I finally decided to take the plunge!

Hey friends! I hope you've had an incredible weekend!

Well, after exactly one year of being in the vinyl "business", I finally took the plunge and opened a Facebook store!  I've been pulling photos for a couple of months and working on logo designs (thanks to my super-talented and fabulous friend, Tracie), and decided to finally make the big jump and "officially" open my store!

May I present my new business:

Blueberry Hill Handmade

Why the name "Blueberry Hill Handmade"?  

Blue is my favorite color, Hill is my last name, and like the song says "I found my thrill, on Blueberry Hill". Being crafty thrills me to death (and I kinda get a thrill from the man who gave me the last name HILL, too!)

Click this photo on the side of the blog --> to go directly to my page.

What will change?

Nothing about my work or products will change (other than newer and better ideas)!  BBH on Facebook will help me to keep all of my order information together in one place.  Right now, I'm trying to keep up with orders via the blog, personal e-mail, blog e-mail, Facebook, phone, text messages, and just bumping into people in public.  I am in constant fear of forgetting something! Hopefully moving everything to one place will help prevent some of that.  

Also, I am now requiring payment in full before I begin work/order supplies on each order. I HATE to have to do this, but over the past year, I've been stuck with hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise, waiting for payment, and have several orders that I've shipped/delivered that still haven't been paid after several months. This isn't just a hobby for me, it's an income-producing business for my family.  I can't pay the power bill with a counter-full of frames and t-shirts, unfortunately.

If you have a scanner on your phone, this will take you straight to my page!

Thank you ALL for your support and comments (and orders!) over the past year! You have no idea how much you all mean to me!

Alabama Women Bloggers: Getting to know me!

A couple of months ago, I was invited to join a fabulous new group called Alabama Women Bloggers.  To those not from this area, you probably wouldn't think there would be much to this group, but I'm here to tell you, Alabama has a TON of fabulous women bloggers! (and male bloggers, too).  I swear, the amount of talent out there in our state is tremendous.  I can't even believe my name is even on the same list as all these other awesome ladies!

Since the Alabama Women Bloggers blog/group is fairly new, they had the great idea for all the members to do a self-interview so we can get to know each other better!  So, here are my answers!

1. What part of the state do you call home? 

I live in a small town in North East Alabama, named Munford. From North to South, it's between Anniston/Oxford and Talladega, and from East to West, it's between Atlanta and Birmingham. I've lived here my entire life and don't ever want to leave!

 2. How long have you been blogging? 

I started blogging on late December night in 2009.

 3. Why did you start blogging? 

My husband and I had just built a house, and in the process of trying to find home ideas, I discovered several awesome blogs.  I loved the relationships these bloggers seemed to have with their readers and I wanted that.  I was already pretty active on a couple of online communities so blogging seemed like the logical next step.  I've always liked to talk, so I thought blogging would be a way I could talk as much as I wanted to and people could choose to "listen" or not.

 4. What is your favorite part of being a member of the Alabama Women Bloggers community? 

Alabama has MANY awesome women bloggers, and I love getting to know them all!

 5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

In 5 years, I will probably be a full-time SAHM, not by choice, but by necessity. Probably still blogging and HOPEFULLY extremely busy with my "business."

 6. If you could choose an actress to play you in your life, who would you choose and why? 

Melissa McCarthy. The most obvious reason is her size, but she is honestly one of my current favorite actresses. Her comedic style is unbeatable!

 7. Name 5 things on your Bucket List that you hope you’ll check off before you die? 

1. Live long enough to see my son graduate college and go on to have a happy life.
2. Live long enough to see my grandchildren graduate college and go on to have happy lives.
3. Live in a house with NO mortgage!
4. Go on a romantic trip somewhere with my husband...that HE plans.
5. See my husband retire and actually be able to ENJOY a very long, happy retirement!

 8. If you could be known for one thing, what would it be and why? 

For my super-incredible weight loss and my new super-model body! Oh, wait, you mean really?  That's tough. Right now in the blog world, I'm sort-of known as the mama who lost two babies in a very short period of time, and also a mama raising my precious, special daughter, Chelsea, and the struggles we've had with her education.  I hope that I can continue to use my experiences to help others going through the same/similar things.  I do also want to be known for my awesome super-model body, though! HAHA

 9. Describe the best moment in your life. 

When my (now) husband stole me away from my gay ex-boyfriend.

 10. If you could “be” anything (no consequences, no fear), what would you “be”? 

Besides being a skinny super-model and independently wealthy, I really just want to be a great mama, wife and daughter...with a successful home business.

 11. What or who inspires you to blog? 

I will admit, there have been many times I've seriously thought about quitting the whole blog thing.  But then, out of nowhere, I'll get a comment or an e-mail from someone thanking me for writing Chelsea's story. Other than my family, those commenters keep me writing!

