HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!

it's December the 30th. Can you believe that 2013 is almost over?

This year flew by so fast and I am glad it did. I feel thankful for everything that I have accomplished this year and I thank God for giving me the gift of life but, I wont miss a thing about 2013 LOL

OK, I am ready to start 2014 with open arms :) I know it is going to be a wonderful year to all of us. I am definitely sure that 13 is not my lucky number LOL. Let's move on, let's have faith that everything will be much better in 2014. Let's dream and believe that everything is possible, not only DREAM but BELIEVE, that is the key, when we believe, we are half way there.

I wish you all my Family, Friends and Customers, a year full of Energy, health, Joy, Peace and courage. I wish you could stop and make a commitment. We all know everybody decides to lose weight at the beginning of the year. At the YMCA is impossible to get an empty "chicken fing" (Elliptical Machine) I call it "chicken fing" because I think we all look like chickens when we are on that machine LOL. I think we look so funny LOL Well, that is just me, I guess I think everything is funny LOL. Ok, back to the subject, lets make a commitment to change our life to the better, let's focus on what we want to get accomplished in 2014 and lets work towards our goal. We will lose weight sometime "dont you worry a fing" LOL.  This reminded me about something really funny happened before Christmas. Isabella asked her daddy and I to write our wish on a piece of paper and she was going to  make our wish come true. her daddy wished peace to the world I think, I wrote it down that I wish I were really thin. we also got to wish something for Squeaker, our dog. So, we wished a big bone for her. When Isabella opened my paper she looked at me and said "I am sorry mom but your wish is not something that depends on me, it depends on you only. All you need to do is get on that treadmill everyday and your wish will come true. Sorry, there is nothing I can do about that" :(

Poor thing, the only wish she could grant was Squeaker's bone, her daddy and I wished something out of reach for her LOL

So, let's be nice to ourselves. Let's wish for something doable LOL

Let's all of us start the New Year  dreaming and believing that it will be a WONDERFUL one.

God be with us always.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to YOU!!!!!!!!

Blessings

Zee 

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

OH OH OH Merry Christmas to YOU! and YOU! of course YOU too and yep, YOU as well :)

This morning I woke up early, actually I almost didn't sleep at all because of my restless legs Syndrome. So I came to my studio and finished my last order for Christmas. Four embroidered blankets that I was supposed to personalize for a customer. She said it would be OK to get them after Christmas since she brought them over in the last minute but, you know Zee, I would never have the heart to not deliver a Christmas order :)

After I was done with that work, I left the house to get done with the last minutes errands and buy the last gift for tomorrow. Although I didn't sleep very well, I was feeling so good, I am still feeling good. I got all my work done, I think I have all the shopping done LOL So, I was driving like a normal American. "Well, Americans are civilized" LOL Not Crazy as we Brazilians. People were crazy as always, cars every where... I was like  "OK Sir,if you want to pass me to be the first one waiting for the stop light to turn green? Go ahead, I will let you go :) Tomorrow is Christmas, Zee is feeling the real spirit of Christmas in her heart, no hurry here at all. when I was at the store and would see a person with only a few items in their hand I would say "Go ahead please, I am in no hurry :)" I feel like I have all the time of the world :). People would smile and get on their way. I think it has been a long time since I felt like this, no hurry... I have all the time of the world. If I would see a driver trying to get on the road leaving a parking lot I would stop and let them go ahead. It's amazing how these little things bring so much joy to our hear :)) The real spirit of Christmas. I have been buying little things to everyone and I really don't care if I am going to get anything back. Actually, I like it better giving gifts than receiving them. I wish I could give a gift to every little kid in the world. Put a smile on people's face is the best reward to me :) Life is amazing and I am so glad I am able to be with the ones I love. My family is far away in Brazil but, they will always be close to me right here in my heart wherever I am. I am taking whatever I can. I still have my family and friends here in the USA. Family and friends that mean the world to me.

I think this year, one of the best presents we have gotten, is little Squeaker. She brought happiness to our sweet home, she makes us smile and drives Brian crazy with her barking but, he loves her anyway :) 

Last Sunday when he wasn't feeling well, she was the one who kept him company watching TV with him on his lap. Thank you Lord for Squeaker...

