On the road again...

Tomorrow is the day!!!  We make the move from Texas to our summer home in Maine.  You may remember this new addition to the family - go to this link.  We'll be taking it up to Maine so that requires us to drive.  We're going to take our sweet time (that means 11 days) to make the journey.  Check back each day to learn about our progress and for your chance to win a prize from one of our great stops!

For the Love of SHOES!

I LOVE SHOES!!!  All kinds - especially cute ones - so when I married a man that could care less about shoes (and quite frankly has some pretty ugly ones - he knows - we joke about it) it nearly broke my heart.  Also, because he's a little shorter then I am it makes me uncomfortable to wear heels any more (but I LOVE heels).  I'm sure I'll get over it at some point like when I finally decided to embrace being tall when I was in college.  These things have not stopped me from owning a lot of shoes though.  In Texas we have a large walk-in closet.  It's probably the size of the entire "master" bedroom in Maine.  Because of this I have room to do this...

Yes, those are photos on the front.  How else are you going to know what's in the box?  Since I don't have the room to do this in Maine I decided to make shoe bags instead.  I'm frantically sewing them since we're heading to Maine at the end of this week.  Here's how you can make your own shoe bags.

Supplies:
Fabric
Eyelets
Sewing Machine
Cord Stops
Clear plastic (like see-through shower curtain liner)
String or rope (I used the left over cord from the kitchen curtains)

Fold the fabric in half and cut a 15" x 10.25" rectangle.  Fold it so you don't have to sew one of the sides.  Cut a piece of the clear plastic into a 4.25" x 6.25" rectangle.  Sew the clear plastic to the right side of the fabric, sewing only three of the sides and about 1" in on each side of the fourth side (preferably the top side).  Trick:  Use the paper backing from the clear plastic to sew it on otherwise your presser foot gets stuck.

With right sides together fold in half and sew two of the sides.

Using the tool in the package apply the eyelets on each side of one of the seams.

Finish the final edge by making a one inch casing.  Trick:  I put the string in before I sewed the top casing.  I liked the contrast of the white against the black.  If you're not into that then use coordinating thread.

Turn right side out and finish off by attaching the cord stops and tie a knot in the end of the rope (tying both ends of the rope together).  Take a photo of your shoes and print it off in a 4" x 6" size and slip it into the clear plastic.  Insert your favorite shoes and you're ready to go.

After trying the first one I decided it didn't make sense to put the photo at the top so I made a slight adjustment to the others I made.  I've finished 8 bags so far.  I just wish I could remember how many pairs of shoes I had up in Maine so I knew if I needed to make more.

These are also great if you travel because you can just toss the bag into your suitcase.  It protects your shoes and keeps your clothes clean.  I also use shoe bags when I'm out of town for work.  When you have to walk to the office it saves your shoes (the heels) if you wear flip flops instead during the commute.  So I throw my "real" shoes into my computer bag and change them out once I get to the office. 

If you make some for yourself I'd love to hear about it and see what adjustments you make.

Duke's Texas Life

Duke typically starts his day on my lap while I try to get some work done.

Windows are the perfect height for him to sit in my office and look for intruders.

"Where is that ball???"

Playing ball out back

Note the paw on the ball (what a tease).  Blanket is in the mouth because he shakes it and makes the ball go flying.  It's a good thing, belive me - that way he can play ball by himself.

Trying to force me to play ball by putting it in my hand while I'm trying to take his picture.

Too much ball playing so it's time for a nap under my desk.  Need to keep the ball close in case I move and want to play ball again.

Basking in the warm Spring sun - belive me he would be in the shade or inside if it was the Summer sun.

He can't wait for me to finish drinking whatever is in the bottle so he can have it.  If you sit it on the floor he'll purposely knock it over and run off with it.  Have to watch out in case you aren't done.

Licking his chops after some yummy dinner.

Playing with (or trying to get away from) his new friend Pete.

Trying out his new bed - little does he know that he will be riding in this during the drive to Maine.

Trying to keep everyone away from his treat.

I just can't stop laughing at this.  It was in my page-a-day calendar "The Argyle Sweater".

Lack of Motivation

So work took me to Tampa again this week.  I really like going to Tampa for work because it's a mild climate in the winter, easy to get to and easy to get around in (if you have a car).  But, at the same time, I hate going there.  I find it so hard to want to go into work when you wake up to views like this...

and see these waiting for you...

and people doing this...

but yet I do go into the office and get my work done. 

You may have heard the news about the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.  Flying back from Tampa we actually flew by it.  We were 30,000 some feet in the air and could actually see flames coming off the rig still and this was around 5:30 pm central.  Here are some quick pics I took from the plane.  It was really eerie!  The pictures aren't nearly as clear as they were with the naked eye.

Mail Fun!

So the other day the mailman actually came to the door - because he had a package for us!  The package contained this...

and this...

Who knew you could make Smores in the microwave???  I sure didn't, but am now a BIG fan.  Look how easy it is.

10 seconds - that's it!  Big thanks to my mother-in-law for sending this to us.  How did she know I liked gadgets like this???  It will go along great with these other gadgets I love...

The cookie press...

Popsicle makers...

ice cream sandwich maker...

icee maker...

The only thing missing from the Smore maker is a way to get the crunchy outside on the marshmellow (or fartfellow as I called them when I was little - no idea why) that you get by roasting them over a fire.  This will definitely do for the winter while I don't have a bon fire easily accessible.

Random

These are some random picutres I've taken recently.  Enjoy!

I was bored one day and Sean was busy doing homework so I snuck in and tried to take some pictures without him knowing - it didn't work.  I like this picture anyway.

I was driving behind this car one day - I couldn't pass up taking a picture of it.

Was in the mall in Tampa and came across this.  I'm sure if Sean was with me we would have ended up taking it home with us.  I had to post this because of how bad they just got beat by Tampa Bay today.

This was from a night we were out with some friends.  It was the same night as the demolition of the old Texas Stadium.  This guy was trying to get people out to watch it.

Duke is so cute, I can't help but take tons of pictures of him.  He gets tired of it pretty quickly (check out our wedding pictures; he eventually turned around or hid behind someone).  He loves to stick his schnoz out the window.

Went to dinner with some friends on the Lake in Dallas.  Sean joined the UFO club and is showing off his new duds.

While I Was Out

So I went away for work one week with my backyard looking like this.....

and I came home to it looking like this.....

I had recently had the fence redone and when they did it I had them move it to the other side of the window.  This allowed me to put a garden right outside of that window - it's the breakfast room/kitchen area that overlooks it.  I have to hand it to Sean, he did a great job!  Maybe I should leave more often!  Since I was at it taking pictures I thought I would show you some progress on all the plants coming up.  It always amazes me how fast they come up.  To see what they looked like just a few short weeks ago read here.