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http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Trunk-show-today--Hollydays-tomorrow-plus-news-from-Dusty-Brown-Style.html?soid=1104524641160&aid=0BHxsZgt-SE

Sale!

I am having a sale in my Etsy shop! 30DaysHasSeptember will get you 30% off!

www.etsy.com/coppercottonandcomp

Olivia the Pig makes us giddy.

I recently found a blog online that I really adore. Our Kids Mom is really neat!

Just a few moments ago, I decided that I might take Miles, 7, to a movie today. Lola has a stomach bug and I had been wanting some girl time with my big girl.

As a part of the Kidtoons initiative, Carmike is playing Olivia and the Great Outdoors, so I googled it for a bit more info. Right off the bat, I went to this posting, where I learned that "Kidtoons is a small organization dedicated to bringing fun, affordable, safe family oriented programming to movie theaters nationwide".

We think that we will, in fact, enjoy the film. Sadly, we aren't going to make it to this film today because it starts in half an hour, but this Olivia flick is certainly on our summer list!

P.S. I registered for a little contest they're hosting for an Olivia prize pack AND I signed my kids up for the birthday club; they should each receive a movie pass around their birthday. They are going to be SO stinkin' excited to find out!

Saturday 11 to 2 Trunk Show

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Trunk-Show-Savings-from-Dusty-Brown.html?soid=1104524641160&aid=AC8kVySbRhI

Drop by Dusty's house at 3238 Prater Court on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.* to peruse Dusty Brown merchandise with a special discount of 30% or more.  As always, you can add a pair of earrings to any necklace for $5!

Your purchases will be ready to give in chocolate brown boxes, ribbon tied and presented in a small bag. How easy it that?! Hope to see you there.

30% off means:

Retail $16, sale $11.20
Retail $20, sale $14
Retaisl $25, sale $17.50
Retail $35, sale $24.50
Retail $40, sale $28

30% off  or BOGO Bezel Tray Rings:

Retail $20, sale $14 or two for $20

30% off Antique Skeleton Key Necklaces:

Retail $50, sale $35
Retail $65, sale $45.50
Retail $85, sale $55
Retail $110, sale$70

PLUS Dusty's Famous Earrings Deal:

Add earrings to any necklaces for $5

*Need another date or time frame? It might be possible! Email me at Dusty@DustyBrown.net.

If you got the hotline, please send 'em on up!

In my lifetime, my daddy has always been in good health. He got lots of physical exercise, never had a weight problem, etc. He'd complain about his 'gut', but he's a handsome, healthy man.

In 2004, he found out about a congenital birth defect. He had a valve in his heart replaced. Actually, his awesome doctors at St. Thomas replaced two valve and did a bypass while they had him in there, but he went in for one valve replacement. He had some complications and some hard days of recovery, but now seven years later, he seems the healthiest he's been since that heart surgery.

On Tuesday, they will be removing one of his kidneys. During a routine scan for his heart, they discovered a large mass in his kidney. It has to be taken out right away but luckily, it is isolated to the one kidney. The prognosis is very good; there is no sign of cancer in the lymph nodes, bones or blood. Theoretically, when the mass/kidney are removed, he should be perfectly fine. However, being a Believer, I would appreciate all of your prayers and thoughts that we do continue to receive good news and that there are no complications, etc.

The fact that we even know about this is a miracle in itself, and it gives me a level of peace that all will be fine. The mass was found during a scan for cardio health. My parents didn't think it was even time for the scan; my mom intended to see if the confirmation message was actually a mistake. When the doctor's office never got back to them, they went on in for the scan. The scan showed some spots that alarmed the staff. They ordered a different scan. THAT scan found the mass. We could have just as easily postponed the appointment due to timing or snow and not discovered this until too late. I have total faith that it was meant to be found because, as they say, the Lord's not finished with him yet.

I guess my true prayer request is that you pray for an easy recovery and fast healing.  Pray for minimal stress, for my mom as she waits for news on her husband of 47 years, for my sister as she flies from Oklahoma, my other sister as she either travels from Louisiana or waits for news at home, for my parents' dogs Butch and Lilly as they miss their Pop and his special attention...just pray whatever is in your hearts!