I wish all of you my dear Family, Friends and Customer a very Merry Christmas and a HEALTHY New year that will bring us close to our dream and success that we wish for. I want the New year to be HAPPY too but, first of all, we need it to be HEALTHY. God bless and be with each and every one of you! Please don't forget the real spirit of Christmas that is the blessings of a healthy life that money cant buy, for everything else, as the TV commercial says. "there is the credit card" LOL 

BLESSINGS.. BLESSINGS... BLESSINGS TO the whole entire world! The peace of our Lord Jesus be with us during the Holidays and always!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

When do you know that you have found the perfect purse?

Started my day at the UPS store waiting for them to open so that I could pick up my boxes. The UPS always come to my place in the evening and I needed do have an order finished for today so, I called and asked them to hold my boxes there hat I would pick them up. When they finally opened, I found out that they had only one of my boxes and the others were in one of their truck out for delivery. O my dear mom... I was so stressed out about that. They told me that they were going to contact the truck driver and call me on my phone so that I could meet the truck some place and get the rest of my order.

On my way back home, I thought I was going to stop at my favorite store and do some Christmas shopping while I waited.

When I got in the store, I felt the purse isle calling my name, I thought to myself, I better don't go that way, I will end up buying one more purse that I don't need. For a "pursehollic" like me, it didn't work. I got myself  eyeballing some cute purses. Yeah, I do have a purse problem... LOL for some reason I cant resist the temptation when I see an "almost perfect" purse. 

While I was "test driving" one of them hanging on my shoulder, I notice a gentleman looking at the purse as well. He looks at me and says:

- I swear I am not looking at purses for myself, I want to get my wife one for Christmas.

- Oh that is really sweet of you! I told him. Let me know if you need help picking the "almost perfect one" He thought it was really funny that I mentioned the "almost perfect one" so I had to explain, that it has been a while that I have been shopping for purses and I haven't found the "perfect one" yet.

- What is a "perfect purse" like? He asked me. and there I go with all my observation when shopping for a purse.

- If you were a woman, which one would you pick for yourself? I asked him.

- Well, he said looking at a brand name purse hanging there looking pretty. how about that?

- Why did you choose that one? I asked him.

-I have heard my wife talking about this brand a lot.

- Well, before you buy a purse, you need to "test drive" it first I explained him. You need to hang on your shoulders, walk around with it and see if it feels comfortable:

- I am skipping that part I think. He said:- What is the next step?

- open the purse and see if you could find your stuff really easy when you open it, plus it needs to have some nice pockets inside.

- I had no idea I had to know all this before buying a purse. I was just going to pick a pretty one one and get over with it, he said.

You have no idea what a purse means to a "purse lover" you need to have the "connection" with the purse you are going to purchase sir. I explained all the steps of choosing a perfect one and then my phone rang, it was the UPS guy. He wanted me to go meet the truck driver to get my boxes.

- well, I have to go now and chase the UPS truck sir, take your time choosing the perfect purse for your wife. Don't rush in, look carefully, she will know if you took the time to pick one or just grabbed the first one you saw.

- I think I might go shopping for something else, I never imagined that picking the "perfect purse" was such a hard work. Thanks for your help, he told me.

I left the store with four pairs of tennis shoes and a new cute black purse, there I went chasing the UPS truck. Making a long story short, Juliana my friend ended up meeting the truck driver who wasn't happy at that he had to wait for her and the day just kept getting crazier and crazier.

Right now is 10:21 PM and I am typing this post and going to go to bed. Tomorrow will be another busy crazy day. Everybody decided to get personalized embroidery for the last minutes, so, my days was as hectic as it could be.

I am going to thank God for one more day, busy, crazy, hectic but it was one more day that He let me have among the ones I love.

Thank you Lord for the gift... The precious gift of LIFE.

Blessing

Zee

Ten days until Christmas... What is the best gift of all?

Today is December 15th. Ten more days until Christmas...

Today we went Christmas shopping for the first time. The stores were packed and I don't enjoy very much all this Christmas present shopping. It feels so weird to go shopping for our family and friends, all the worries about what to buy for everybody. Is that person going to like it or re gift to somebody else? Should we get gift card instead ? 

We should not be feeling this way, we shouldn't be feeling like we HAVE to go rushing buy gifts that we don't know for sure if it is going to be appreciated or not.  I think Christmas is time to rejoice, reflect, time to celebrate life, love, Christianity. 

We bought some gifts and came back home with the feeling that we have to get everything done this week. Lots of pressure knowing that this week a lot of people will be counting on me for their Christmas gift. I have tons of work to get embroidered. Am I going to meet my deadline? Sure I will I really enjoy embroidering and customizing my customer's gift to their loved ones. At least they took the time to think their gift over. They didn't  care about the cost, they wanted to give something unique and special, what is really the holiday spirit.

