The "SEND" button is so final!

Here's a great quote for me as a quilter, fibre artist and writer. I use this often in my every day life.

"Always check twice before clicking on the SEND button." - Jocelyn

I love this quote because it means so many things to me. If I have a high importance email I may choose to leave it in my drafts overnight. The next day when I reread it, I can tone it down or clear up mistakes before sending. This is sooo important if you are trying to get published.

I also use the similar "measure twice, cut once" adage in quilting. Fabric can be so expensive nowadays, you just can't take a chance. If you do screw up, there are times when you've had the fabric in your stash for so long you can no longer find it.

This quote is also a good reminder for youth lost in the world of spell check and instant messaging. There is almost no need for full words anymore. Once you get into homework assignments and even resumés, you have to be sure your spelling and grammar are spot on. First impressions can get a resumé tossed in the pile.

The cookies in the picture I measured once and cut 120 last year for our Quilting Guild's June Picnic. I didn't have to measure twice because if I made a mistake I could just put it back into a lump of dough and start again. I actually used my long omnigrid quilting ruler to measure before cutting. It worked like a charm!

Thanks Jocé

Quotes, quotes, quotes

The quotes are coming in! This is such a fun experiment. I love to see which quotes come from which friends or family members and how they relate to our lives. The closest person possible to my life and my son's life of course is my husband Bob. How fitting and caring that he instantly submitted the first quote.

“Dads are always right......unless Mom is around.” – Robert

Thanks handsome! So true. Love that guy!

Guidelines - Advice for An 8 Year Old Kid

Submission guidelines:

1. Please write and send me an original quote of your own that you feel would be useful advice for an 8 year old boy. Here are some samples:

- When it comes to garbage, just take it out. In Haiti volunteers can come in, clear the garbage, build a house for a widow and the next day her tiny yard is filled with garbage again. There isn’t even a garbage service there, or even a single garbage can. – Mom

- Take responsibility for every single toot and say “excuse me!” Moms can tell the difference between a Dad toot, a dog toot and your toot. And it’s not OK to blame a toot on a baby cousin. Trust me on that one. – Mom

2. Please make it your own words. I am not looking for famous quotes or quotes from scripture. And we must be very careful about plagiarism, even if it is accidental. Be sure it is your own words.

3. Your quote can be humorous, silly, serious or a life lesson, but an 8 year old should be able to grasp it. The blog is intended to be a heart-warming and funny blog that an adult or an 8 year old would like to read.

4. I would love to hear from every member of your family including kids. Even quotes from pets would be fun.

5. Your quote can be anywhere from a few words to 200 words, and please know that if the blog is considered for publishing in book form an editor will be involved and there may be word changes.

6. No private information will be written on my blog or in book form except the name that you give to go with your quote. Be sure to attach your pen name to the quote, or it will read – anonymous. If it is a quote from a child please add their age. (eg. Elliot, 9 yrs.)

Be sure to check back to see all of the quote postings and updates. Be sure to sign up to be a follower on my blog so you never miss a quote.

***All quotes should be emailed to brandylynn@shaw.ca and must be given voluntarily and with no expectation of remuneration. There is no obligation to participate. There is no guarantee that I will be able to use every quote, but I’ll try my best. I certainly hope that you all think it is a fun idea and you send me a quote or two. ***

Quote # 8

Well, I'm sorry to say this is the 8th and final quote from my neighbors. It seems they are a bit shy or reserved to write a quote for Gavin, and the last quote kind of relates to that;

"If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all." - Thumper from Bambi

It always surprises me when people say they can't write, or they don't have anything inspiring to say. I truly believe that there is a secret writer hiding inside of everyone just waiting to come out and say what they mean. There were a few brave ones, and I thank them for that! But I've realized over the last few weeks that if I really want to have some fun with this, I have to open it up to a bigger audience. So this week the invitation to submit quotes goes out to my facebook friends and all of cyberspace who are willing to participate. It should be fun! We'll see what happens.

Today I'll finish with my own quote to an 8 year old kid;

"Remember, don't eat food that is blue and fuzzy." - me as I do a green clean of my fridge.

Quote # 7

This next quote is an excellent one for Gavin because he does so many hilarious little things and we love, love, love to laugh. Note to parent: Do not continue to laugh at your child if he is slightly embarrassed. Sometimes I am laughing so hard that I am squeaking and can't breathe when I realize he is completely silent with a huge frown.

Here is the 3rd and final quote from the wonderful Crow family:

"Laugh and the world laughs with you; frown and you frown alone." - Crow Nesters

I think this is a fresh twist on a familiar quote from E. W. Wilcox if I've searched that out correctly. "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone. For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own."
1883 E. W. Wilcox

Happy Father's Day weekend everyone!

Quote # 6

We had a very nice dinner yesterday and then we all sat down to try to catch up on some "So You Think You Can Dance." It's the only reality show we are hooked on because it is OK for kids and it is amazingly athletic. Watching the incredible bodies, moves and stamina I start to think I should add an extra day of exercise to my regime each week. My husband and son start talking about having ice cream. I am leaning towards "no" and they are leaning towards "yes." Then comes the clincher. My son offers to make dessert for everyone, by himself. We won't even have to get up. He's so cute, but a smart cookie because he knows he'll get the treat for sure if he makes it. He pulls out the stool, gets the bowls and spoons, pulls out the ice cream and the chocolate chips and sprinkles and scoops it all by himself and puts everything away. As he brings our bowls down one by one he seems to have the 3 bears portions completely opposite. My husband gets one tiny scoop. I get two decent scoops and Gavin's bowl is overflowing. We all have a good laugh and we start to talk about only taking what you can eat and my husband says, "I think there was a quote from Mr. and Mrs. Crow about that very thing!" So here it is:

Take what you want, but eat what you take (from a buffet table.) Eat to live, not live to eat. Balance in eating, sleeping, exercise, studying, socializing and recreation is the key to a healthy life. - Crow Nesters

Quote # 5

We are on a roller coaster ride. Just when you think it might be over, there's another thrill around the corner. It is so exciting to see the quotes come in. The next one is fitting because my son has gorgeous curly hair, but wants to get it all cut off for the summer. I don't blame him because he is adorably cute with the curls and he looks like a cool little man after every hair cut. Cool is better according to a 7 year old. Here is quote # 5:

"If you get a "buzz cut" be prepared for people to pat the peach fuzz left on your head. - Crow Nesters