 12. We’re headed to your neck of the woods… what restaurant would you recommend? 

Hmmm, that's tough because we don't have too many non-chain restaurants around here.  I would probably have to say Top of the River in Anniston for steak and seafood, Fuji in Oxford for sushi and Japanese cuisine, and Big Daddy's BBQ in Munford for BBQ and hamburgers.  **edited to add: Los Mexicanos for Mexican!  I cannot believe I forgot Los Mex!**

 13. What’s a southern tradition you and your family have? 

My favorite family tradition isn't necessarily Southern.  Every Thanksgiving, my family, my sister and her family, and my mother, gets together for brunch. We all cook a couple of awesome breakfast-type dishes (along with some really fabulous sweets), pig out, watch the Macy's Parade, and pour through all the sales papers, planning our Black Friday purchases. I definitely look forward to Thanksgiving brunch all year long!  Also, Saturdays in the Fall are all about SEC (read: ALABAMA) Football. My grandmother was a huge fan, my dad was a huge fan, my mom is a huge fan, and now the rest of the family is carrying on the tradition!

 14. If you could pick your favorite blog post from your blog this year, what would it be?

It would have to be the post where Chelsea finds out she gets to actually meet her favorite singer, Scotty McCreery. I still cry every time I watch the videos!

 15. We all love social media, tell us your links so we can follow

Well, I really don't do well with my whole blog promotion, so you won't find me very active in too many places. The easiest places to find me are at my blog and on my personal Twitter.
My blog link is : Alabama Slacker Mama
My personal Twitter link is: robinandmarty
And this hasn't been publicaly released yet, but here is the link to my new Facebook Business page: Blueberry Hill Handmade

For all of you who are actually still reading about my boring life, THANKS! Now go to Alabama Women Bloggers and read about all of the other REAL fabulous bloggers that our state has to offer!

Not everyone was happy with the trip.

We all had a wonderful vacation to Florida...well not ALL of us. We did have to leave one family member behind.

Sweets

Unfortunately, our condo did not allow pets, so we weren't able to bring Sweets with us. This posed a problem because I was totally against boarding her with the vet. NOT that there's anything wrong with doing that! It's just that I was scared that Sweets would think we had abandoned her since she spent her first year of life in a shelter (where they took fabulous care of her).  I know, I'm turning into the crazy cat lady, but I just didn't want to disrupt her life if we didn't have to.

Fortunately, my fabulous niece Laura agreed to come daily to feed, clean, and play with her.  You can tell she hated every single second of it:

We worried about how she would react to us when we got back.  She loved on the kids like they had never left:

She would let me pet her, but wouldn't dare let me hold or snuggle with her.  But, Marty...poor Marty, she wouldn't let him come within 5 feet of her! She was MAD at him! Normally at night, she hops in the bed, right between us and snuggles right up to Marty. Not Friday night!  She did get in our bed, but stayed around our feet most of the night. Thankfully, by early Sunday morning, she decided she had forgiven Marty and snuggled right up to him, just like nothing had ever happened. She even let me have a little snuggle time with her today!

We all missed her so much that we've decided that she will have to just go with us the next time! That my friends, I'm sure will be very interesting!

We have another "baby" in the house!

Hey friends!  With all of the excitement (for us) of vacation, I forgot to share about our new "addition".

No, we didn't adopt a baby or another pet, but Chelsea did get something for her birthday that she's been wanting forever.

Meet PRISSY!

Prissy is a "reborn" doll that looks just like a real baby. Chelsea has hinted around that she really, really wanted one for a while now, so we finally managed to find a baby that would be a good fit for our family. We specifically asked for a baby that wouldn't cry at night and keep poor Mommy Chelsea awake all night. (if it were really that easy).

Baby Prissy was such a good girl on our trip and didn't wake us up once during the night!

While there, we went to the Carter's store and bought Prissy a whole new wardrobe! As expensive and cheaply made as most doll clothes are, it was a better investment to buy several preemie/newborn outfits that were on sale (40%-60% off!). 

So expect to see more pictures of our newest baby, Prissy!

Let's hope it's not another 4 years!

Last week, we went on a much anticipated vacation to the beach. It was the first time we've all been somewhere as a family in 4 years. We definitely didn't plan on it being 4 years between vacations, but sometimes life and bills get in the way.

This year Chelsea was turning 21 and had initially asked for a party, but then decided she would rather have a vacation instead. We told her she could go anywhere she wanted to, and she chose "the beach!", so that is where we went!

(We also thought it was so awesome that Marty and I spent my 21st birthday in Florida just like Chelsea.)