May the joy and the love of Jesus Christ be with you, in your heart through Christmas and the New Year!

Blessing to all'

Zee

www. Myfirstbirthdaydress.com

Wow! It's December already!

Wow! It's December already, this year has been winding down...

In a month from now, I will be getting older and unfortunately I can't say I am getting any wiser. I think that I am only aging LOL. 

I have been calling our dog by our daughter's name, even told Isabella yesterday to "Please Isabella take Chantel outside to go potty" Poor Chantel, she is one of Isabella's friend. I have been very forgetful lately and started receiving mails from AARP. I guess when things like that starts happening to us, it's time to buy a very comfy recliner and keep back a little bit LOL... 

Oh boy and can you believe that the other day I even got advertising mail from a Funeral home! What the heck?!?!?! LOL That kind of business should not be allowed to send people those kind of mail. The way I have been forgetting things so easily, I had to double check if I was still among the living ones before I shredded that letter as soon as I got it.

I know that the economy is really bad but, that is no reason for them to scare the heck out of elderly ladies like me. 

Oh my saint Benedict of the bald head,I beg your help, last Thursday on Thanksgiving Day, we went to a relative's place to dinner and I was telling people "Happy Halloween" instead of Happy Thanksgiving!  Seriously! It's been so many Holidays one after another and so many celebrations that it confuses my poor gray head! LOL 

My bucket list is getting smaller and smaller... I think it is still  time to add some stuff to it just in case... LOL

Tomorrow, December 2nd, it going to be my little granddaughter's 3rd Birthday! Yeah... I have a three years old granddaughter!!! :))) (not really sure which emoticon to use here) LOL Just kidding kiddings, I am a proud grandma of Victoria and love my sweet little pea more than words can say. I am just feeling silly today LOL.

Ok it's December first and we have no Christmas tree up. I keep wondering if we shouldn't start putting up a smaller one from now on. We spend so much time putting the big tree together and in no time we have to go through all that to bring it back down anyways... Brian thinks we need to use the big one... oh right...

I am ready for one more week kids and I am hoping it will be a wonderful one to all of us, young and old folks LOL

Have a precious week ahead kids

God bless us all

Zee

I am thankful for having happy moments to share with the ones I love :)

Good morning my dear kids :)

What a beautiful sunny day huh?!  And we are alive :) Praise our Lord...

Some people don't understand the difference about "bragging" and being "thankful"  that is really sad... Some people ask me if I dont have problems, how can I be happy all the time? 

I will tell you what. I do have things that happens to me that are not worth of mentioning... What for example? Well, dang, I will have to mention now...How about the fact that the holidays are coming and most of you will celebrate close to your family while mnie is miles and miles away? How about the fact that I have to take blood thinner for the rest of my life and keep often testing my blood to always be "in range"  between 2.5 and 3.5. Today for example my test result was 1.9, not good huh!? LOL Most of you dont know the fact that last Friday, due to my web hosting incompetence and misunderstanding, I got both of my website, the Embroidea and the First Birthday Dress ones totally deleted from the server.

My wonderful husband has been working on the Embroidea one but the First Birthday Dress according to the web hosting will take between seven and ten days to be back online. I already know the consequences of those mistakes, Google might punish me for that and I might have to start from ground zero again. Does that bother me? Yes it does. Do I let those "small" problems TOP the fact that I woke up and got out of bed today and I am ready to spend one more day in this earth with my USA Family? Hell NO!!! Do I blame on the "poor satan" for all the shit that happens? Hell NO LOL  That "poor horned guy" is blamed for everything bad that happens LOL I believe in "free will"  I let that satan cooking marshmallow and hot chocolate right there in hell where he lives, cuddling with is "satan wife" LOL

Nothing in this world will be more important and worth of "bragging" about than the fact that I am ALIVE!!! :)

All the other stuff I can start from scratch. It wont be the first time I have to do this :) With any bad thing that happens to me, I learn precious life lessons that makes it all worth. 

So for a few people that might think that I am always bragging about my "perfect life" the fact that I post pictures of my new "satellite looking puppy" my opportunity to see one of my favorites singers, etc. I am not "bragging" at all. I am sharing my moments of happiness with my family in Brazil and with all of you my dear friends love me and whom I love so dearly.

