Remember This?

Remember This?

And This?

And This?

And This?

Well, obviously I'm not very good at the demo thing, am I? I got all those squares put together, trimmed them all down to a neat 5 1/2", and set them on the dresser in my guest room / Studio / Mom Cave. And there they sat until this weekend -- when I'd had more than enough of Simply Pink and needed a break.

I didn't take pictures as I went along this time, but I can tell you what I did. I stitched squares into rows, with a 1 3/4" piece of black fabric in between. My rows were set with 17 blocks in one row and then two rows each of 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 3 and 1. That 17-block row will sit diagonally across the top of a queen-size bed. The shorter rows work out in order from there.

The rows were also set with 1 3/4" sashing in between. And yes, these are all set on point.

The trouble with designing a quilt is that there are no patterns or directions. Instead, there is a big, bad pile of black fabric mistakes in my Mom Cave.

Once the rows were set, I went in and set a solid black triangle in the space at the end of the row. The triangles are cut from 7.25-inch squares. I should have used 7.5-inch squares, but without a pattern, it was all guess-work.

After that was done, I went back and stitched a 1 3/4" strip around the outside -- as much to stablilize those triangles as anything else.

Now... I'm not sure where to go next. IDEAS? I have 10 inches of border to work with. I'm considering doing pinwheels set irregularly in the border. Kind of more organized chaos. What do you think???

Set Your Tivo...

Another Update!: Here's Jennifer Reyna's story about the story! www.click2houston.com/bumpertobumperblog/index.html

UPDATE: Here's the link to our story on Click 2 Houston!
www.click2houston.com/video/22307392/index.html

What a Whirlwind! Things have been moving so fast, my head is spinning!

Last Tuesday, I got a call from Jennifer Reyna at Channel 2 (NBC) in Houston! They wanted to do a story on Team Tiara and our quilts calendar! AND they wanted visuals! YIKES!

Wednesday, I got busy cutting out fabric so I could sew some on Thursday. However, Thursday morning, I got THE CALL from school.

BOTH the girls were in the nurse's office -- throwing up. In fact, they had started getting sick within about a minute and 30 seconds of each other. LOVELY.

I brought them home, set up a infirmary upstairs, and got to sewing. You can get a lot done when your kids' being sick forces you to be upstairs all day!

Fast-forward to this week....

Both the girls are well. Thank goodness.

Jennifer came out yesterday and shot the footage for the news segment. We all had a blast -- I'm hoping she had as much fun as we did!

It's going to air today at 4:00 or 6:00 -- we aren't sure which. So set your Tivo!!! Here are a few pix from the "Big Event."

We gave a shout-out to Frank Billingsley from the tent!




I didn't have enough of the brown to do the back of this little quilt, so I pieced in strips of the pink. I like how it turned out....

I'm not all that thrilled with how the front turned out, but it'll do.

These are two other quilt tops I threw together to show....

But the best story of the week has nothing to do with being on the news.... The best story is about how people bound by a common cause can go to extraordinary measures.

As I was beginning to launch this quilt campaign, I contacted two bloggers whose posts I read regularly. Both are quilters. One apparently didn't think this was her cup of tea. The other? She's amazing.

Dana has a blog called "Old Red Barn Co." Last year, she did a quilt-along and I linked to it for those of you wanting to learn to quilt. I learned a lot from that quilt-along. I can finally mitre corners, and that's a very big deal to me.

Dana didn't just agree to help with this project -- she put the word out to a Flickr group that she runs, and they have donated enough blocks to make THREE quilts for our calendar and auction! THREE!!! I took some time on Tuesday to look through the pictures of their quilt blocks. They are simply beautiful. And their comments were beautiful. And it warms my heart to think of the love they're putting into those blocks -- and how badly they all want to help us find a CURE!

Calling all Quilter Friends!

Team Tiara needs your help with a major fundraiser for 2010! Please help spread the word that we need 25 pink quilts by March 31. I know that's a significant number, but I also know we can do it with your help!

To find out more, please check out our team website at http://www.teamtiara.net/.

I Haven't Posted in Awhile....

I've been busy with more important things.

