byLGD Cuties - Sun Soaked

Another deal for a Cutie! Go HERE to view more pictures and details, it's an awesome deal for you byLGD Cuties!

byLGD Cuties - Aqua Daisies Bracelet

It's just for a Cutie! I hope you love this sweet deal! It's for all your followers out there! Go HERE for more details and pictures.

Jim Gaffigan on Camping

Jim Gaffigan is by FAR our favorite stand-up comedian, and we do love a few of them. For some reason, he's just very similar to our own humor and finds the humor in the every day things. I would love to live in his brain for a few minutes, I bet it would be a nice ride. In the coming days, I'm going to post some of my favorite clips and since I recently went camping and had the best time, I figured it would be a great place to start.

This is a riot. :) I love the part where he says that the reason he didn't go camping as a kid was because his parents loved him. lol The best stuff! Hilarious! So click below and have a laugh.

Oh, if you're wondering why I'm still up at 1:30 in the morning, it's because I can't sleep. lol!! Well duh! What else did you think? Sheesh.

My day...

Okay. So.

I'm tired. Really tired.

Turns out that I what everyone else has and I'm just miserable. My chest is tight. I hate that feeling and then when I go to cough, ohhhh the pain. (not good. not good at all.) My head is pounding. And don't get me started on how my body is aching. ::sigh::

Jeff spent about an hour cleaning the girls room (and the throw-up on the *white* carpet). He had lots of fun doing that (no seriously, he did. lol okay, maybe it wasn't that much fun... lol).

I took some antibiotics this afternoon and went school supply shopping. I know. You must think I'm nuts. Actually, when I drove into the WalMart parking lot, I began to get dizzy and just kept on going. Then I find out that the a/c isn't working in Wally's. What? What are they thinking? Ugh! I should have left but I was already in there and it seemed too far of a walk back to the car. Lazy. Anyway, I got everything but the tissues and can someone tell me why they need two boxes at the beginning of the school year? And why do they need ten glue sticks? Isn't that a bit much? And Clorox wipes? Why do they "get" to use Clorox wipes when the generics are good enough for me? Heck. I don't even buy them because the Clorox in a spray bottle at the Dollar Store is way cheaper and it works just fine. Whatever. I also don't like the fact that they say NOT to put your child's name on ANY of the items because they 'share' them. This is something I absolutely detest. Why is it MY responsibility to buy for the children who don't have parents who bring this stuff in? I would feel SO much better if I brought in my child's things and then the school ask for a donation for those children who may go without. I'm on a soapbox. I know. Enough.

Oh, just so you know... hand sanitizer is $2.67 at Walmart and it's a DOLLAR at the DOLLAR STORE and the amount is the SAME. Yeah. Just a bit of info for ya there. :) I ended up leaving exhausted and spending the rest of my day in bed. Ugh! I overdid it obviously, but since the next county over begins school on Tuesday, I didn't want to try and do this over the weekend. That didn't sound pleasant at all.

Right now he went downstairs to make me a lime-aid thing that he drinks a lot. It's like homemade lemonade only with limes. Pretty tasty indeed. I'm waiting for him to bring it to me...I'm in my water bed, typing this and watching some crazy show about mouthy teenagers who go to live with strict parents on CMT.

Tomorrow I'm going to finish some things and get them mailed off. Believe it or not, I made two bracelets today and finished two custom pieces... that's all I managed to do before I got light-headed and came to bed. I hope that by tomorrow afternoon I'll be back to my normal self.

Thank for all the wonderful emails. :) They made my day.

Four kids & a husband {with strep throat}.