I do have "shit" happens to me all the time BUT,  I would rather talk about the happy things that are the biggest and most important ones to me.

I am normal LOL Yes I am like everybody else here, I have bad and good moments but no matter what happens I will always praise the Lord for the good ones and dont waste my precious energy with those things that are not so good.

Today, I am so THANKFUL that, I am alive, the sun is shinning and I can work from home having our home thermostat on 73 degrees and a space heater right in front of me :)) ah, and yes I am thankful for our beautiful "satellite ears puppy" coming all the time and kissing me :))

Let's count our blessings and dont focus on those not so good things dear kids. Life is short enough, let's use our energy to be happy no matter what comes our way :)

God bless and be with us always...\

Love you all

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”

As I was watching Isabella playing with Squeaker, her new dog, she seemed so content, I asked her:

- Isabella are you happy now that you have your own dog?

-Yes mommy, but... (Oh shoot I thought to myself. Is it possible that she is already tired of the dog?)

BUT???? I asked her:

-Mommy isn’t it so sad that in order for me to be happy, someone else has to be unhappy? 

- Who is unhappy? I questioned her

-The lady who had to give her for adoption because she was sick and couldn't take care of Squeaker no more L

Awwww... That made my day kids...Those words, my dear friends, came out of our 7 years old daughter's mouth... That is called compassion. I am so glad that Isabella is not a selfish little girl. We must being doing a good job raising our daughter... 

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive" (Dalai Lama)

Have a compassionate and blessed day you all!

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

Isabella thinks she knows now how it feels like to be a mommy

On the way back home from picking up Squeaker

To the doctor who told my mommy when I was born, that I wouldn't live long enough to get to be a teenager (I have no clue why a stupid doctor would say that). Here I am, 46 years old and I just came back from a forty minutes’ walk with my daughter’s new dog on a 33 degrees Fahrenheit temperature, wearing no coat, but a sweatshirt. Didn't plan on that but Squeaker actually is the one who took me for that long walk. The short legged one is fast as a lighting. Whew, I survived LOL

Yeah, I am very proud of myself and proud of believing that God is the only one who knows the time He has given to each one of us to be here in this planet.

I am so glad I got to convince my husband to adopt a small dog for Isabella. 

Everything was decided last minute, like everything else in this household. Sunday when I saw the ad on Craigslist of a lady looking for a good family for her tiny Chihuahua.

Squeaker and grandma

 I looked at the picture and fell in love with Squeaker. She is 2 years old and house broken. I thought maybe this is what we need, not a puppy who needs a lot of training but a young dog. Isabella has been begging for a puppy for quite a while but, my husband had not recovered yet from the last time we got two Boston terrier puppies and a month later I had to go through my open heart surgery. Recovering from a procedure like that having to care of a young daughter, my business and two puppies, wasn't an easy task for me. We had to give them away for adoption… I know we broke our daughter’s heart but at that time, it was the smartest decision to take. I guess I never forgave myself for that since when I was a child, I grew up having not only one or two but many dogs and cats. How could I deny my daughter the same thing I had?

Now that we adopted Squeaker, I know she will needs lots of TLC cause she doesn't have any paper saying what shots she has had or vitamins or whatever, she has not been fixed yet, it’s going to be a lot of work but I know it is going to be worth of it.

Squeaker and Grandpa

Isabella has been a great “mommy” taking care of her Squeaker and last night she told me the sweetest thing ever. By the end of the day, I could tell she was really tired, and so was I, she came to me and said: - Mommy, today I haven’t had time to read a book or play my games on the computer, now I can say that I really know how it feels like to be a mommy... she sighed 

This morning before she left to school, she passed to be the great responsibility of babysitting her dog: "You are the babysitter now mommy, be careful!"

Life is a beautiful thing. I guess that not planning anything, just trusting our guts and  and letting God lead the way is the best way to live life…

Once upon a time a squirrel...

When Isabella came back from school this afternoon, she was very excited, she ran straight to my room and told me: 

-Mommy let's go very fast before he wakes up. I need to show you something!

- What is it? I asked her.

- There is a Squirrel sleeping on the side walk! I want you to see him!

I didn't think twice, my baby girl wanted me to go see the squirrel and so we ran across the street to find the poor squirrel laying among the leaves. She was very happy. 

-Be really quiet Mommy we don't want to wake him up.

- Isabella, I am sorry but, this squirrel is dead.