Like subbing.

Making soup.

Dripping the faucets.

Posting my bra color on Facebook.

That's right. Iwas one of them millions of women (and a scary number of men) who "flashed" the Facebook world yesterday.

I was wearing Pink, and I let the world know. Would you expect anything less?

One of those emails had hit my inbox -- actually about 50 versions of the same email. It was like a giant recipe or sock or dishtowel chain-letter, only this one wouldn't cost me a dime. Flashing is Free, you know.

So I flashed my friends and family.

This game being played, and it continued into today with a few late-comers to the party, was originally set up to raise awareness about breast cancer. Or at least that's what the email said. But I immediately thought about my friend Ann who actually has breast cancer and who was more than sick of the color pink by the time October 31 rolled around.

We all know about breast cancer. Awareness isn't the problem. If you're anywhere in my realm, you know I'm gonna make sure you know all about it. That you'd better check those chi-chi's and get those mammograms -- or you're gonna be up for a Momma-sized lecture.

The let-down wasn't in the posting -- I had a blast watching my friends' responses. Nude. Pink. Lavender. Beige. White. Commando. (Commando!) Black with Sequins and Feathers. (Oh my!)

The let-down was in the email. That this really cool firestorm of color and creativity was all fluff. No call to action. No clamoring for a CURE. No directions for donating.

As someone who works so very hard all year to raise money for breast cancer research, that was the "Oh Man!" part! How much could that game have accomplished if it'd just contained a donation address for the 3-Day? In a flash it spread like wildfire across Facebook. Everyone was in on it. What a missed opportunity!

But you know what? I believe in second chances. Here's your chance.

If you posted your colors yesterday, and so many of you did.... If you Flashed your friends and family.... If you got Flashed..... If you want your boobies to keep sporting their colors....

Then please, please go to www.the3day.org/goto/teamtiara and make a donation to the team member of your choice. Our goal is to raise $250,000 for breast cancer research this year. A quarter of a million. That's a huge goal, and we can't do it on November 1.

It's so easy. You can set up payments, did you know that? Your donation is 100% tax-deductible. You can donate online. Over the phone. By check.

You know what else? You could sign up to walk with us this year. It's all right there. www.the3day.org/goto/teamtiara.

You think it was fun flashing your friends on Facebook? You should try it in real life. And there's no better place than the 3-Day. A place where bras aren't just for wearing. A place where cars and tents and signs are all decorated with bras more creative and crafty than the ones flashed on Facebook.

I promise... If you thought yesterday was fun, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Come join us. Help us with a donation. Forward this post. Please do something. Help us take action, so we'll all have colors to post for a very long time to come.

Happy New Year from the Land of Wii....

Okay. Where life in general is concerned I don't have many qualms about airing it all out right here.

But I can't right now. What I can tell you is that I should be buying lottery tickets left and right. The odds of all the things happening to us that have happened to us in the last week have got to be slim to none -- and Slim left town.

This has been by far the most stressful week of our year.

Our New Years 2009 Black Eyed Peas ran out one week too early. I should have had one more spoonful last year.

Yes, there were bright spots to our Holiday. Christmas Eve in Waxahachie with snow flying through the air was nothing but magical. Snow Ice Cream for breakfast the morning after Christmas was an all-new experience for our girls. And watching the Sound of Music piled on the couch with Abs and Kait is one of those "Mary Memories" I will treasure forever in my heart.

Through our travels the Wii Fund grew and grew to a point where Biggsy was able to make the purchase Tuesday morning. A Wii and Wii Fit. We were set -- until he got on the balance board to "set up" his Wii Fit profile.

Oh Boy.

It said he needed to lose 30 pounds.

It must be joking.

My man doesn't have 30 pounds to lose.

When I saw what it was telling him, I decided there was NO WAY I was getting on that thing in public.

Our week continued its downhill slide. By the time I accidentally deleted 6 years of my children's pictures off our new computer at 6:00 last night, I didn't have much more to give. I was numb.

Don't worry. Biggsy got them back about 5 hours later -- but those 5 hours were pretty much sheer hell for me.

In the meantime, like I said, I was numb.

