Countdown to the Royal Wedding ....

Hello out there in Blogland ! Kitty has put on her best dress and hat and is counting down the hours until the Royal Wedding .... (let's not tell her that she's not on the guest list and she's standing in front of the wrong church ....)
Anyway, all the best to the Royal couple ....

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Coloring Easter Eggs ....

Happy Easter weekend Blogland Neighborhood! The MBIAJ Drawing Dept has been "coloring" Easter eggs (well, that middle one looks kind of like a polka dotted baked potato ... oh well) .... anyhow, now they're thinking of handing this little drawing over to the MBIAJ Sewing and Stitching Dept for a quick take along applique and / or stitchery project since we'll be away all weekend at ....



Penn State University to cheer on Moonbeams Boy Matt and his fellow Penn State Cycling Team mates at the ECCC Easterns Bike Races ....









... GO MATT !!! GO PENN STATE !!!! (and we're hoping it doesn't pour the entire weekend .... oh well, we just will have to pack our polka dot rain boots and school bus yellow rain slicker !)











.....So, from Kitty and her hopping friends , and from all of the MBIAJ Depts we wish you all a very Happy Easter !!!!








Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Does mending count? (for the Friday Night Sew In)

Happy VERY rainy and blustery Saturday (I guess if you're a duck you're happy). Anyhow, the MIBAJ Sewing Dept was too pooped and disorganized to get any sewing done last night during the actual Friday Night Sew In (aka FNSI) but today they were ON FIRE ....well, if you count mending a hole in Mr. Moonbeam's stretchy biking britches and ....



....piddling around with colored pencils trying to figure out what to do with that jelly roll and ...


...trying to make earth shattering decisions like what to do with this appliqued block AND if the rick rack should go on the dish or not ....then we are DEFINATELY ON FIRE !!! .....well, OK .... so it wasn't the most productive FNSI but at least it involved the sewing machine (mending .... HATE IT!) .... drawing and pretty fabric (LOVE IT!) ... and playing with rick rack (LOVE IT !) Now run along and visit the blogs of the other much more productive FNSI participants while we get back to that big decision about the red rick rack ....

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Be back soon!
Toodles,

Friday Night Sew In ....

Dang ! Missed it(Friday) by 32 minutes ! Well, so much for the MBIAJ Sewing Dept participating in this month's Friday Night Sew In on Friday night! Got in from work after 7pm, made dinner (well, actually stopped at the market and bought dinner), cleaned up dinner , sat down at the computer to check emails and do some paperwork and got sidetracked on facebook , as usual...... but it was there that I got the message from pal Amanda that tonight (well, yesterday now) is/was the Friday Night Sew In for April.) So, by that time it was 11 pm and the news was on (had to check the weather) .... BIG mistake ! Fell asleep on the sofa .... woke up to go tinkle ... and well, there you have it .... you're all caught up and up to date ..... so, the MBIAJ Sewing Dept will have to try and reschedule their participation in the Friday Night Sew In until sometime on Saturday ....hopefully!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Trying on a new blog background .....

Happy Saturday Blogland Neighborhood! Well today we here at MBIAJ Headquarters have piddled away a good part of the day trying to figure out how to change our blog background ..... and now that we know it's not rocket science (although you' think it was since, as we said, it took us the better part of the afternoon to figure it out ... ) we are going back and forth between 3 different backgrounds ..... trying one on after the other .... (like trying to decide what to wear) .... we're looking for something fresh looking and not too fussy .... found a pretty grey with white flowers, but when we tried it on it looked kind of blah and bleak (like the gray sky outside .... AGAIN!). So, for the time being, we've kind of settled on the one you see right now .... it's definately BRIGHT !!! Kind of refreshing .... like a strawberry and tangerine fruit salad ! Who knows, maybe we'll be changing it again soon (now that we know how to do it) .... but first we want to figure out how the heck to change our header ! (anybody have any simple tips for the computer challenged?)

Anyhow, can't have a blog post without a fun picture (I think it's in the imaginary rules .... ) so here's a picture of some of the fun fabric deliciousness we recently ordered from
The Fat Quarter Shop





YUM !!!









Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Muffintops....

Good morning Blogland Neighborhood! At the end of a long day of work, it's nice to sit and relax (or procrastinate) in front of the computer and catch up on some blog reading.




Look what Daisy and I found on Clothworks Textiles Blog....




.....some fun fabric called "Muffintops" by Barb Tourtillotte . Oh Barb, Barb, Barb !!!! ..... we here at MBIAJ Headquarters can SO relate to this fabric !!!! Anyhow, they are having a giveaway over there at the Clothworks blog for a shower curtain and towel set featuring this fun fabric .... so all you gals (and guys) of a "certain age" should zip on over there and sign up . We here at MBIAJ headquarters are thinking of making a beach bag out of this stuff .... and how about a matching beach quilt and a cover up to , well you know .... COVER UP the real muffintop? What the heck and why not .... after you hit that "certain age" you might as well just go with the flow !!!!

Be back soon!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

The Balancing Act .....

Well Happy April Blogland Neighorhood !! Can't believe another month has flown by (but happy it's trying to be spring time !) The next few months will be crazier than usual here at MBIAJ Headquarters (if that's possible!) ....with proms, graduations, milestone birthdays and anniversaries, a wedding quite a few states away, etc, etc, etc ....and trying to balance preparations for all of those very happy events with the heavy day job schedule, the laundry, the house etc, etc, etc ..... so here's our big 20 cent question of the week ....any bright ideas or tips for perfecting "The Balancing Act"? (cause we've been trying to perfect "it" for way too many years than we care to count and it isn't improving that's for sure !!!) Oh well !!!

Be back soon !!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)