Have you seen the new Sesame Street E-books?

This is so cool! I can't wait to let Lola "read" some of the interactive/audio Sesame Street books on her computer!

Lola is four and a half; she'll have her magnet school testing in January. These e-books will give her even more confidence and site word experience. I mean, the listen and learn books highlight the words as they're read by the funny Sesame Street character. Thank God my girls have their own laptop (my old HP) because I would never get mine back from Lola once she sees this. And they even have a rotating selection of five books for free reading/listening. Pretty cool!

I will give you an update when we've had a chance to really dig into it...but right now I am loving this resource!

Dear Asain spammers

I don't know which country you hail from, as I can't decipher your language symbols, so forgive me for lumping all Asain spammers together. However, it would be greatly appreciated if you would stop spamming my blog comments! None of my blog readers can read your advertisements anyway!

Just a little reminiscing...

One of my favorite blogs entries...

A blog about nothing by someone with opinion on everything.: The nightmare of Chuck E. Cheese...and how I wante...: "We took Miles and Lola to Chuck E. Cheese tonight. Several people have told me that C.E.C. sells beer. I should have looked into it, because..."

Junior League of Murfreesboro: Event Detail: Hollyday Marketplace

For all of my art friends and shopping friends! Please plan to come out to support your local community on November 20th for the Hollyday Market hosted by Junior League of Murfreesboro. This is an event that gets better and better every year! I participate and love it, plus tickets are not expensive AND go to charity. It is far less for a ticket to our marketplace than to Christmas Village, plus you can't beat the location right near The Avenue.

Junior League of Murfreesboro: Event Detail: Hollyday Marketplace

Lola's little best friend...

Caywood Builders had a little fun entertaining some clients a... on Twitpic

In case you're wondering, that little buddy in the pic is Lola's main man, her age 4 bestie, her *potential* prom date in 12 years. One can only hope that they grow up to stay the greatest of friends. :)

I have just about had it OR up to my eyeballs in allergies...

I am breaking down tomorrow and calling an allergist. I can't take it anymore. Itchy eyes, stopped up nose, running nose, pain in my upper teeth, pain in my ears. Ugh. I need relief. Something strange has happened this year. I am just starting what may be my third round of severe allergies.

Last year, it became obvious to me that if I spent too much time out at my parents' home in the country, I inevitably got sick with bad allergies. If I spent way too much time, I got a sinus infection. Now this year, I have been terribly sick twice already and fear that I'll be worse tomorrow than I am today. This is really bizarre to me, as I am 34 years old and it just started.

I'd say that I've always had allergies that I thought were bad. However, last year I learned what true bad allergies felt like. And this year? Oh I certainly know for sure. So what causes someone to develope a severe seasonal allergy all of a sudden at 34 years old?! I do believe I will do the little spot test and find out. Daily Zyrtec doesn't cut it. I need the real deal, even if that means monthly allergy shots. Thoughts?

Do these teeball shorts make my butt look big?

I woke up at 3:45 a.m. My back hurt. I cleaned a little, had some grits, drank some water, read yesterday's paper and now I'm heading back to bed.

First, though, I'll let you know that I can't believe that Miles heads back to school in 2 weeks. I am anxious to know who her teacher will be but we can't find out until August 3rd this year. Miles makes me so proud to be her mother. She reads so well and her art? Yeah, it's off the hook for 6 3/4 years old. She is also an entrepreneur. She is producing drawings every day to sell in my booth at the Greenway Art Show for $1 each. Bless her heart. She is taking on the role of big sister and role model very well on most days. Sure, sometimes she shows her baby sister how to drag a bar stool to the front door and undo the chain lock, and sure, sometimes she encourages Lola to draw on the bathroom floor with toothpaste, but she sure is pretty and smart and talented.

Little Lo is growing up like crazy. Her newest fascination is taking care of her baby dolls. Now she's always liked them, but this is different. She is a precious Momma to her babies. All seven of them. They get their babas one after the other, they get their diapers changed and they get shushed back to sleep. Sometimes one might get a whack on the head for crying or 'not settling down', but I swear, I would never hit my kid on the head! I don't know where she picked that up. We've been working on that one! She's really into tattoos on people right now. Yeah.

