MYSELF! and I will have to treat myself to Dairy Queen to celebrate!


oh how I love ice cream -but that is a whole 'nother post! ;)


well, I guess that is about all for now - and I will leave you with a video at the bottom. I took it today just before time to leave to go pick up Nora from Preschool. The babies were at the dining room gate while I was in there working on the swap.


I know it is fun for you all to hear me as much as the babies - my accent? - grew up in Kentucky ;) Oh and Paul Thomas took his "FIRST STEPS" last night - not seen in this video but I wanted to share ;)


Thanks for letting me think out loud ;)


Love from Texas! ~bonnie

blog give aways

Have you heard about these? Do you ever enter them? or are you like me and most the time by the time you are browsing and catching up reading come across a blog give-a-way and as you read over it discover it is long gone.

well, this week I happened to stop by the Pat Sloan's blog and read her post about wanting to know What's in YOUR purse, briefcase, bag, or pocket? Her goal was to get 500 people to reply but only rounded up 145 comments.

I had to make a reply as my husband is always teasing me for wearing 1 of 2 of my favorite shorts all the time... "well, they have great pockets for my stuff I must have on me at all times!" I replied.

and what are my must haves you ask - here you go so you don't have to search thru the 145 comments :)

cell phone -b/c I can't always get to the house phone... plus i keep it on vibrate so not to wake a nursing baby... and close friends and dh can always reach me.
fingernail clippers - I have 30 fingers and 30 toes so nearly everyday at least one limb gets trimmed ;)
digital camera - don't want to miss capturing something fun!
Kleenex - for spit ups or nose blowing.
If I can remember to grab a band aid and keep in pocket that comes in handy too - b/c my 3 year old often needs to cover a booboo and if I have it with me it saves us a lot of time!

Those are the must haves everyday!

So now, I am so excited to haev won my very first blog-give-away :) :) :) I'll be sure and share a photo of the scrap bag of Nikki fabric when it arrives!

Love from Texas! ~bonnie

It's so crazy here - but I LOVE it! :)

Where have I been? What have I been doing??? Well let's just say - that I didn't post anything in March, b/c for me there was little to no time for blogging during my MARCH MADNESS Season here at my house. And I'm not talking basketball. ;)

I know that not so many bloggers really know me very well.. in fact i am willing to bet that i have more HGTV quilting members come take a look more often than the occasional blogger since I don't belong to any "blog rings."

Nevertheless,.... many of my online friends know me as "bingo~bonnie" and that's b/c I host a HUGE Fat Quarter Bingo each year on the HGTV board.

It takes me a few months to prepare for the super-dooper-blackout game. This year I began receiving packages in February and by game day (April 1st) I received just under 2400 FQs!~ Yes, you read that correct!! two-thousand, four hundred!!! actually the count is 2385 but I am gonna even it out to 2400 b/c it is easier that way ;)

This is our 3rd annual game. And for the first time, players were split into four groups each playing for a quarter of the jackpot! :) The first year everyone played together for 770 FQs.

Last year, everyone was split into two groups for 1600 FQs... and this year 2400!

Pictures... I know you are wondering where are the photos miss "bingo~bonnie"???? We wanna see your loot!

Well, for now, you will have to trust me - they are in the photo at the top of this post... all in those USPS crates and diaper boxes stuffed under my dining room table. I had to put them away for a while. After all, we won't have a winner/s for a few weeks - I only call 2 numbers per day. ;c)

For now, I have BIGGER and better things to work on - BIGGER??? what could be BIGGER than 2400 FQs????@!#@!

well, how about 3610 miniature 9 patch blocks???? Yep, call me crazy all right - I love a challenge... I am hosting a quarterly swap for mini 9 patches.. (finish at 3") I have so wanted to collect these and what better way to get a larger variety than a swap??? And I figure that I can get back into my swap hosting if I do it only 4 times a year - rather than the monthly noodles that I use to do before the twins were born. :)

However, the excitement really caught on for these mini cutie pies! We at one time had 50 swappers signed up but for various reasons several had to drop out b/c real life stuff is always more important than a swap :) and now I am so glad... b/c it is all a little overwhelming to me now. and i will be limiting future rounds to 35 or so swappers...

For round 1 we had 35 swappers contribute:

192 sets of 10 blue minis and

169 sets of 10 brown minis... = 3610 total minis!

and I do have photos to share of those... here is some of my progress:

Here are all of the packages..... from the swappers. and here we are at half way of preparing the packages - you would be surprised at how long it takes just to open everything up... all those baggies...

and now the swap has started! I even placed small packages in the windowsill behind the table.

and these are just the BLUEs! When I get these all swapped and bagged up I will only be half done and ready to get out the brownies... :)

OH what fun! so toddle-loo to all y'all... I have swapping to do! :) If anyone needs me I will be in the dining room for the next few days and nights! ;)

Love from Texas! ~bonnie

I love Friday!

OK, it's a week late but I still want to report in and show you what I got to spend the day doing last Friday!!! I loooooove Friday's!!! It's my "I don't have to leave the house day!"



After the morning breathing treatments both babies napped at the same time!!! Boy did I ever feel like the super mom! LOL During that time, Nora and I quietly spent some time in the sewing room!!!



This pink block was first on the agenda. :) My friend "ithinksew" from the HGTV quilters message board put out a call for donation blocks to be used to make quilts for 3 sisters who lost their mom to cancer...... and since I had used this pattern the week before for Quiltaholic's children's charity project and liked the pattern I decided to use it again. :)





All the fabric used, was from my FQ Stash - funny how you have to make due with what you have and end up using fabrics that you never thought would go together but in the end they do! :) I am very pleased with how the block turned out... and am very happy to make a contribution to the donation quilts. I even cut out for a 2nd block and may even get a third made before mailing in before the due date... but the 3rd will have to have different fabric as I used up every bit of the "Quilt for a Cure" fabric.




ok, WARNING, I am about to show you my quilting/guest room... which is totally UGLY compared to all the fantastic sewing areas I have seen on the internet...



Next I pulled out my Friendship Star Siggy Blocks from "Brandyquilter" swap she hosted back last fall. The board members are having their 2nd annual Circle of Friends Retreat next month and this year it is in HOUSTON!!! my own back yard basically!!! :c) I was so psyched when I found out last year where the 2008 location was going to be held! I even began prepping David that the babies would be 9 months old by then... and easier to handle... hint hint :)



Well, he more than agreed to make it our long weekend vacation so that I could go to the retreat... while he and the kids explored the zoo and other Houston happenings...but in December we had to make a very important decision concerning the health of the babies... therefore I was not able to send in my money by the deadline... too long to go into here... but let's just say that GOD plan is always best and we later found out that after a special review committee meeting with the insurance company, the twins got approved for their RSV monthly shots!!! That saves us nearly THREE GRAND!!! Yeahhhh!!!



So now without the high costs of the shots... (yeah) can "afford" to go... but the deadline has passed... however there is a waiting list for anyone who drops out between now and retreat... but where David works they are preparing for a union strike in MARCH of all times! and since he is salary, if the workers strike he will have to work mandatory 12 hour shifts 7 days a week... so I wouldn't be available to go to a retreat in March if they are on strike :( Another reason I dislike TX - the standby babysitters, uham, I mean grandparents, are toooo far away in KY! :P



so enough about all that - sorry so long winded...((roll eyes))

To cheer myself up I got out my blocks and put them on my design wall aka GUEST BED :P LOL. It is making me a little bit happier to see my HGTV board friends names on the blocks :)



and does anyone out there have one of these??? I found it on clearance at Joann's last year... for under $2.


Here is an example of how it works! Boy my mother sure could have used one of these when she was living! I don't know how many times we made fun of her for stretching out her arm and holding things out as far as she could so she could read them. Something we kids totally didn't understand - hold it out farther??? what!??? LOL
isn't it cool??? makes it look like I have a mini ironing board by my big one and there is only one in the room.....OK well that isn't true... there is a 2nd behind that chest folded up between the chest and the wall. I have a feeling this might have been my FIRST and LAST time to use it... Nora claimed it as "her looking glass" :P but it was so useful to make sure those gold squares were evenly placed about.

See, I WARNED you that my room was a mess... even when it is neat it still look like a mess. I so wish I had one of these portable design walls like Mary J bought last year... but honestly I don't know where I would stand it up.. and the twins are crawling and pulling up these days so it would be bound to get knocked over. So for now I guess the design wall/guest bed is the safest place. ;)

I don't know how long it will take me as it's been a week since I was in the sewing room... but as soon as I get these sewn together I am gonna order "the perfect" backing fabric for it!!! Look at this Bingo fabric I found on line!!! Perfect, b/c over on the HGTV board I am known as bingo~bonnie :c)

and speaking of bingo... yep, it's that time of year again!!! I am in the middle of hosting the 3rd annual HGTV Fat Quarter Bingo and hot dog, I am LOVIN' it!!!

We currently have over 1800 FQs pledged for this year's jackpot!!! I am so amazed!!!#@! 1st year we had 770, last year I threw in a handful of my own to make it an even 1600 and this year we are over 1800 and still g-r-o-w-i-n-g each and every week! Whoo knows how many we will have come game day on April 1st! ?? amazing hua? and the best part is - is that I get to receive it all here at my home package by package!!! Oh happy day!!! Going to the mail box becomes the highlight of my day and seeing and feeling all of this fabric is sew much fun!! Not to mention how I so enjoy the nerdyness of keeping a spreadsheet and tracking and organizing it all!!! I guess it takes me back to my working days, when I could see the progress I had made at the end of the day... where as now, as a stay@home mom, I feel like I take one step forward and 10 steps back at the end of the day...

The big question pending is, Where to store it all... last year I used the dining room table but this year it's off limits, b/c that is my perpetual laundry folding center and baby stuff catch all... you can bet i am saving all of my diaper boxes for shipping to the winners!

and to wrap this post up... since I'm in a reveal all mode... why not show you a quick pic of me and the twins! :P This was taken in front of Nora's bathroom mirror last Friday (my PJ/no makeup day)

While I am embarrassed at the clutter on the counter top.....I am most impressed that the mirror didn't show any fingerprints or smudges as it usually does! :P I'm guessng Clara (stepmom) windexed it while she was here last month :) b/c I know I didn't and I highly doubt David did either!

Paul Thomas to your left, Olivia on the right.

Well, I will close for now! Hope tomorrow I get to have another Fun Friday at home and will get some time in the sewing room if the kids cooperate!

Love from Texas!! ~bonnie