My children are sick. And my husband. (which is FAR worse as he is a horrible sick person) Everyone came down with strep throat, something we've not had in forever, but I'm guessing Jeff got it first because he threw up on the way to his Mom's last weekend, and then all the girls followed suit. ::sigh:: We took Natalie and Nathaniel to the doctor's on Monday, they both had it, and the little girls were at camp. My big plans for getting things done fell to the wayside since I was tending to sick children. ::sigh:: Isn't it always the way? lol

I was planning to take a picture of all three of the girls and Jeff sacked out asleep in our bed, but Jeff was in boxers and didn't think THAT would be very appropriate so I decided no. lol It was a sad sight though, all of them completely out, with Charlie and Lola in the background, happily singing some merry tune and all my kids missing it. ::sigh:: (we're big fans of C and L)

Today should be better. They've been on antibiotics for half a day, so I'm hoping it will kick in here soon. Our doc said 24 hours of antibiotics and they should start to feeling better... wish me luck. I do not want it. Where's the lysol? I need to spay it again.

Everything from the wave sold, but orders can be taken. I won't be working the second week of August too much because the kids are all going back to school (12th) and the activities are crazy that week. However, the following week will be awesome since they will ALL be in school again. lol My work schedule can resume to it's normal pace, yay!

Thanks so much for all the lovely emails this week, they've really been wonderful.

The Climb Bracelet from byLGD

The bracelets are in my Shoppe, so definitely go check them out, but here's a snapshot of them, below. As I was working on this, one of the sets sold, The Climb, but reorders can be taken.
Thanks for looking!

To view more details about The Climb Bracelet, go HERE.


To view more details about The Climb Earrings, go HERE.

A new wave!

To view more details of Sweet Dream, click HERE.
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To view more details of Something Good {this way comes}, go HERE.

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To view more details about Something Good {this way comes} earrings, go HERE.

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To view more details about Champagne Wishes, go HERE.

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To view more about Simple Garden of Love bracelet, go HERE.

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Someone save me!

Does it ever go my way? You know what? It usually doesn't. lol I'm just sayin'. It rarely goes in the direction I want it to go, and by "it" I mean life in general. You think I'm kidding, I'm sure but here's how it's lookin'...

• I still have loads of work to do and the days are clicking by right in front of me and it's still only Monday.
• Jeff took the older two to the doctor's today to have Natalie looked at (she's sick) and Nathaniel's middle-school check-up. He brings them both back with strep throat. Nice. How did that happen? Natalie's just arrived and Nathaniel didn't get home until Saturday, so how did they find the time to both get strep? Very curious...
• We found out the kids teachers today. All my girls have had the same first grade teacher and for some reason this year (!!!) Nadine will get the brand new teacher on the block, and by "new", I mean she graduated last year. ::sigh:: I'm sure she'll be a wonderful teacher, all giddy about her new job and everything, but I still would rather have the teacher that A: I know, and B: has had all her kinks worked out since she's been teaching forever.
• Nicole has a new teacher too, which is fine, but only one of her friends is in the classroom and all the other kids are in another class, so she's going to shed tears over this... ::sigh:: there's nothing I can do at this point since they've been posted... however, the only silver lining (if you can call it that) is that Natalie did get the teacher I wanted her to have, except NONE of her friends are in the class with her. Not a one. She cried when I told her. Poor thing. I know just how she feels too, because that happened to me when I was in elementary school. Oh well. We'll move on and be fine...I hope. lol
• Several packages have been returned due to being undelivered and two I forgot to print labels for and did not mail. The Summer has been difficult with juggling family and work. ::sigh:: The stress mounts.
• My vendor for charms is out-of-stock on some of my favorite charms. Grrr.
• People continue to email me about where I buy my findings and I've decided that it makes me annoyed so I'm not going to tell them anymore. If I can find them, they can too, it just takes hours of digging through sites and being diligent to write the site down when you find something you love...come back to it later, type thing. Oh, and I'm not talking about customers...nope, I'm talking about beaders who start emails with, "Laurie! I love your things, they're so beautiful. I can't buy any right now, but would you mind telling me where you get your crystals?" and then they never sign their name. What's with that? If you're willing to go out on a limb and ask me the question about where I buy things, can't you at least end it with your NAME? Ugh. Nice.