The expression she had on her face I cant explain with words... It was a mix of sadness and disappointment. She said:

- I am so sorry mommy, you told me once that you wish so bad you could see a squirrel from very close and when I saw this one, I thought you were going to be thrilled. I didn't know he was dead, I am so sorry to make you sad. I thought he was sleeping. He has no sign of being hurt, he is not laying flat on the street like the  dead ones I have seen. He looks like he is sleeping...

- That is OK Isabella, we will have all the time in the world to see a squirrel from very close again, this one is gone to the Squirrel's heaven.

- Maybe he had a heart attack you think?

- Maybe he did...

I felt so bad for Isabella because she knows how much I love the animals, she thought she was going to make me smile when I would see that squirrel.. What was I thinking??? I should have told her when she came to my room, that it was impossible for a squirrel to sleep on the sidewalk! I guess I wanted to believe that she was right  LOL

Poor squirrel...

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

It's not Thanksgiving yet but I keep on being thankful...

Isabella reading this morning

Speaking of keep being thankful, today I am so thankful that our youngest daughter has gotten the passion for reading that her daddy, big sister and I  have in common.

I am so thankful that instead watching TV, Isabella would rather seat on her chair and ready books. I cant believe that she read an over two hundred pages books 3 times!!! For some reason, she got in love with the series of book "Diary of a wimpy kid" LOL She says it is really funny. Yesterday she got the second book of the series. She cant put it down, she pauses during breakfast to read a chapter or another. Isn't it cool?

Isabella and her Godmother

When only Isabella and I are at home, it doesn't matter if it is day or night, the TV is something that both of us don't really care about. We are both seizing our time, not wasting... We are travelling to different places in our imagination, we are finding out so many things we didn't know..

Isabella dancing Ballet

The fun part of it is that we have never insisted her to do some reading, of course we have told her it is a good habit. I think that it is something that in her veins.   

Isabella as a Brownie

We, just like many of  other parents thought it would be cool if Isabella did ballet, sports, etc. So, she tried ballet for four years, we thought she liked it but, she wasn't too happy when we would say, "ballet class today" This year though, she said she loved her teachers, her friends and that she would miss them all but, she didn't want to do ballet anymore. We had tried before taking her to play soccer since it is something that I, as a Brazilian, love to play. Isabella poor thing, was lazy just like Ronaldinho (ex Brazilian Soccer team player) She would just hang around the goal area waiting for somebody to kick her the ball and she would kick it to the goal. 

Other times, she would just hold hands with her friends during the game and forget they were  playing LOL. We learned that is definitely something Isabella didn't get from me LOL

I guess if we trust our kids and let them choose what they want to do, they will find out their way. Isabella, has discovered her passion for reading, singing and creating stories, adventures all by herself. I guess she got the artistic genes from her parents. We both love Arts.

Isabella holding the Kangoroo

The funny things was the other day at the store, she was browsing the book session while  Brian and I looked for a new coffee maker since ours had just gone bad.  When we came back, she pointed us that the book she has been reading, it is in the YOUNG ADULT Session. She says: - Young adult... They must be kidding, I have read this book three times already and I am 7! LOL

Isabella Zip linning

Isabella has learned by herself, the love for Animal, adventures, Girls Scouts, sewing, inventing and even got interested about religion. That is something that amazes me the most. I was raised Christian and had always gone to the church with my parents until we moved to the USA. For some reason here, I got a little bit distant from the church but I have always kept GOD, that is the most important thing, close to my heart. Isabella nowadays, has been going every Sunday to the Awana (I hope I am not misspelling) with her little friend Lydia. There they have been learning all about God and the bible. We make sure that we never forget to drive her to this very important appointment. 
I was so ashamed  once when she was small and I was tucking her in, I told her: - Isabella, let pray to Jesus so that He will give us a good night of sleep and thank Him for this day. She turned to me and  asked: - WHO IS THIS GUY????? OMG I couldn't help but laugh so bad... afterwards thought, I felt ashamed.

Today I am thankful first of all, for the GIFT OF LIFE, being able to wake up for another brand new day and a new chance to make it right AND I am thankful that our little girl has discovered her love for READING.

Let's be thankful for everything kids. LIFE IS AMAZING.

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

So many things to be thankful for this year...

At the Lincoln Museum

We are in the month of  November and Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  I am seeing all my Facebook friends with the things in their life which they are thankful.  I am thankful for everyday that I am able to get out of bed and thankful for everything God has given to me. 