So by the time 11:30 rolled around, the boys were all outside STILL shooting off fireworks, the kids were across the street doing whatever kids do, and I was facing down the Wii.

I logged on, got on that balance board and took it for a spin. Braced myself because if it thought Biggsy needed to lose 30 pounds, there was no telling what I was about to hear.

And it gauged my weight surprisingly low. In the normal range. Knowing full well it was "off" by several pounds, I smiled real big for the first time all week. And started playing games. Had a blast playing the penguin-eating-fishies game. My kind of fun.

Biggsy came in, and I proudly told him what it had said.

He informed me that I'd forgotten to add the carpet thingies under the balance board.

Oh Well. I could deal with "normal." I slept well last night.

This morning Biggsy took Abs and Kat to Denny's. While they were gone, I decided to slide around on the iceberg some more.

Uh-Huh.

I put the carpet thingies on the balance board.

Uh-Oh.

That blasted thing told me I'd gained 17.30 pounds overnight! And then it proceeded to lecture me on the dangers of late-night snacking!!!!!!

AND my Wii Mii got really fat really quick. How rude!!!

This is NOT what I signed up for!!

Merry Christmas from Jake!

Merry Christmas from Jake!

Howdy Y’all! This is Jake. I’m back! After my Christmas Card-writing Debut, I decided I like all this attention. So here goes…

2009 started off with a bang and lots of fireworks at the Baehren house. Aunt A’Lise met us at the Creek. She caught a fish; Kait fell in. John had business trips to China, Russia, the Netherlands, Argentina, South Korea, Buffalo, Dallas and a few points in between. Buc-ee’s moved into the neighborhood, and the girls have kept their Icee machine in business. I dug a lot of holes in the backyard. Kait on American Idol’s Bikini Girl: That number was probably taped to her, because if it was stapled it would have hurt! Aunt M’Lys and Aunt A’Lise joined us for Spring Break at the Creek. I chased jet-skis up and down all day long. Kait fell out of a tree and gashed her arm. One hair-raising drive and 17 stitches later, we breathed a sigh of relief over the realization of how very close it came to being a really big deal. The Scott family came to town, and Kait lost her first tooth! Overheard in Biggsville… Abbie: Kaitlyn, you’re really not that smart. Kait: Yes I am! Just ask me a question. Abbie: What’s 1000 plus 400? Kait: Okay. Another question. Abbie & Kait took gymnastics. I jumped on the trampoline. “That man did nothing but spread love.” Pa got a yellow lab puppy named Boomer, and we all fell in love immediately. We spent lots of time with the Owen kids and enjoyed introducing them to some of our favorite places. The Keith Kuties took the Pink Limo to Sub Training. We spent Memorial Day weekend at the Creek with the Bruins. D’Lyn got the Meatless Whataburger. Abbie: Kaitlyn thinks all the boys in her class are in love with her. Kait: No. Just three. Abbie’s 7-8 Girls’ Softball team, the Flames, only won one game all season – and then won the tournament! We wrapped Coach Scott’s house! Kait’s SweeTees T-ball team, also the Flames, were undefeated! Abbie made All-Stars, and then caught H1N1 the week of the Big Game. Hoedown Throwdown! We spent our vacation at the Creek. I chased jet-skis up and down all day. The girls caught redfish, trout, hardheads and sharks! They saw dolphins! My peeps went to Rockport with the Baehrens. They loved the Texas State Aquarium, and they saw George Strait’s house! Abbie & Kait went to soccer camp. John & D’Lyn spent a great day on Matagorda Bay with Captain Gene. D’Lyn out-fished John! I barked all night. John bought me my very own jet-ski to chase! The first time we took it out, somehow a plastic hose from a gas can “landed” in the tank. The second time we took it out, D’Lyn managed to run over the tow rope and wrap it around the impeller. The third time, we had a HUGE thunderstorm. That jet-ski was barely in the water enough for me to chase it up and down the Creek, but it was long enough for Abbie to learn to water-ski. I’m hoping for a better spring! Kait started 1st grade, and Abbie started 3rd grade. Several dear friends met us in Fluvanna for Opening Weekend. Abbie started Destination Imagination. Abbie & Kait got the flu vaccine. That weekend, Kait got the regular flu. Two weeks later, she got H1N1. Abbie’s 7-8 Girls’ Soccer Team, the Texas Bluebonnets, was undefeated and won the division and the tournament! They wrapped our house! Kait’s 6G team was undefeated, too! D’Lyn painted the Expedition pink. She swears it was an accident, but I think it’s kinda fishy considering she is all into pink. Team Tiara walked in the Breast Cancer 3-Day for the fourth time, and raised over $100,000! 2010 is going to be their 5th year, and their goal is to have 100 walkers on their team! I escaped and didn’t get home until eight hours later. Rumor has it John was already mentally landscaping the yard, and D’Lyn had her sights on a yellow lab puppy. Soccer in the cul-de-sac every evening! It snowed in Houston! John & Abbie built a volcano that spewed Big Red several feet in the air! Abbie got her ears pierced. We’re looking forward to Christmas in Waxahachie, followed by a trip to Fluvanna. Watch out deer, here we come!