We are so fortunate that the weather was fantastic...once we got there. I swear, the forecasted "scattered showers" followed us for the majority of the 260+ miles we drove! Once we got there however, the weather was perfect!

Now on to tons of pictures!

View from the 18th floor.

My precious Chelsea the morning of her birthday!

 

 

Giant Lite Brite at Wonderworks.

Jameson as an astronaut in Wonderworks

The last morning we were there, 5 stingrays were swimming near the shore!

LOVE this picture!

 

LOVE these two more than anything!

Love that smile!

I love this man!

My favorite picture from the whole trip! I love these people with all my heart!

Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and head home. We had a wonderful time full of family and fun! We've already started making plans for next year's vacation (hopefully).  But, as much as we loved the beach, we were SO glad to get back home!  We just hope it's not another 4 years before we get to do it all again!

Twenty-one

Hey friends!

Today, and this week, is very special!

Today, my precious Chelsea turns TWENTY-ONE!

I am the Mama to an ADULT! How is that even possible? I'm still just a kid, too, right?

Anyway, her wish this year was to go on vacation "with just the family", so you know we did everything in our power to make that happen.  So this morning, Chelsea woke up here:

Paradise!

Happy 21st birthday Chelsea! You have come a long way from that teeny-tiny baby girl!

We love you more than words can ever say!!

 

My evening with Chicken, Grass, & Rabbits

Hey friends!

Monday, I told you that Marty and I were invited to a dinner party, with real grown-ups and with real adult conversation.  Marty and I were very excited to be included with a group of our very favorite bloggers/tweeters!

I was SO EXCITED, I actually had my hair cut/colored AND wore MAKE-UP!

It had only been 13 months since my last cut/color. Talk about roots!

Marty and I needed to pick up a few things while we were in the "big city", so we left several hours early. Even though I had made cups for everyone, I still wanted to get a little something extra for Stephanie.

These were thisclose to coming to Stephanie's house with us.

So, after spending about 20 minutes in Fresh Market, failing to find someone who knew something...anything about wine, we settled on these:

Beautiful flowers. I wanted to keep them for myself!

Stephanie and Tadd welcomed us into their gorgeous home, where we all headed straight for the kitchen.

Here are our fabulous hosts, Stephanie and Tadd (who is actually very stunningly tall for his age..he's very, very tall. Steph is just wearing platform shoes)

Within minutes of arriving, Jamie and her friend, Patrick came in.

(And here is where it is most blatantly obvious that I will never, ever be a photographer. I don't have ANY decent photos)

 

You see those incredibly beautiful hydrangeas on the corner of the island? Those were our gifts from Jamie, along with some seriously decadent chocolate.  LOVE!

Then followed by Katherine and her husband Grayson. 

(The only face-on photo I managed to get that night)

Is there anything better than kitchen conversation with friends?

Well, actually there is. Kitchen conversation ALONG WITH some seriously fantastic appetizers!
Steph teased us with her famous crack dip and sausage and cheese tarts. You NEED to go make these appetizers RIGHT NOW! Well, unless you are dieting, then you don't need to make them right now because they will blow any diet you are on right out of the water. Everything was SOOO good. You couldn't just eat one...or ten. Willpower isn't my strong suit.

Just when we didn't think the food situation could get any better, Tadd walked in with these:

Then, as if eight perfectly grilled premium filets weren't enough, Stephanie puts out homemade rolls, delicious green beans...

and a fabulous potato casserole.

Meat, bread, potatoes and a token green vegetable(so we can pretend to be eating healthy)...could it be a more perfect meal??

What does a dinner party with bloggers look like? Photos of everything before they are touched. HAHA!

Here is my plate. I've looked at this photo a hundred times since Saturday night, just praying it would jump though the computer screen so I can eat it again...and again....and again.
It was THAT GOOD PEOPLE!

Oh, but then, as I was sopping up the last of the food with my roll, Stephanie brings out handmade lemon meringue and chocolate cream pies.

Lemon

My slice of chocolate. (I was too amazed to get a photo of it before it was cut.)

As if this fabulous meal wasn't enough, Stephanie packed everyone a doggie bag of leftovers (except for the steak...there was NO steak left in the house), AND a loaf of homemade bread...that was quickly devoured the next afternoon by our resident homemade bread fanatic:

Even though this was one of the best meals of my life, it pales in comparison to the 5 hours of laughter, conversation, laughter, fellowship, and laughter that I was blessed to share with these three beautiful ladies (and their fellas)! We both hope we have MANY MORE nights with these awesome people!

I look like the green giant next to these ladies!

Now, if you would like to see a GREAT blog post with awesome pictures of Saturday night, go to Kat's blog (Grass Stains) and see how a professional does it.