This year though, I have so many things to be thankful for… Of course I am thankful for the everyday things, kids, family, friends, Customers, business, First Birthday Dresses but what I am thankful for the most this year is…  God has given me the tools to turn one of my parent’s dreams into a reality. My mom has always been afraid of flying, my dad has always wanted to but, oh well, they could never afford it, so early this year; I called my mom and daddy and told them to go have their passport done because they would be coming to visit us in the USA.

Going for a walk

 Their answer was oh we wish we could but it’s so expensive! I told them to go and I would take care of everything, paid for their visas, ticket and even paid for a friend’s ticket for her to come with them, just to make sure they would be fine since they don’t speak English. I had no clue where I would get all that money since they were traveling during one of the most expensive times of the year to fly. NO, I did not have the money for all that but….I knew I was smart enough to figure out a way to pay for the trips without going into debt. And I would do it honestly and legal. LOL .  And I did!! 

 God has given me the strength to believe that everything would be fine. I was obviously very nervous because my mom’s fear of flying and her health issues.  

My mom caught a nice size fish

I am so thankful that I got to do this for my parents… Watching them walking in downtown Springfield square, my father would tell my mommy; “When in this world would we think that someday we would be here in the USA”? That brought tears to my eyes. I was so happy. I know I didn't have the money to take them to other parts of the US while they were here, but just being here with me and my family was grand enough for them.  My daddy has never been in a fishing boat before but God provided.  

This smile made it all worth of it

One of my Customers who is a fisherman chaperoned my daddy and mommy during a nice fishing adventure. I don’t think they caught any whales but they sure had a great time!!  I am so thankful that we had friends over to celebrate my daddy’s 66th years of life. We had a pool party and cake. My daddy wasn't expecting people to come and bring him gifts because nobody knew him. Oh but, what my daddy didn't know was that his daughter has the best friends in the world. They came over and brought him some nice gifts that he will cherish forever. His only wish was " I wish I knew how to speak English so that I could talk to everybody here" :))

Mom and Daddy with friends

My mom’s dream was to go and visit her church in Chicago, IL.  I wasn't sure about going but I was going to do anything that would make her happy, so we took them to Chicago one day before their departure. I went with them to the Church and I can’t describe to you how happy they both were for visiting their church in the USA and having me with them.  Yeah… I am one of their black sheep who stopped going to the church. So my dear friends, I am SO THANKFUL for turning my parents dream reality.

Going to the church with mom and daddy

I am also thankful for my son, his wife and my granddaughter moving close to my parents in Brazil. I am thankful that they are now close to their family and the ones who really love them. Yeah, that is another dream I want to turn into reality, bring my son and his little family to visit us in the USA, they are young and can wait a bit longer I guess.  

I am thankful for getting back to my workout routine and for trying to get back to my normal weight again, for my heart sake.  I will thank God and my heart will thank me 

I think that even if I spent the entire day here being thankful, I would not have time to describe all the things I am thankful for… God is amazing and so is the life He gave me…

My daddy birthday cake

Oh I can’t forget that I am so thankful for Victoria Secrets as well… Oh no… here comes that Zee that has to come up with something weird to be thankful for. I know, I shouldn't be doing free advertising for a big retailer like them but I have never found a local regular bra that has helped me so much when I am at my normal weight… Yeah... You know… when we lose weight, the “girls” are the first things to go… LOL.  I know Bello…Too much information here, but, I just cant deny that I am so thankful for Victoria Secrets…I’ll hush….for now.  :)
Have a great day kids and keep on being thankful!!!!!

God bless

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

Do witches dance with pirates?

Do witches dance with pirates?

Today is Halloween and later there will be all kinds of children in scary masks coming to our house for tricks or treats.  I know some of the children will dress up as witches and pirates. That got me thinking about something very important.  Do witches dance with pirates?  Well I know the answer and I will tell you a short story about the time a witch danced with a pirate.

But first you must know that not all witches are ugly and most are actually beautiful.  As a matter of fact, I've been called a witch before and I’m not that UGLY.  J  But real witches do carry brooms with them.  Some people think they fly on those brooms, but I think they just clean the house with them.  And Pirates, well they are funny looking men.  Even though they have two perfectly good eyes they continue to wear those stupid eye patches.  And to be a pirate you have a peg leg.  Why on earth would anyone want to be a pirate and be required to lose a leg??  Sounds dumb to me, but they are men so anything is possible. And then they talk funny. They always say Arrrrrrgggggg.  What the heck does that mean???  It sounds like they are mad all the time!!!

