Posts

Showing posts from January, 2017

Valentine’s Day is the day for romance

Image
Goodness knows I don't celebrate the upcoming holiday known as Valentine's Day, nor am I married. However, we're working with author Rhonda Stoppe, and she has some great advice leading up to Valentine's on how romance looks different for a married couple.  Please share this post with anyone you think would find it insightful. :)  If you are a radio host or producer, let's set up an interview! How does romance look different for a husband and a wife? By Rhonda Stoppe Valentine’s Day is when Americans focus on love and romance. What love means for a man is different than what a woman thinks about love. After all, that is how God created them! Understanding what each partner needs is key to a long and happy marriage. Rhonda Stoppe, author of If My Husband Would Change, I’d Be Happy , explains more about the differences between men and women when it comes to romance.     Kim was busy with last minute dinner preparations when David waltzed into

The most emotionally unintelligent season of #thebachelor ever

Image
Photo courtesy @bachelorABC on Twitter I have so much I could be doing, need to be doing, but yet, it's Monday night, and here I am. We pick back up on the cat fight that is Corinne vs. Taylor. Taylor is describing what emotional intelligence is. She's a mental health professional, after all. Corinne thinks Taylor is all about herself and drama. I don't see anything intelligent about Corinne, emotional or otherwise. Raven doesn't think Corinne has done anything personally to Taylor, but is sure Taylor is psychoanalyzing her. I gather Raven isn't Taylor's biggest fan. Oh, Corinne just accused Taylor of being a *itch and always having a stank face. I'm trying to decide if I hate Corinne more than Olivia from a few seasons ago. Possibly. Corinne goes to talk to Nick. She says Taylor isn't nice and that she's scared of her. She shares that she doesn't think Taylor is there for the right reasons. Mean, vindictive, I don't even know wh

Kum Ba Yah (the newer one)

Image
Kum Ba Yah Kum Ba Yah my LORD, Kum Ba Yah, Kum Ba Yah my LORD, Kum Ba Yah. Kum Ba Yah my LORD, Kum Ba Yah, Kum Ba Yah my LORD, Kum Ba Yah. Chorus Singin’ rain, storm, fire, wind, Kum Ba Yah Rain, storm, fire, wind, Kum Ba Yah Somebody’s praying LORD, Kum Ba Yah, Somebody’s praying LORD, Kum Ba Yah. Somebody’s praying LORD, Kum Ba Yah, Somebody’s praying LORD, Kum Ba Yah. Chorus Somebody’s singing LORD, Kum Ba Yah, Somebody’s singing LORD, Kum Ba Yah. Somebody’s singing LORD, Kum Ba Yah, Somebody’s singing LORD, Kum Ba Yah. Chorus Somebody’s crying LORD, Kum Ba Yah, Somebody’s crying LORD, Kum Ba Yah. Somebody’s crying LORD, Kum Ba Yah, Somebody’s crying LORD, Kum Ba Yah. Chorus Come by here my LORD, come by here, Come by here my LORD, come by here. Come by here my LORD, come by here, Come by here my LORD, come by here. Chorus

Shop keeping

Image
Last night the shop (Virgil and Maudie's) we have a booth in had a girls' night out, so I did a little rearranging and picture taking.  I don't get to dive into the new projects I wanted to get started today because I had too much going on, but I really hope to share those with you soon.

Surrender the burden of control

Image
  Shannon Popkin invites readers to live like God is in control, because he is Many women worry about life spinning out of control and want to be sure of a happy ending. They have a compulsion to make it all turn out just right and are willing to do almost anything to make it happen. When they realize control is slipping from their grasp, they lose control and react in anger or fear. This unbalanced pursuit of control makes those around them anxious and defensive. Author Shannon Popkin knows this struggle well. In her new book, Control Girl: Lessons on Surrendering Your Burden of Control from Seven Women in the Bible (Kregel Publications/January 27, 2017/ ISBN: 978-0825444296/$14.99), she reveals to readers the only way to find the deep security they crave is to surrender to God and entrust the outcome to Him. Popkin admits the need for control has been a problem in her life for a long time, but she didn’t always recognize it. “Even as I was behaving like a complete ‘Co

At least it could result in some blogging material

Image
So this came in the mail today. Sometimes I grumble more about getting these than others. The last time I got one, I got excused early in the process because I had a set business trip I was leaving for later in the week, and the attorneys couldn't guarantee they would be done in time. I blogged about that adventure here.  The time before that, I was close to getting "caught," but was luckily a few jurors away after spending all day long on the process. That case was for a guy that brought part of a joint into the jail. As I recall, it was in the pocket of his jacket. Bring drugs into a jail is yet another charge. What it really came down to is the police or sheriff's department didn't search him well enough during his arrest. At least that was my impression. I really think I blogged about that, but I can't find the post. It's not coming up by searching "marijuana." It should come up that way because I now remember that there was someth

It was supposed to take a little longer than that

Image
Because we have sworn off turkey leg and dog events, we don't have a lot of options for events to do in the spring. However, we're actually going to do two events on one weekend at the end of April. This shall be interesting because we've never done that before. There's some logistics which will make it interesting, but we shall see. Since we have taken a good bit of stock out to Virgil & Maudie's after a busy fall, we're a bit short on spring stock. I keep buying books on eBay, as you have seen in previous posts, but I run through them quickly. Maybe this coming weekend I can finish some bookkeeping and inventory items and tell you how many books we sold in 2016. Hundreds. One of our big tasks to start with is to have enough books cut to have stock out at the shop, but to also have enough to split between two events. By "enough stock," that also means I need to have Q and Z. We'll actually take every letter because I seriously think U is the