In other news, Lola teeball team is kicking booty and taking names. The Blue Jays have done me proud. The kids all love me. (It is only fair to acknowledge that I give them treats after practice. LOL.) Lola loves her teeball shorts and asks to wear them at other times, which just cracks us up. They are short little sold black athletic shorts (the kind with the tiny holes all over the polyester-ish fabric?) from Kmart with a heart shaped pocket on the butt. Nice. She looks like a kid in the 70's. She isn't afraid to pimp her teeball hat, either, which just kills me.

Phillip was recognized at work for his outstanding performance at the company. He was the one employee named NBJ AllStar for the quarter. He also stepped right up and agreed to assume some extra responsibilities when help was needed. He's going places, I tell you. Straight to the top, I tell you.

In random news, I am working hard on PR for Junior League and absolutely loving it. I also have a few shows lined up for the fall, so I need to get my booty in gear on merchandise to sell. Life is good. We miss Mandy and Neil because we've all been so busy that we haven't had as much time to hang out this summer, but that will get better soon. We took the house off the market, though it is still for sale if anyone is interested. We don't know what to do. If we stay here, we should refinance; if we can sell it, we should grab one of the great deals available. Just taking it day by day. It hasn't been off the market for even a month yet, so we are just taking some time to think. My parents harvested a crop of 375 lbs of new potatoes, which is wonderful. My dad seems healthier than he has been in a while.

Who knows what the future holds? I do intend to blog about it, though. I miss blogging. Bear with me!

My besties are 4 and 6...

This summer is shaping up to be the best summer of my life. Man, it is so hard to even think about topping the summers of my childhood! I just can't get over how much happiness I get from spending time laughing with my girls. It feels so good to have Miles at home with me. I think I had missed her more than I realized!

I guess this summer's big leap in improvement is partially because they are older and more able to have fun this year at ages 4 and 6, to be exact. Another helpful factor is our involvement in organized sports. Miles played spring soccer and Lola is playing teeball. (PS I'm Lola's teeball coach.)

We have been able to go to the lake and pool without as much worry and to get out of the house for some exercise through their sports. Miles can read now, so sometimes she snuggles with a book. Lola is more than happy to sit in the floor and play dollhouse, My Little Pony or Polly Pocket for literally hours at a time. They are both easier to please when it comes to healthy foods that I feel good about. They have been precious. And evil. But precious more often than evil. ;)

Here's to hoping for an entire phenomenal summer of sweet memories with my two little best friends. The three of us are pals and I like it.

Hard blogging times in the house of Brown...

So it has become a nuisance to blog, and I hate that. I love blogging. However, With Tumblr and Facebook, I am finding it more and more difficult to actually come over to Blogger and follow through with spending time on my blog. I have always used my blog to truly capture our lives, and for the past few months, I've hardly captured anything. I'm sad.

Reasons to Choose Murfreesboro...

Someone challenged me to create a top ten list for moving to Murfreesboro. I ended up with a baker's dozen.

1.) Well-rounded community, not overtly just one genre of people
2.) Close to Nashville (35 mins.) but small town feel
3.) The schools are good and the teachers are usually vested in the community since they often went to MTSU.... See More
4.) MTSU football. Lots of tailgating and fun if you like that kind of thing!
5.) Plenty of choices for kids' sports leagues, plus adults can play softball, on dodgeball teams, cycling teams, etc. The city also has two sports facilities, Sports Com and Patterson Park, that have pools, workout equipment, classes and walking tracks.
6.) Greenway system is lovely and free to use. We have two large parks, Barfield and Seigel.
7.) Close proximity (30 to 60 mins) to lakes for boating, skiing, etc.
8.) We have a great library system and some local theatre groups.
9.) The mall, The Avenue and local shops mean you never have to drive out of town to do your shopping unless you are just adament about a specific store that we happen not to have, but we have plenty of all the big name choices and lots of locally owned shoppes.
10.) Cost of housing is very fair and much lower than Nashville or Franklin.
11.) Great local music scene. MTSU is a leading school internationally for recording industry, which means lots of buddin muscians around the 'boro.
12.) This community cares! We have a lot of philanthropic opportunities, like the Junior League of Murfreesboro.
13.) Less than an hour and a half to Chattanooga, which is a fabulous town for day trips.

A Rite of Passage for a young lady

Someone got her very first pair of heels today, and it makes her Momma want to cry. We are almost done with kindergarten, and the more time passes, the more I understand why moms' have empty nest syndrome when their kids leave the house for college. Maybe it isn't the fact that they leave; maybe it's the fact that you can't deny that they are grown.

A big shout out!

A huge shoutout to Coen Brock for getting into the Discovery School! Congrats, Coen! You're growing up so much and you will love kindergarten. We are so very happy for you and your mom and dad are so proud of you!

One of my besties, Shea, and her son, Coen, Discover School student

Terrible blogger

I have been a terrible blogger since the fall. I just don't have as much time to blog! I am going to get back into writing on my blog very soon!

Recent developments worth blogging about, though I haven't done it yet:

• Miles can read books all by herself!
• Lola is very into her jeans and refuses to wear much else.
• Miles got a big girl bike for Christmas and I need to post pics.
• Coen totally 5-year-old kissed Miles last night at Mellow Mushroom and she blushed and then said she wanted to kiss him again and again and again. Ahhhhhhhhhh!
• We got a real snow today! It took us an hour and a half to get home from Shea's! That's about 8 times the normal amount of time.
• Miles has gotten a 5/5 on her last three AR test! Woot woot!
• My jewelry will be featured in the February/March issue of Murfreesboro Magazine and on their site!
• I am going to ODI (Organizational Development Institute) for Junior League in March and I can't wait!

Christmas Eve 2009

Christmas on the Square 2009

Goggelers, and other essential items for the lake

Lola has gotten me tickled so much lately. Why, just now, she randomly told me that if you go to the lake with your 'goggelers' on, you can't see anything. And that if you go into a lake with alligators in it, alligators will eat! you! up!

She has been growing up so incredibly fast. She is smart as a whip and loves to giggle uncontrollably. She prefers to sleep in one of my tshirts instead of pj's or a perfect sized gown. Santa brought her a Tinkerbelle scooter and you should have seen her face. Boy, oh boy. That scooter was just perfect.

Vacation's all I ever wanted...

Christmas vacation is going very well here for the Brown family! My children are enjoying themselves thoroughly and Phillip and I are taking it easy. Each day, we come up with some craft or food to make and a way to get out of the house. So far, so good. Previously, Miles has cried when school was out, but this time she is giggling and happy. I think she understands that everyone is out of school, not just her. (At fall break, she seemed to think that the rest of her class was still at school having fun and that we were just keeping her home. We could not convince her otherwise, and she cried like a mopey, depressed thirty-something.)

To think that tomorrow is Christmas Eve is astounding. The weather is so nice and mild. The sun is shining! So much for a white Christmas, huh? That's ok. My childhood memories always seem to include beautiful sunny Christmas days in Louisiana, so I'll talk a nice mild Tennessee Christmas.

We had planned to go to Liberty tonight to Mandy and Neil's house, but it looks like we are going stay in town. They have three more puppies to give away and need to meet some potential adoptive families for these three, so it would be hard to get together. They came over Friday night and I was able to give her the Little Wayne painting I commissioned from Jeff Bertrand. She loved it. We gave Neil some leather work gloves, some bungee cords and a copy of Capote. I guess you just have to know Neil to understand that gift combo. :)

I am very ready for Friday morning. Santa is bringing so many wonderful things this year! In fact, I may have gone a little overboard. Possibly. Slightly. But not really. We have lots of gifts under the tree and will all be getting many things that we wanted...but every penny spent was cash money, so that isn't too bad, right? No lingering debt after the holidays means it is ok, right? But I digress.

2009 has been a strange year. We've sent a child to kindergarten and we've passed along how good it feels to keep on volunteering in this community. We buried Papaw Joe but we've celebrated birthdays with lots of little friends just learning to be themselves. I went back blonde. Lola became a true LSU fan. (She's watching tv, wrapped in an LSU thrown right now. Don't prod her or she will ask you, "How 'bout them tigers?") The entire world said goodbye to MJ. We congratulated Britt on her engagement.

Merry Christmas to each and every family, with warm wishes for 2010!