So as I think about those poor witches who everyone thinks are ugly with scary hats and brooms that don’t work.  And then those poor dumb men who are pirates with the silly eye patch and stump for a leg, I've decided they deserve to dance just like us “regular” people.  Dancing makes me happy so on Halloween I want a witch to dance with a pirate so they can be happy too. 

But the question is could they or would they?  I say yes!! Why?  Because I've seen them dance.   But I've left out one very important thing.  Witches do have special powers.  I know because I have them too.  And now they story I promised.

There was once was a lonely witch and on one October 31, she met a lonely pirate.  They decided to go out and have some fun so they went dancing.  The witch was having such a good time.  The pirate used the witches broom for support (darn stupid peg leg) and the witch thought the pirate looked so sexy in the eye patch.  They danced beautifully the night away and everyone watched them.  When the witch asked the pirate if he was having a good time he would say….Arrrrrrrrg matey!!  She thought that meant yes but with pirates you just can’t tell.  So as midnight approached and they knew they had to part, the witch asked the pirate if he wanted to marry her!  The pirate said….Arrrrrrrrg.  Which meant, no my dear I have to go back to my ship and sail away.  The witch got very mad because she thought the pirate liked her.  Now do you remember me telling you that witches have special powers? Well, as the pirate limped away, she cast a spell on him and turned him into a parrot! She put him in a special cage and clipped his wings so he wouldn't fly away when she let him out.  For the rest of their lives she lived happy with her new pet parrot who she also taught to speak Portuguese.

So that’s my Halloween story but…..Oh..silly me I left of one very important fact.  The witch, her name was Zee and she named her parrot Brian. How about this funny story for now ?

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

Happiness is Everywhere!!!

Good morning kids  I woke up, got out of bed and thought to myself: This is happiness, I've gotten one more day to enjoy!!! came downstairs, enjoyed some time meditating, sipped a cup of coffee, relaxed... Then, later, I went back upstairs to get ready for the day and ended up finally finding my bag of fuzzy warm socks that I didn't know where I had put them last winter, so, I thought: hmm this is happiness as well :0) Oh I've missed my fuzzy socks so much lol Yeah, it's so cold today! ;))

Then, finally time to wake up our little princess Isabella to get ready to school. She had a beautiful smile to this proud mommy, then the thought came back to me again: This is really happiness! I think happiness is every where we want it to be. Today my dear friends I've decided to count all my blessings and be thankful for every little thing called happiness :0) How about You try to pay attention to every little thing through the day and you will realize how happy you are as well? :))

Right now I feel that I am really blessed and happy to be able to work from home, embroider my First Birthday Dress and talk to my Customers!

 God bless and be with us always. 

Have a happy day kids!!!

Zee 

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world

What a beautiful day to be alive :) Thank YOU Lord.

Yesterday, when Isabella, my second grader came back from school, she asked me to have a mother and daughter's moment in the kitchen and make cupcakes. I had some order I had to get done last night and I asked her: - Can we have this moment after I am done with this order here? She was OK with it, then I remembered that on Tuesday night, she goes swimming with her daddy at the YMCA, so I said: - Isabella, Daddy is picking you up for swimming today, if you want to, you don't have to go, you can stay with mommy and we can make cupcakes. She thought for a little bit and replied: 

- I am not sure what to do because I want to go swimming with Daddy but I also would like to make some cupcakes with you. I told her it was OK, we would make the cupcakes another day.

After they left and I had my work finished, I started feeling so guilty for not have stopped and going to have the "daughter and mommy" with Isabella...

 While they were away, I went to the kitchen to do the dishes and clean up, I decided I would make the cupcakes and she would decorate them when she'd come back home, and so I did.

When they were back and she found out I had the cupcakes  all made on top of the stove for her, she was so happy and so thankful :) She said:

-YOU are the best mommy in the whole entire world! She would come once in a while and thank me for making her cupcakes, I think she really understood that I wanted to have the "daughter and mommy" moment but I couldn't, so I did the best I could.

This morning, when she woke up, I always bring her a cup of milk in bed every morning, she grabbed her cup, looked at me and said:

-Mommy, thank you so much for making me the cupcakes last night, I really appreciate it!

All my guilty feeling are gone now and I am so glad that she is only 7 years old but she really appreciates the little things in life. She takes what she can get and move on.

God bless our day!