There's more stuff that I can complain about but that's enough for now. After all, isn't this supposed to be a chipper blog? lol Okay here's a few...

• I was able to snag some awesome deals at The Children's Place for the kids so they would have some new things to go back to school in.
• My Mom was able to snag even bigger deals because she spent more money than I did. lol Lots more money than I did...lol
• I do not have strep throat...(yet?)
• I have two working hands.
• My husband loves me despite my many flaws.
• My children still like to hang with me during the day.
• My Chico's size three jeans still fit. And if you know what a size three is in "chico's terms" then you'll know that's not a tiny size like the size MOON wears, but is actually a larger size. Yes. I am thankful that they still fit, albeit a little tight, they still fit. Shut up. I can still be thankful!
• School begins soon and I can go back to my regularly scheduled programming, work-wise.

Still stuff up my sleeve... I'll bring it out soon.

The week ahead...

Hubby and girls are on their way back from their three-day trip to Dayton, they had a nice time he said. Swimming in Grandma's pool is always fun, the girls love the diving board. I did too when I was their age, now I'm not so sure. lol It's odd, this is the first Summer that I haven't gotten in the water yet. Sad. I'm really hoping that I'll get myself to the pool at least ONE day, maybe next week.

This week however, I'm going to be swamped, finishing up orders and trying to do a "inventory clear out" for my upcoming bead show on Saturday. I'll be heading with all four kids this time, back to Ohio. I love bead shows but it's really nice to take MONEY with you when you go, so it's the perfect time to have a clear-out sale (and you can help with that!). I'll have everything marked way down, usually for what I have in the item, just to move it along and/or give someone the opportunity of buying my things when they ordinarily wouldn't. My goal is to have my sale items ready by Wednesday and I do not think this is a lofty goal (despite what you're thinking! yes. yes. I can hear your mind turning, saying, "oh she'll never get it all done! she'll never have time!"---ahhhh yes, true true, but TODAY, you little smarty pants, my two youngest girls are going to CAMP!! Ha! Gotcha! You didn't know that now, did ya!? So, from about 2p today until 3p Tuesday, I will have only TWO children here and well, that should give me enough time! So there! Ha!) I will of course, send out an email to you beforehand.

Okay folks, I need to go. Lots to do today, getting the girls out the door and they need a shower before they go, because why? Oh. Yes. BECAUSE (!!!) From the looks of their uncombed hair and um, filthy faces, that they did not take one of these things called "showers" when they went to camp last year. So, I'm fixing that problem this year. At least the first day they'll be clean, after that, I can't promise you anything. lol They do go swimming. That's cleaning right? According to Nathaniel, who just camp back from his week-long trip to Missouri thinks it is, because he only wore one outfit the entire time he was gone. (I know. This is really gross, isn't it? He did wear both pairs of swim trunks though, so all is not lost on his hygiene.) Nathaniel didn't wash his hair either and I can attest to the fact that it smelled exactly like mildew when he stuck his head in my face last night before taking a shower. Um? Nice smell, there uh, BOY. Ahhh to be a boy. (never!) He really had an awesome trip and they're going back again next year!

You have a great Sunday! I do have some surprises up my sleeve. Be on the look out. :)

Oooooo! Projects! {in the words of Cher Horowitz}

I'm taking a break from work and decided to post one of my Summer projects (finally). This was actually done before the Scentsy party, so that's been what? A month ago? Something like that. lol Anyway, I hope you'll love my thriftiness. (yes. that's a word. shut up.) I'm so loving myself right now for being more eager to walk into a GoodWill (although this project has nothing to do with GW) and to find her inner SprayPaintingSelf.

It begins with this.
Any project requires a refreshment of some kind,
my vice is freshly brewed slightly-sweet iced tea.

You need spray paint.
In my case, I needed lots and lots of spray paint.

