RIP Barbie (Elizabeth)

Warning: This post contains information that may be sensitive to some. It describes the details of a murder investigation. It contains information regarding the crime scene but has been toned-down and is written as it would appear in a newspaper or other article. If you are overly sensitive to this type of information, please stop here......

As a young girl, I would spend some of my play time with my Barbie. I would dress her up, take her on bike rides and she would visit my BFF, Kim, who had a lovely pink townhome and swimming pool for all of our dolls to enjoy.

This past weekend, while out shopping, Corbin and I picked up a new Barbie to bring home. Only this time, Barbie is not Barbie. She is Elizabeth Short and even though she is dressed for a fun day at the beach, her beautiful life will soon change. She will come victim to a horrendous crime.

Corbin is taking a course in Forensic Science at high school this year. This is the first year the school is offering this course and it is the perfect starting point for his college career in Forensic Chemistry. The first assignment was to reconstruct a famous crime scene and include elements of evidence. He chose the murder of Elizabeth Short or The Black Dahlia, as she is worldwide known. Elizabeth was murdered in California in 1947. Her body was cut in half, completely drained of blood and organs, she was washed and dumped in a vacant lot behind a subdivision only a few feet from a street and sidewalk. The most bizarre fact from her murder was that the killer cut her cheeks in such a way that she appeared to be smiling. Over 200 people were interviewed for the crime and 50 actually confessed to doing it! Because of the lack of evidence, no one was ever charged for this crime.

There are a lot of details, crime scene photos and interviews that can be found on the internet. Elizabeth was a beautiful young lady who, by all accounts, was a "good-girl" and wanted a career as an actress. There are so many unanswered questions that maybe could have been answered if our modern day technology was available back then. This is what my son wants to do with his life. He wants to gather evidence, analyze it and be a voice for the victim. I am very proud of his decision to pursue this passion he has as a career.

Elizabeth, may you forever Rest In Peace!

Happy Dance!

Have you ever had one of "those weeks" where you wanted to crawl into a cave and disappear? Well, I've had two of them and enough is enough!! I am so ready for the Labor Day holiday on Monday. I don't plan on doing any laboring, what so ever!

Since these weeks have caused me a bit of suffering, the only way to keep from wrapping my hands around necks was to take a needle and stab some fabric - LOL. As a result, I finished my M Design's "S". This really did finish quick and now I just have to be on the look out for a Joann's coupon so I can get it framed.

I also had the chance to finish an ornament I started earlier this year. It is a portion from the Country Cottage Needleworks pattern Snowflake Serenade. I thought it would make a really cute ornament and I liked stitching it on the sparkly linen.

Of course, when you finish a project (or two!!) you have to start something new. Normally, this time of year, I would grab a Halloween or fall project but I went straight to Christmas. That is VERY odd for me! But, I got the Lizzie Kate Santa Claus Is Coming To Town pattern in the mail last week and I've been itching to get it started. I plan to only stitch the Santa part and again, finish him into an ornament. I found a piece of "mystery" linen in my stash that is a lovely gold color and I think it's perfect! Hoping to get him started this afternoon.

Well, that's about it.....Until we chat again - Be Safe and Have Fun!

Prayers and Best Wishes for Linda

Just a little post to ask for prayers and best wishes for my friend, Linda. She is one of the cross stitch pals and just a sweet (and VERY funny) lady. She fell and broke her hip, had surgery and is currently doing physical therapy. I haven't seen her in quite a while and she's been on my mind lately. I wanted to share a picture that we took last October while attending the Pals Convention in Myrtle Beach (there's Karen and Faye in the background!!).

So Linda, if you are reading this, keep up the good work and get well soon! I'm ready to play that "pass the box" game again real soon - whoo hoo!!

The Help

Saturday, Chris and I treated ourselves to the movies and saw "The Help". I had heard rave reviews on the book, even though I never read it. I don't know about the book but the movie was great! I laughed (and cried) and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Chris enjoyed the movie too but did comment that there was not nearly enough testosterone in the room! LOL! If you get a chance, go see it! I promise, you will never look at chocolate pie the same way again - LOL!