Zee www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."Agatha Christie 

“A thought is a Cosmic Order waiting to happen.”

Hello you all kids ;)

Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend. We for sure had a very nice one. As always, we wake up Saturday in the mornings and Isabella (my 7 years old daughter) wants to go garage sale shopping. I have learned a very good way to teach her some math and negotiation skills. I give her some money and tell her, you have to know how to manage what you have, once it is over, we are done. The big problem is, I am a garage sale lover myself :)  I like to see what people are getting rid of and sometimes I find good deals.

This Saturday, while visiting some garage sale in the neighborhood, I have the opportunity to talk about Pilot International, this wonderful nonprofit organization I belong to and even got some good donation for our annual garage sale that will happen next Saturday. The lady was so nice, got to hear about what we do and even drove her truck to my house to bring her left over. All very nice stuff. When she came over, she saw my sign that Fred Nika, one of our dear friend made for Embroidea Custom Embroidery and asked me about my business and asked me for some business card because at her work, they will be able to use my services.This is the Law of attraction, everything we give, we get something else in return. I was working on getting donations for our Organization and endep up getting one more possible great Customer. I felt very lucky to have gotten some more donations for our project. Last year, with the money from the garage sale we had, we got to buy IPads for a class of students with Autism. We made a teacher and kids very happy with that donation. We are a small group in Springfield and trying to grow our group. We want more people to join us to fight for a good cause and make a difference in this world.

       This Friday, September the 8th, at 6:00 pm at the KC Hall, we are having an event named “Share Pilot", we would be so glad to have you visiting us. You would be able to learn more about our cause and maybe join us in this Journey. You can RSVP me Zee 217 502-2088 if you feel like visiting us. We would be so happy :) Also, if you have items that you would like to donate for our annual garage sale, please do so, reply to this post and we will pick up your items at your place.

I am finishing this beautiful weekend that I had, first of all thanking my Lord, for all the joys that He brings to my life and also all the blessings. Thank you dear Lord for all the wonderful family and friends you have given to me. Thanks for making me an instrument of your peace.

I pray that we all will have a wonderful week ahead and that if we BELIEVE, we will get everything that we need accomplished. I pray that our Lord will be with you and your family always... AMEM

God bless and be with you!

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

“A thought is a Cosmic Order waiting to happen.” 
― Stephen Richards

I can live for two months on a good compliment. ( Mark Twain)

Yes, I can live for two months on a good compliment, just like Mark Twain  said :) Sometimes all we need to feel good is a compliment. It doesn't cost a dime and make us feel so good. I have always enjoyed saying compliments to my friends and Customers because I know how they make me feel.

I was having a good day, not to much productive but, it was an ok day until a few minutes ago when I got this Convo from Etsy that made my day :))

This lady was browsing the net trying to find a birthday dress for her daughter. Even thinking that she couldn't afford it, she took some minutes of her time to say something nice  that put a big smile on my face :) 

God bless your heart dear mom :)

Isn't it so easy? Now I keep thinking to myself: why don't I just pay it forward? Why don't I give a look through all the shops on Etsy and maybe I can be lucky enough to make somebody Else's day! 

This is the world that I want for the next generation. A world of love, peace and gratitude. John Lennon was  so right when he said that he was a dreamer, but he wasn't the only one.  I am a dreamer as well.

I thought I would share with  you what made my day today :)

God bless that lady's family and yes, I have done something about it... They say that money makes the world go round but, Love also does the same.

God bless you and your family!

Smile :) Life is GOOD!

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

Thank You dear Lord for one more day ...

Beautiful  My First Birthday Dress

Dear Lord, thank you very much for this day.

Thank you for watching over my family, giving me patience, wisdom, peace of mind, thank you dear Lord for all the blessings you bring to my life. Since the moment I wake up in the morning to the time I go to bed to rest, my heart is full of joy because I know you are with me every minute of my day.

Thank you  Lord for the opportunity of owning my own business and keeping it running smooth. Thank you so much all the Customers I have and the moms and babies who buys my First Birthday Dresses. You know I make each one of them with love.

Life is so precious and I have so much to be thankful for. I am not talking about material things but the ones that money cant buy. 

My First Birthday Dress

As I switch off my machines and get ready to have some rest,  I know that tomorrow will be another day and I will be closer to have my dream becoming true. You know my dream dear Lord. I BELIEVE that the entire universe is conspiring so that my dream will become a reality soon.

God bless and be with us always.

Zee

www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com