Normally, I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kinda gal,
(aka: instant gratification overrules proper planning and thus short-cuts are taken)

But!!! After reading my favorite blog (Thrifty Decor Chick), I find that she rarely takes such

short-cuts and generally does an excellent job every. single. time. That's why her projects are so awesome. Yeah. Seriously.

I learned a handy tip about spray paint. Use primer. (Can you see the gray cans? Those are primer cans. I'm so not slacking on this job.) But the cool thing is, you can use basic ol' WalMart paint for $1.00 a can and then purchase a more expensive brand for your final coat. My "expensive" brand was Krylon and it was $3.96.

Do you have one of these? They're quite handy if you're using a lot of spray paint.
Spray painting can be murder on your pointer finger and since I use my hands for "real" work
I figured it would be smart (I know!) to get one of these here guns fer my "project".

$3 bucks at Lowes.

My Mom bought a table and chairs set in the early seventies from good ol' Swallens Department Store. She thinks they were $88 dollars for a table and four chairs. When she bought them they were yellow. They have gone through several changes since. Sometime in the mid-eighties, she gave the set to my brother and his wife. Maribeth (my SIL) put purple covers on them and then later changed them to the pink plaid (that you see above).

They always looked nice wherever they were... until they got to my house. That's when they went to pot. lol The table had been through a lot of years and wear and tear, and didn't last very long here. It went to the curb a couple years ago. ::sigh:: I'm sure I could have fixed it, now that I'm in this restoration mood, but alas it's gone and nothing I can do about that now. Spilled milk.

So, the above photo is how they were given to me. They are cute, no? :) They're very sturdy chairs and the wrought iron is so thick, that they would never bend even if a fat large person like me sits in them.

This is the underneath. I used Jeff's drill to remove the screws and began removing the staples with a knife (slowly). Then I added batting to the top of the padding to make it a bit fluffier. I know, how handy am I?! (this was my mother's idea, lol, i can't take credit)

This is the chair pre-primer.

I am so glad that I used primer (I've never done that before...although it's been a very long time since I spray-painted anything of real worth). The primer made the black spray paint go on so nicely, well worth it.

Here's the chair with the black paint.
Talk about a major overhaul. I brought them into the year 2009, no?

And, here's the final result with the new fabric on them. I put new stoppers on the bottoms of their legs so they wouldn't scratch my floors. I am so thrilled with how they turned out!

The fabric is called "Linen Like" from Joann's Fabric and it's a cherry red with raised cream shimmery flowers. Moon was with me when I bought it and the fabric was screaming my name for me to buy her. What? You don't believe me? Whaa? Well, ask Moon. She knows. She was there. She heard it. It was jumping all over the place for me to take her home... so I did.

Then I found out I needed MORE fabric and called my Mom and made her run to her Joann's (she didn't literally run, be she got there in about twenty minutes. no seriously. she did.). I totallllly lucked out because she got me another few yards and now I have enough to make some accent pillows for my sofa. Yippeee!!! Cheap thrills. I know. Issues.

I also made a valance too, you can see it below...
easy peasy...

Here's my living room...

You can see where I accented red on the square wall blocks. Love them.
Target end cap. $2.37 each.

Cute ceramic elephant with trunk up. Tuesday Morning. $1.19
(originally $29.99)

If you're wondering what's behind my sofa, it's a long piece that Jeff made for me.
The idea came from HERE. Btw, the lamp shade isn't purple. It's brown. Just looks purple.

This is my dining room with a ton of chairs and three leaves in the table. Ready for people. lol
Normally I have no leaves in it and only dining room chairs, so ignore the extras.

I do not like clutter. I do not like little bits of this and that all over the place. I like clean walls and things that have purpose (or things that look good...I like that too! lol). I used to have all sorts of crap stuff sitting on tables, tons of stuff to dust. Then came kids and tiny fingers and lots of things got broken and I realized very quickly that these were just things and really? Did I need all this stuff here? No. So out they went.
I suppose you could say I'm a minimalist? I suppose.

Okay, here's the valance.