We hope you had a great 2009 and are wishing you an even
better 2010! May God Bless You!
Love, Jake & Co.

This Child.

This Child now knows the value of a Chi. She now knows she can achieve the straight hair she has always wanted -- in just a matter of minutes.

This Child is growing up.

And as she does that, God is sending people my way who let me know that she is truly a Child of His.

Today a para from the Lifeskills class sat across from me from lunch. She shared with me how much she loves Abbie because This Child plays with her friends during recess. When she could be running all over the playground or hanging out with her other friends, Abbie chooses to entertain a few very special people. And this isn't news.... In Kindergarten she often chose to play with a little boy named Lionel who was in a walker.

This Child is truly a Child of God. I love it that she loves Jesus and lets that love shine!!!

You Missed Me! You Missed Me! Now You Gotta Kiss Me!

Okay. I know. BlogHer should give away a "World's Worst Blogger" award -- I'd be right in line.

I've been gone as a girl can get. I've had so many things I needed to write about, so many thoughts rattling around in my brain, that I couldn't wade through the muck enough to make that happen.

I have things going on in my life and around my life that just don't belong in the outside world. Not even for me.


But here's a glimpse....

I think it's ludicrous that Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize.

I wonder how many people who voted for Obama now regret that decision.

My dear mother-in-law deserves a big, huge pat on the back for meeting some significant goals and making some great triumphs in her life in the last few months. I ask that you praise her if you know her and pray for her even if you don't. I love her, I'm proud of her, and I'm basking in God's great goodness for her.

My sweet friend Ruthie is here in Houston visiting the Berzynski Clinic for treatment of her cancer. She still has a tumor the size of a honeydew melon, but yesterday they gave her one bright, gleaming hope. Just one -- that's all she needed. She now has a new lease on life and knows she's found a great place for treatment. What they do there is pretty neat -- treating cancer from the ground up -- not just attacking it with chemo. Just keep praying for her.

When you're not ready to air all your dirty laundry via the web, it's kinda difficult to know what to write. But what I can say is that I need your prayers for wisdom, judgement, and for God to give me the words I need to express what I need to. For those words to fall on open ears and a clean mind and to be taken to heart. And for action to follow.

Team Tiara already has 37 team members signed up for 2010. How cool is that??? We're about to close out 2009 with right at $100,000 raised. AND now we've got a huge start on '10!! So excited!

Yesterday was Volcano Day at school. It's pretty darn cool what you can accomplish with a 2-liter of Big Red and a pack of Mentos. Don't think I've seen that much fun in a while!

Last night was my annual cookie exchange.... Houseful of fun friends who REALLY know how to bake. Now to keep from gaining 20 lbs. between now and New Year's.

My Grandma went to be with Momma and Jesus last week. That was a story in itself. I pulled the girls out of school to go home for the funeral and the weekend. I waited to leave until 3:00, so Abs wouldn't miss her field trip. Well.... With an 8-hour drive north, that put us at the house at 11:00. The girls had gone quite willingly because while snow was a "maybe" for Houston, it was a "certainly" for West Texas. Ummmm..... We arrived with flakes falling and woke up to a dusting that looked like you had sprinkled a single snow cone over the entire home place. Strike one.

