Since Flashback Friday happens to fall on a national holiday this time around, I'm skipping it this week.  I figured you might be more interested in grilling hamburgers, eating slices of watermelon and shooting fireworks with your families than sitting at the computer and reading about....oh, say...my mild obsession with Michael J. Fox and "Family Ties" in 1986.  So just like Mel shouted so appropriately, right before he lost his head in Braveheart, you have freedom this week from Flashback Friday!

I thought I might put a cute Independence Day graphic on here to create a festive mood, but finding an appropriate 4th of July graphic is about as difficult as it was to find a nice Christmas one.  Let me just say that I was not aware that the Statue of Liberty could glowand sparkle in seven different neon colors while breakdancing  or that so many buxom young cartoon women like to wrap themselves in the American flag and nothing else.

I finally settled on this one...

I like the homespun, vintage feel to this one.  I also found humor in the fact that this child has no idea that he is about to blow himself to kingdom come since he built the "4" with dynamite sticks that are larger than his torso.  How quaint.

Truly, I do wish you a very happy Independence Day.  Enjoy your time off and fun with your families and the privilege of living in such a great country!

Today my daughter turns 17! Seems like just yesterday she was born and then we were planning her sweet sixteen party. Sixteen was a busy year for her, she turned 16, got her license, got her first job, got her G.E.D and started classes at the community college. She is growing up way to fast for me! What a lovely young lady you are! We love you baby girl!!

To Everyone else, Have a great and wonderful 4th of July!!

glitter-graphics.com

Make sure to go over to Shereen's blog and check out other's SEW CRAFTY FRIDAY posts!!

I saw the idea for "sheet skirts" (my friend, Jess, had sent me a link) and I decided I had to try it!

I went to "Goodwill" and got a few different sheets, but chose this flowered print for my first skirt.  (the sheet cost me $3) These are the 2 pieces together that I cut out for the skirt...

And this is the finished product!  It was SO easy!  I am going to shorten it just a bit because it will give me more leg room!

And I saw on another site how you can make "lounge pants" by tracing around a pair of pants you already have.  SO... I decided to try that too, to use up more of the sheet...

Here they are all sewn (inside out).  I had my husband take a picture of me in them, but since they were too tight I decided not to post it! LOL I forgot the other pants of mine are a knit fabric and this fabric has zero stretch...

I couldn't waste them, so I sized them up to my daughter and took in the sides and legs and I think they make cute & modest capris!

And the other day my oldest son had asked if I could make him a bag to hold his walking stick and he wanted a pocket on it to hold his jacknife.  While he was visiting with my parents yesterday, I took what I've learned from making tote bags and just made up a different pattern for a LOOOOONG bag with straps like a backpack.  I used some leftover canvas fabric I had.

It was NOT easy to get all pinned with the straps inside... and I forgot and sewed over the top edge where he was supposed to put his walking stick, but it worked in the end.  I had to cut the top with my seam ripper and hem the opening.

Then I topstitched around the 3 other sides...

 and he LOVES it!!  It's not perfect, but he doesn't care!  It serves the purpose!

My oldest daughters knit shorts are almost done!  She decided on a ruffled cuff and I think that makes them looks extra cute!  I can't wait to see them after I make the drawstring!! 

I noticed the other day that my husband had gone through his clothes and had a big bag on the porch to donate.  I told him I wanted to go through it first to see if I could use any of the fabric.  Today I chose a red polo shirt (that was one of his old workshirts) to make a pair of shorts for my youngest daughter... 

 And I used the tag to show where the back is!!!  As you can see, I am getting addicted to making shorts!!!

 Here she is modeling them in her 4th of July dress (lifted up a bit so you can see the shorts--- which are more like skorts, which I like)

 And this shows how they peek out just a bit at the bottom, but they'll keep her modest if she's running and playing!

 I also used the leftover fabric from the shirt to make a little candy bag for my oldest daughter for when we go to the parade tomorrow...

 And later on I have to make my oldest daughter some shorts for the 4th and I bought this blue fabric last night... (I just washed it and dried it on the line)

 This is the print up close!  You'll see the shorts after I make them and take pix of the kids tomorrow!

Phew...it's been a busy week!!!  But I'm not done yet... gotta get sewing!!  Have a great 4th and an awesome weekend!!!

** I ended up making the shorts and I also made some candy bags for the kids... and I took pictures BUT I don't have time to resize them, so I'll post them later!  They came out cute!

:) Bridget

Every now and then I like to change things up around here.  You might be visiting today expecting to see some absurd video of Big D rapping or doing the worm, or get my latest discourse on "American Idol," or find out what my favorite movies from the 1980s were, but you're in for a big surprise today.  Today I'm going all educational on you....and it's in the middle of the summer to boot!  The reality is that here at Hilltop Academy the learning never stops.  Some days we learn that if mom is in a really bad mood, it's best not to put the answer of 3 for every single one of your summer-brush-up math problems so that you can be done and go swimming.  Other days we learn that if we are super quiet and only leave the TV volume on low that Mom might sleep until almost 9am.  But over the weekend we learned about sea life by going to the super cool Aquarium in Chattanooga...

Before I begin my educational discourse on aquatic life, there are a couple of things I'd like you to know...

1. This is not going to be very educational because I really don't know very much about aquatic life, but I like to look at it.
2. All of the photography was done by me and my puny camera and not Big D and his fancy-schmancy one (well, except for the one that I'm actually in...but he still used my puny camera).  I'm really proud of that fact because some of them turned out pretty darn well.

First, the kids stopped by the stingray petting pool, and both wanted assurance first that there was no way they could get killed like the Crocodile Hunter before they put their hands in the water.

I've never understood why people get so excited to be touching things that look like this...

I was very content to just stand back and photograph the activity.  Besides I'm pretty sure that there's some kind of rule that pregnant women should avoid touching stingrays.  I think my doctor may have mentioned that on my last visit.

Next we visited the butterfly room, which isn't sea life, but it's still a cool exhibit so I wasn't complaining.

They are pretty cooperative little buggers, aren't they?

Then we visited the penguin room where I discovered that it's next to impossible to get good pictures of penguins through glass, so I was forced to take a picture of the kids with giant fake penguins...

This was the best I could do with the real thing...

Here we have some jellyfish (and to give proper credit, Big D did help me a little in photographing these creatures)...

Harrison finding Nemo...

And then here is some kind of giant crab and the reflection of a man in a white shirt...

Here's a pretty decent shot of a friendly, smiling caiman,

A Big D...

Some seahorses...

The one on the right is pregnant, and it's MALE.  So there....one valid educational fact from yours truly.

And, finally, some type of uninhibited frog...

Before we left, I splurged and bought Peanut its first souvenir...

...a soft, little stuffed penguin.  I couldn't help it.

Well, I hope you enjoyed your uncharacteristically educational visit to my blog.  Come back anytime you need to feel enlightened!

...you should never let your water go dry in the incubator.
But if it happens one time, just one time, you'll have problems with an egg.
Not that we would do something like forget to check it once,
but from what the "big boys" have told me it could be a problem..... *ahem*

So assuming that someone else forgot to check the water one time and let it go dry, it could possibly make the eggshell too dry for the chick to get out.

And if, hypothetically speaking, that happened, the chick wouldn't stand a chance without a Hero to rescue it:

And it might be a messy job. And it might look like one bedraggled chick:

But the chick might just make it: