An Ode to Ma Fuche

Yesterday marked the one year Adoptionversary of my sweet Yorkie Princess LilyBelle. I thought I would take this opportunity to post an "ode" sans poem in her honor.

You may be wondering.... "who is Ma Fuche"? Well, in my family, that is the term used for a dog that isn't 'manly'. The term Ma is one that is used as an East Coast French Canadian vernacular of respect for an older "grannish" type matron. Fuche is a mocking sort of prim affluent type last name for the region. Kinda like- Paris Hilton meets her 80's....

Being the first female born to the Godin in name in 5 generations, in childhood I was frequently bombarded with terminology like that. The testosterone runs thick in the veins of the Godin men. They are very much interested in things of the manly nature and have very little concern for things of a feminine nature and--- unmanly dogs. The term is derogatory, in a good humor sort of way.. BUT I have made it into my little nick name for my sweet pet!

I am not all about April Fools. I know- Terrible spoilsport me. This year it marks the 10th anniverary of my cousin Gabe's death. Last year, to help me not fall into a terrible depressive catatonia- my husband agreed to LET me have  Ma Fuche. (I still think of my dear cousin every day of my life, multiple times a day. He is sorely missed. I do have faith that we will be together again someday. The waiting is just really hard.) She has been my comfort, protector, friend and pain in the ass for this last year. I hope for 24 more! With out further ado- the Ma Fuche Picture book.

 

First day home. She was so small we were terrified to let her on the ground!

We both got hair cuts.. Mine looked much better than hers!

Her leg was broken when she was 16 weeks old. This is the first day with out a cast. She has a skinny little leg.

Num num num. Grrrrrrr, it's MINE!

Lily in her "bubble". A little dog bed that travels.

First Halloween. I made her fairy wings, and like a good sport- she wore them.

Lily no likes winter. First winter- fail.

Valentine's day. It pooped her out. lol

St. Pats

I love you my diminutive canine friend! Thank you Seth! Email me pictures of your furry kids or friends! I'll post them all! Include Their names, minimum! The more info the more fun!

<3

Part II

And for the book! I thought this would be the hardest part. I was terrified. It was the easiest. I think the sewing of the actual dollies was the hardest! The most time consuming part is the decoration of the dresses, ect. I still have to add the felt cut out of Madi's name to the front but this is a great little book with out it even. I am really glad I made it. I have a few more to make for some very beloved little cousins! If I get enough feed back I might even have a GIVEAWAY with a set. :):):)

First I cut out the cotton fabric which I will call the patterned piece to fit the felt piece. Then I ironed down the edges for a good fit... (here I highly recommend pinning... which I did NOT do until half way through....)

Then I cut out and sewed a little tab, and turned it right side out and sewed on the "hook and loop" tape.

Next I sewed a fuzzy piece of "hoot and loop" tape to the outside front cover.

The next step is to make and sew on the pocket.

I cut out the plasticy stuff, cut out little strips of the pattern, ironed them to fit and sewed it to 3 sides and sewed it to the felt.

 Then I pinned it all together and sewed around the edge and VIOLA! We had time to play outside and Madi lugs that book around with her everywhere! It was really fun and the perfect gift! Lemme know what you guys think--- And feel free to post anything in the comments that's fun or crafty or easy! :) Till next TIME!



The Perfect Husband

Several men are in the locker room of a golf club. A cellular phone on a bench rings and a man engages the hands-free speaker function and begins to talk. Everyone else in the room stops to listen.
MAN: "Hello"

WOMAN: "Hi Honey, it's me. Are you at the club?"

MAN: "Yes."

WOMAN: "I'm at the shops now and found this beautiful leather coat. It's only $2,000. Is it OK if I buy it?"

MAN: "Sure, go ahead if you like it that much."

WOMAN: "I also stopped by the Lexus dealership and saw the new models. I saw one I really liked."

MAN: "How much?"

WOMAN: "$90,000."

MAN: "OK, but for that price I want it with all the options."

WOMAN: "Great! Oh, and one more thing. I was just talking to Janie and found out that the house I wanted last year is back on the market. They're asking $980,000 for it."

MAN: "Well, then go ahead and make an offer of $900,000. They'll probably take it. If not, we can go the extra eighty-thousand if it's what you really want."

WOMAN: "OK. I'll see you later! I love you so much!"

MAN: "Bye! I love you, too."

The man hangs up. The other men in the locker room are staring at him in astonishment, mouths wide open.

He turns and asks, "Anyone know whose phone this is?"