Dark day, sorry about the poor lighting in this photo. lol But you can see the valance at the top...
I used batting over the wood fixture that Jeff made for me (two years ago). Thankfully,
I finally got around to doing something with it. Yeah. We've only lived here for five years.
That's not a long time, right? lol

More red accents on the lamps.
Value City on clearance. $9.99 each.

The "live/laugh/love" thing won't be there for long. I found a black wooden piece of writing in script that says, "Friends" and I'm going to paint it red and put it there. :) Can't wait!

Okay folks. That's the end of my first redo. I am very proud. I truly lurve (!!!) how my chairs came out. I use them as "extras" for my dining room. Two are on the sides of my buffet and two are on the blank wall (after we removed the three leaves from the table, mind you). My house isn't terribly large but with everything being so clean, it looks even bigger. :) LURVE it!!

I hope you enjoyed it. I sure did!

Sunday Best Bracelet from byLGD

To view the details of this piece, click HERE.

Narnia from byLGD

To view the details of this piece, click HERE.

Can we reach Sixty by Sunday?

Hello Folks!

In the last month, my followers have grown (yay! followers!! ::claps all around:: ::pounds to chest::) and I wanted to do a reward! So, I got to thinking, what about trying to get to Sixty followers by Sunday? That's two days time, can we do it? If so, someone will win a beautiful pair of earrings. :) Spread the word by telling your friends.


They'll be my favorite beads--boro's, so if you're not a follower, hurry up! :) The race is on!I'm also going to have specials just for the byLGD Cuties, that will begin after my Summer Splash is over. So sign up now!

If you're unsure of how to be a follower, just click the "follow" box right underneath my photo (on the right). It's super easy and free (duh!). So get on board!

Friday is here. Ahhhh.

Hi hi hi!

This morning I'm packing the girls up and Jeff is taking them to Dayton for the night, probably going to King's Island this evening and if the weather permits, tomorrow too. Or, they can always swim in Grandma's pool, which is pretty awesome, ya know. A while back, while I was at home working, Jeff set up a stream so I could watch them in "live" mode from our house. It was pretty cool. :) I got to "be there" from far away, it was like SKYPE. Nathaniel has a Skype account but I don't have one yet, I think I need one. Soon. I'll add it to my ever-growing list. lol

My day will be quiet (after everyone leaves) and I'll begin working. I'm looking forward to it. On my iPod I have Voyager, third book of the Outlander series, and I'm going to take a break from it for a bit. I sooo love that series but I'm really trying to make it "go the distance" because once it's over, it's over. I know, that sounds stupid, but that's just how I roll. lol No judging! So, what am I going to start now? The Time Traveler's Wife (!!!). I cannot wait. The movie comes out August 14th and I definitely want to see it, Rachel McAdams is a favorite but can we discuss Eric Bana? Oh My Word. He is a total hunky poo. He's from The Hulk. Awesomeness. :) So. Yeah. That's what I's gonna be's readin' today. :)

Alrighty folks, I'm out. I have to get my peeps on the road. It's a short trip, they'll be back tomorrow. :) Nathaniel comes back tomorrow too! Yay!

I am so glad it's Friday. Ahhhhh..... a new wave coming. :)

Here's the video from the movie...

The Twisted Sifter was AWESOME!

Isn't it the nicest thing when your sweet friend, who just happens to be a professional photographer, brings her camera (!!!) to your child's birthday party? Yeah. I know. That's just the best. Totally. Moon took this of Deanie today and I love it. :) It's so her. Notice her tattoo of the American Flag (left over from a fourth-of-July event, mind you). lol I wonder if it will ever wash off?

The day was fantastic and if you want to see the photos, go HERE. :) I took all of them (except the first and the last one... lol) and I'm sorry for the blur. I don't know what was going on with my hands, probably too much movement? Um. Yeah. lol

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! She had a great day and everyone else did too! If you ever want to do a really awesome party for girls or even gals, definitely check out The Twisted Sifter, Pam Birt (owner) was absolutely fantastic!!!