To my cross stitch friends, I have some sad news.....I won't be attending the Pals Convention this year. Our son is a senior in high school this year and has announced his desire to attend the University of Alabama/Birmingham instead of our home town university. After reviewing the course study (Forensic Chemistry), it is the right choice. So, that means I'll be writing a lot more checks than originally anticipated. It was a hard decision to make but one that I had to do. I know you, that are attending, will have a great time! I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back so make sure you update your blogs quickly!

Until next time......

Life's a Beach....

....and I'm playing in the sand!

I am back from 3 fun-filled days in Myrtle Beach playing in the sand, catching waves in the ocean and relaxing in the pool. Ahhhh....such joy and bliss! The weather was absolutely perfect. Warm but not hot. Overcast at times. Water cool but not freezing. I wouldn't change a thing!

One of the highlights of the trip was the ocean, itself. The water was perfect. Very clear and not a lot of shells which makes walking in the water much easier. We had a blast playing in the water and riding the waves on our boogie boards. The currents were a little strong so of course, I got wiped-out a couple of times. One time in particular, had me laughing so hard, I couldn't get up which means I got slammed a couple more times by the crashing waves. All I could hear was Corbin saying, "Oh My God! Mommy get up!" as he was laughing but trying to "save" me too.

We enjoyed fried shrimp baskets from the Tiki Hut on the beach. We tossed around a football. Corbin chilled with his Ipod. Like I said, just a perfect getaway.

This was a vacation that was centered around the beach. So, no plans to be anywhere at any time. We did get interrupted one day with a little pop up storm. But, it came late in the day so we didn't get to miss any "action". Storms at the beach are so fascinating to me. I love to watch the clouds roll in and see how the surf becomes more forceful.

Of course, like any vacation, it ends all too quickly. I'm ready to go back! This was a great way to wrap-up summer......

Good Bye Beach - See You Soon!!!

Aloha!

Aloha from the Crazy Croppers at The Stamping Place Scramp-a-Thon!

I am back from a whirl-wind weekend away scrapbooking with some of my great friends. This was titled our "Aloha" crop and the ladies at The Stamping Place went all out! From the decorations to the delicious food and even a coconut bra - everything was perfect!

I arrived and got set up at around 2:00 Friday afternoon. It was BLAZING HOT so it was so nice to finally have the car unloaded and to sit down and get started on my projects but not before refreshments from the Traveling Tiki Bar came by! We had a fruity punch with fruit/cheese skewers and strawberry dip served up by Lisa. Yummy!

We scrapbooked up until midnight and was up, bright and early, the next morning ready for another fun day. Of course, we had the Traveling Tiki Bar again. This time with homemade tortilla chips with cinnamon and sugar served with mango salsa and pina coladas.
Here are just a few photos from the day:

Lisa and Nancy:

Barbara:

Cindi:

Peggy and Renee are "PRODUCING":

Judy and our scrapbooking dog, Beau Joe (I hope I haven't spelled his name wrong!):

Now, you probably think you have seen it all but we still had another day. So, after a couple hours of sleep Saturday night we came back ready to PRODUCE and.............celebrate Judy's Birthday!!

It was such a fun weekend and I can't wait for the next one. We have such a great time. Lots of laughs and lots of stories to hear and tell. Now, I'm sure you would love to see what I worked on however, I can't reveal it at this time. Soon, I promise.

Me and My Happy Self:

Happy Scrappin', Stitching or whatever makes you happy! Find happiness in making something!

Edited to add: All of the drinks mentioned and pictured in this post were non-alcoholic. A bunch of ladies with glue, tape and scissors do NOT need to be a little "tipsy"

Ready to Get My Crop On!

Scissors, paper, glue, buttons and so many embellishments await my arrival for a girl's scrapbook weekend away. Ready to have fun and belly-laugh all weekend long. Of course that means, if I'm away with the girls, the boys are having their own "retreat" at home without me! Tee Hee!

Have a great weekend and STAY COOL!!