Mimicry the Finest Form of Flattery! Felt Dress Up "Paper Doll" Book

http://thrillinglythrifty.blogspot.com/2010/05/felt-paper-doll-dress-up-book.html

I <3 Cassidy! She has the best ideas! The above link takes you to the page that I "stole" this craft from. Her blog made it look so easy that I decided to give it a whirl. With my 3 year old daughter in tow, I headed over to Paper Cottage to use the die cuts. They have a super cute set of "paper dolls" that have many different clothes and accessories.

Then home to start sewing. This is where I must point out- my sewing machine and I are frenemies! We love to fight apparently- because she is a saucy wench that does what ever she wants, while I struggle to make her behave! :)
We started with the dolls first. They are double layers of felt- and modesty garments.

Oh yes, and a kitty. (My sewing machine ate the pigtail hair..... :()

I uses little stitches on the hair that looked like hair clips! That was fun. (except for the pigtail hair consumption part)

Then we used "puff" paint on the faces and hair. I would like to note that puff paint has come a long way since I was a kid in the 80's. They have so many colors and glitter and shiny/metallic finishes.... Very fun stuff!

Then to keep munchkin satisfied we started some clothing design!

Puff paint, hand stitching and acrylic jewels have been very fun mediums!

Ect.... This project is only half finished.... I still have to make the folder with pockets for storage.... Stay tuned----

To be continued.

“It's choice--not chance--that determines your destiny.” ~Jean Nidetch

When I was a kid, I hated my name. I hated it with a passion. I asked my mom morning, noon, and night WHY did she name me a name that wasn't a name, but a WORD. I have struggled with it for about 27 years. I am 29, but when you are an infant you don't care one way or the other, and when you can talk and you tell people your name is Destiny... Something goes wrong, their brains and ears work in tandem against you trying to correct what they have heard. (Because it MUST have been wrong.) So they repeat it to you you... I have heard them all! Desiree and Stephanie are the two MOST commonly "heard" with Dusty a close third.

So, as a youngster, that was my peeve, no one could get it right.

Then in 4th grade we learned about "manifest destiny". Enough said.

Then, the teen years were a new misery all to themselves. I pride myself that I never had a second conversation with a SINGLE person that said anything similar to, "you are my destiny" "are you my destiny" or "what's your destiny." I am also not happy about the group name of Destiny's Child. People have asked me if *I* am Destiny's Child. The answer is of course, No. I am Julie's Child. NOW my son and daughter are Destiny's Children- Plural. Individually I guess they are Destiny's Child, but also Seth's Child. They didn't exist yet then.

When first married to my husband this book was published that I would NEVER in a lifetime volunteer to read called "Freakanomics". (http://freakonomicsbook.com/) I am honestly NOT smart enough to read something like that, nor do I think I have the attention span. It was a bestseller about the abnormal side of statistical information. ANYWAY, my brother-in-law, Tanner, is very smart. He reads things like that often. Which, is probably WHY he is so smart..... He read to me a section in which the author had shown a very striking correlation between the education level of a mother and the name she bestows upon her child. So happens that Destiny's mothers are generally not given to going past high school or even finishing it for that matter. Just for the RECORD (because Tanner was not the last person to have read that book or commented on that portion of the reading...) My mom has a bachelors degree in Psychology. That book opened up a new door of explanations, I never thought would happen. Honestly, if your name is Robert- people don't ask you these things. If you name is Elizabeth---they don't ask you these things!   

More recently I have been having trouble with it again because I don't think I believe in the concept of Destiny. A predetermined set events that a person must navigate through to the best of their ability and that equals LIFE. Thus, the title of my very first blog ever.

"It's choice--not chance--that determines your destiny." Jean Nidetch

I saw this quote and it made me smile. I agree with this. I think that life is a series of choices: what shirt should I wear, do I have the salad or the burger, do I send my kid to time out or make him write his name 10 times, or write his name 10 times in time out???? It's also more complex than that. Choosing to be happy. Choosing to make things work when it doesn't seem like they can. Choosing to get up, get dressed and participate. (I do tend to prefer the MORE positive choices, however, that is something I am going to work on starting now.)

So, instead of trying to think of a new name for myself for the 532165168198744341818968574th time. (I can never decide on one.) I am going to choose to be Destiny.

So, welcome to a Date With Destiny! I have affectionately nicked named my blog ADD. I thought it was pretty funny and amazingly appropriate.  


PS Comment Comment COMMENT! And if there are any blaring typos, misspellings or other such horrors- please let me know.
And- as always remember: These are my opinions, and I will be held accountable for them.