Home is where coaching takes us

Image
To go along with the custom order I posted a few days ago, I also did this one. Hand lettering and drawing everything has its disadvantages. I don't use vinyl decals and such like some other people do. That's why it took me too long to work out this project. Instead of working on it at night, I used the excuse that I needed to not do it late when I was tired because I needed everything to look consistent. I joked that I wasn't going to post this one because I may get a flood of orders.  Honestly, I don't love printing on signs. Script is more forgiving. Part of it is a funky camera angle here, but I notice how crooked some of the logos look here. I'm always such a harsh judge of my own work.  It did turn out a neat project though. This doesn't have the hooks attached between the slat yet, but it's line up with close to the right spacing.  I have some new canvas projects in mind. Stay tuned for those!

The #cattiest season of #TheBachelor ever

Image
https://www.facebook.com/TheBachelor/ Tonight, on the latest edition of the raunchiest season of The Bachelor ever, we pick up with the women trying to figure out if Corinne is doing unimaginable things with Nick or if she is upstairs snoring again. Side note: A media friend sent me a link from Fox News' entertainment section today. "Raunchiest" was a term they used to describe this season too. I have called it that from week one. If people in media think it's bad, it's horrible. We pick up on the conversation between Nick and Vanessa where she asks him if she wants a wife or someone to _________ around with. She's willing to give back the rose because if he's not serious and really wants someone like Corinne, she's done. Nick says he wants to know when she is upset and wants her to be honest, but that he wants her to be a little more patient about Corinne. Chris Harrison arrives to pull Nick away so they can all get ready for the rose ceremon

Kum Ba Yah (traditional)

Image
Kum Ba Yah Kum ba yah, my lord, Kum ba yah! Kum ba yah, my lord, Kum ba yah! Kum ba yah, my lord, Kum ba yah. O Lord, Kum ba yah Someone’s crying, Lord, Kum ba yah! Someone’s crying, Lord, Kum ba yah! Someone’s crying, Lord, Kum ba yah! O Lord, Kum ba yah Someone’s singing, Lord, Kum ba yah! Someone’s singing, Lord, Kum ba yah! Someone’s singing, Lord, Kum ba yah! O Lord, Kum ba yah Someone’s praying, Lord, Kum ba yah! Someone’s praying, Lord, Kum ba yah! Someone’s praying, Lord, Kum ba yah! O Lord, Kum ba yah

Home is where the Air Force sends you

Image
This is one of the custom projects I've been working on. I've needed to finish it for several weeks now. I hit a wall on doing anything right before Christmas and have had a hard time getting back out in the studio and doing anything. I REALLY need to work on a couple of signs someone asked me about in October now. I hyperventilate a little bit thinking about having put them off.

Hearts are for book lovers

Image
Valentine's Day is coming up, so we have to have hearts! Here are our latest creations. 

Texas "cold"

Image
It's a typical Texas winter around here. Cool one day, 70-something the next. Thankfully, no one seems to care too much because I've still sold at least 6 hats this week. Thank goodness for the messy bun craze! (A couple of these didn't have holes in them though.) Speaking of Texas... We did Texas signs in other colors. We'll do other states in whatever color you want too!

The Mark of the King - book giveaway

Image
You’ll be on the edge of your seat as you take the journey to the fledgling 1720s French colony of Louisiana in Jocelyn Green’s new book,  The Mark of the King .  After being imprisoned and branded for the death of her client, twenty-five-year-old midwife Julianne Chevalier trades her life sentence for exile, where she hopes to be reunited with her brother, serving there as a soldier. To make the journey, though, women must be married, and Julianne is forced to wed a fellow convict. With her dreams of a new life shattered, Julianne must find her way in this dangerous, rugged land, despite never being able to escape the king’s mark on her shoulder that brands her a criminal beyond redemption. Enter to win a copy of  The Mark of the King  from Jocelyn. Five winners will be chosen! Click the image below to enter to win. The winners will be announced February 7th on  Jocelyn’s blog ! {MORE ABOUT  THE MARK OF THE KING } (Bethany House, January 2017) Sweeping historical fiction

It’s time to retreat

Image
  Part 2 of an interview with Letitia Suk, Author of Getaway with God: The Everywoman’s Guide to Personal Retreat Does spending time with God sound like just one more thing to check off an ever-increasing to-do list? How are you supposed to fit in anything that threatens to be more time-consuming? Too often there's simply no room to experience the intimacy, grace, and peace that God offers us. In Getaway with God , Letitia Suk   does more than invite readers to step away from life’s pressures to take a personal retreat. It shows you exactly why you must — for your sake and for your family’s. With grace and warmth, Suk provides step-by-step guidance and the necessary tools to enable any woman on any budget to plan time away, whether it’s a quick, half-day break or a weeklong time of restoration. Q: Why does everyone need to take the time to go on a retreat alone? Perhaps not everyone does, but any woman who is in need of deeper rest, longing for a connection