When they dug Grandma's grave, apparently someone had beat her to it. There was an unmarked grave there, with a pine box parked in her "spot." Even funnier was the fact that Grandma used to run the cemetary -- and had assigned herself that spot. So.... They quickly covered John Doe back up and buried Grandma a ways away.

The Obituary in the paper wasn't my favorite of all time, I have to say. You see, my Mom's Mom, my Grannie Herring, died in a car wreck when Momma was in college. So I never knew her. Before I was born, my Grandad married my Grandma. She was the only Grandma I ever had. And while most of the cousins called her Laverne, I called her Grandma.

In the paper, a big deal was made out of who were the "steps" and who was the "special" and we were all listed as step-grandchildren. I never thought of myself as such, and I have to admit I felt like I'd been demoted. Grandma didn't think of me that way, either. But such is life.

So... I know this is an insanely jumpy posting, but you're gonna have to deal with it.

Early Friday morning (before the funeral), I talked to Biggsy, who informed me that it was "snowing in Houston; expected to snow through the night; 3-6 inches by morning." Being as I'd already flunked the snow thing once, I decided to skip Saturday's football game and rush home to the snow. We left right after the burial, and made it to Gatesville about the time it stopped snowing in Houston. That's right. Strike two. The girls were PEEVED.

So... Saturday morning we got up and went to the Natural History Museum for Snow Day! The girls had a GREAT time. Mom had a GREAT time. AND Abbie got to pet a real, live reindeer that Santa brought with him. Santa wasn't so happy about that -- apparently the reindeer is hands-off. If Santa really knew my Abbie-girl, he would have known she wasn't going to hesitate to love on that reindeer.

If you're one of those people who has never seen a 6-Man Football game, or you're one of those people who loves 6-Man, this weekend is your chance to see a REALLY great game! My high school, Borden County, is playing Highland in the 6-Man State Championship. It's at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene on Saturday at 2:00. Highland is the school where Carla teaches and Callie cheers. Our family is also well-represented on the BHS side where Jon plays football. It's kinda crazy to think of Callie cheering against Jon. This really should be a fantastic game. Both teams are 14-0 and have 45'd many, many opponents along the way. BHS won their state semi-final game on Saturday 50-0 at the start of the 3rd quarter.

So that's what's been going on here. Hope you enjoyed the update!

Really???

Idiots.

You Interrupted Your Regularly-Scheduled Holiday Programming.....

... To wish me Happy Birthday. And you'll never know what that meant to me.

When you're born on Thanksgiving Day, your "Birthday" should come with a disclaimer. Where you might think people would think, "Oh. It's Thanksgiving. That means it's D'Lyn's birthday," they don't.

The vast majority of the world forgets your birthday.

Growing up, that wasn't the easiest thing to deal with. And in this post-Mom life I live, where I don't have Mom around to run interference for me, it's not always fun.

I remember the great lengths Mom would go to to make sure My Day was acknowledged. A cake, including my boyfriend of the hour in our holiday feast, making sure people were lined up to wish me Happy Birthday. But without her around, Biggsy has stepped up to the plate.

And oh, how he has stepped up. BUT I want to clarify for anyone out there. I'm NOT 40. YET.

What I've come to realize, though, is how very much I appreciate the people who do remember it's my birthday. The people who interrupt their regularly-scheduled holiday programming to help make my birthday a VERY BIG DEAL. The friends who brought me donuts and chai (just like I like it) to start my day off right. The sweet sister-in-law who made me a birthday cake just like I requested it. The relatives who called and sang -- sometimes off-key. The chick friends who sent me texts. The husband that didn't even blink when I wore my real, live tiara all day -- even to Thanksgiving lunch at the kin-folks.

And I have to say, a lot's been said lately about "Facebook Friends" not being "Real" friends. Whatever. I loved the notes they left me. That was pretty darn cool.

And I won't hold it against those of you who didn't step up to the plate. Or at least I'll try not to. I'm not perfect, you know.

Thank You!

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