Nadine turns Six. {Happy Birthday Sweetie}

By far my favorite photo ever taken of my littlest crew member, who we affectionately call, Deanie Beans, or "Beans" for short. She's also probably our funniest child and always has something to say about the goings on in the house. For instance, most recently she was asked if she wanted a bath?

She replies, "nope, not today"

"How come?"

"I don't want to sit in my own filth."

Um? What?

"My own filth, I don't want to sit in it."

Where did you hear such a thing?

"Oh, from iCarly."

Oh. I see.

Or the time when she giggled about "tooting" and was so glad that she didn't have a Texas Wedgie, where "steam" comes out of your tooshie. lol I still don't know how that came about but it sure was funny. She keeps us going and I love that about her.

Today she turns six. Six! I cannot believe it. Where in the world did the years go? Time marches on, sad as it is, it does. I love the changes in her body but I miss this little girl. Moon took these photos a while back but they still remain my favorites.

Today we will have a party at 3p, filled with fun and laughter. I can't wait! I'm getting ready to rush out the door to buy helium balloons and some fresh flowers for the table. Everyone needs fresh flowers on their birthday, especially baby pink carnations. :)

You all have a wonderful day! I'll see you on the flip side with pictures!

Deanie's almost 6 years old!

This is how I spent my time last night (starting at 7p and finishing around 1a) and about two hours this morning. I'm finally finished! We're all set for Nadine's Sixth Birthday party tomorrow (at 3p). I can't wait! I have extra large cupcakes with sprinkles and The Twisted Sifter is coming to help them decorate cakes and learn different flute techniques. They will have a blast! Ten little girls with icing... lol Shouldn't be messy at ALL! (ha!)

The aprons can be found at Hobby Lobby for about 3 bucks each and just pick what kind of fabric you like. I used cupcake fabric (of course, what did you expect! surely you didn't think I'd pick out unicorns or pixie's, right? shudder the thought!) and did the letters from scratch. That was the hardest part, really, making the letters. I just free-handed my own "font script" and then put the fabric on heat-n-bond and cut them out, ironed them on and then did an applique stitch on top. :) Easy peasy japaneasy! I added little ribbons at the top corners (sewed them so they won't come off) and made a large pocket with two places to put "cooking things". They're perfect for little hands. :) I love how they turned out. Of course, they're not perfect but they sure are cute!

Natalie's is a different fabric print, she wanted something with more of an "older" look. Crazy girl. I think someone needs to tell her she's nine. lol! Her friend Peyton is coming too and I did her's the same as Nat's. By the way, the ribbons look black in this photo but they're not, they're deep purple and match the purple in the stripey fabric. :)

They're certainly nothing fancy but I think that they're going to be a great keepsake. Don't you?

So few hours...

Another photo from our Cumberland Falls getaway.

As I type this on this very dark and rainy day, my younger two girls are still in jammies and giggling to the joys of Charlie and Lola's antics on television. They're so loud that I can barely hear myself think...let along talk on the phone. Their laughter is contagious. Add in two tiny puppies and you've got loads of furry fun. lol

I will be back soon with pictures and other interesting things... but right now, I'm literally annoyed with the few hours I have to complete my tasks.

Also, a huge huge huge thank you for all of you who've been so patient with your custom orders. It's been difficult for me to find all the hours in the day with kids here and laundry and housework and and and... but I'm getting there. I haven't taken on anymore custom work lately until I get this taken care of. Phew. My brain can't take it! lol

My bead show is coming up (August 1 and 2) and you know what that means? Yup. My pre-bead-show-sale! I always have one! lol It allows me to clear out inventory and bring in new, fun things that I discover on the rows and rows of tables. Ahhh the joys of a bead show! It's bliss!

Okay, I'm going to go...I do (honest!) have some things to post but I have been really working on these custom orders and shoppe orders... when you get that email from me, you'll know when they're coming!

Have a great day...wherever you are!