Sometimes number 1 is number 1 until it becomes number 2...

Good morning Kids :))

This is how an embroidery machine mother board looks like.

It's FRIDAY!!!  Thank God it's Friday LOL. I think it's really funny when I say that because to me, it doesn't make a difference what day it's today... As long as I am still here in this world confusing people with my broke English LOL. As long as I am alive I am happy LOL

Although I feel tired for not sleeping well last night, I feel so happy for having my three machines back to life again... Ahhhhhhh I love my baby machines :))). I had to exchange machine number 1 and 2 "soul"so, now they confuse me because when number 1 stops for  maintenance, actually it is not number 1 that I have to oil , it is the number 2 one... How did I get myself into this dilemma?  Well,  when my number 1 machine started  skipping registration mark, jumping stitches to the side, I called  Ben  the technician, and he said it could be the "mother board" or the "X motor". He had the X motor but not the mother board with him, what means that if he drove all the way from Indiana to Springfield, with me paying my mileage and then, $70.00 per hour to get here and not be able to fix my baby number 1, I would be in trouble.

I had this idea about taking the mother board from  machine number 2 and  put on number 1 and vice versa,  this way, I would know for sure that if the machine kept having the same problem, it wouldn't be the mother board, what I call their "soul"  then, Ben could drive all the way here without breaking the bank.  So,  we did it, oh boy, there are so many screw and nuts that I really decided we would leave them as they were, number 1 in number 2 and number 2 in number 1. It's just like trading bodies.... It worked. We figure it out, thank Lord that it was for sure the X motor. Ben came and fixed my baby machine :) It's working beautifully again :))

 So, from now on, for a little while, I have to have in mind that number 1 is only really number 1 until she needs maintenance, than she becomes number 2...

I know, it's too confusing isn't it? Now, imagine me, this poor old lady who doesn't speaks English very well and doesn't remember what she had for dinner last night, having to remember all this "fings" It's really not easy being Zee... But it's funny though...It's a CRAZEE life but I wouldn't want it any other way.. Well.... "finking" better, hummm... LOL Nah, just kidding ;)))

You all have a nice not so confusing day and enjoy every minute of it...Find the silver lining in everything bad that happens to you and everything will be GREAT!! lol :)

Yeah... Yeah... Yeah... I better get my babies ready to work way!

Have a precious Friday kids!!!!!!!!!

God bless

Zee

TOMATOES... TOMATOES...TOMATOES

 Good morning Yall! (WOW, I sounded like Paula Dean without an accent LOL)

Well, I was supposed to blog about My First Birthday Dresses or Embroidery or Embroidea but, forget about it, I want to talk about tomatoes. Would you like some tomatoes??? LOL

I guess this year my lovely husband planted more tomatoes than we can eat. We have been giving tomatoes to Customers, friends, Families and we still have TOMATOES!!!!!!

Juliana, my blessed friend and helper goes to the kitchen and comes back saying she saw a lot of tomatoes in the kitchen. Oh take some tomatoes home Ju!!! - I will take a couple of them. She says. - NO, take the whole bag!!! "I dont need the whole bag Zee" We are only two at home.

-Give to your neighbors! It's in the Bible, you gotta feed thy neighbors! LOL

- Nah, we dont talk that much with our neighbors. LOL 

- Oh dang! Can you at least take a few? 

- How many?

-I don't know, any amount that is more than a couple tomatoes...

 She took only a little bit of them LOL, I keep thinking who in this world is in need of tomatoes? My freezer has plenty of tomatoes in there. 

I had a brilliant idea this morning, I am going to text my friend Sherry Brown from Little India, my lovely friend who I used to work with. I know for sure that she loves tomatoes... I still remember both of us ibn our break time sitting on the side walk eating tomatoes...

Nah, it didn't work as you guys can see our text messages.

OH! OK, Another great idea!!! I am going to ask Brian to take to work!!! Wooooooo Hoooooooooooo:

-Bello, can you take some tomatoes to work?

- I am afraid not. Everybody that I work with grow their own garden, my boss has been bringing lots of cucumbers  also.

I give up on tomatoes... I guess I am putting a  sign here in my embroidery room. "WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN SOME TOMATOES?"

Its going to be a long "Looking for tomatoes lover day" other than "dentist appointment day" AND "Repair machine day" AND "Work day" but the most important of all, it has been for sure a really beautiful and blessed day because we are still ALIVE!!!!!!! :)))))

Have a blessed  day you all!!!!!!!!

Keep cool :)))) And SMILE :)))))

Nails in the fence (story)

Once upon a time there was a little boy who was talented, creative, handsome, and extremely bright. A natural leader. The kind of person everyone would normally have wanted on their team or project. But he was also self-centered and had a very bad temper. When he got angry, he usually said, and often did, some very hurtful things. In fact, he seemed to have little regard for those around him. Even friends. So, naturally, he had few. “But,” he told himself, “that just shows how stupid most people are!”
As he grew, his parents became concerned about this personality flaw, and pondered long and hard about what they should do. Finally, the father had an idea. And he struck a bargain with his son. He gave him a bag of nails, and a BIG hammer. “Whenever you lose your temper,” he told the boy, “I want you to really let it out. Just take a nail and drive it into the oak boards of that old fence out back. Hit that nail as hard as you can!”
Of course, those weathered oak boards in that old fence were almost as tough as iron, and the hammer was mighty heavy, so it wasn't nearly as easy as it first sounded. Nevertheless, by the end of the first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence (That was one angry young man!). Gradually, over a period of weeks, the number dwindled down. Holding his temper proved to be easier than driving nails into the fence! Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He felt mighty proud as he told his parents about that accomplishment.“As a sign of your success,” his father responded, “you get to PULL OUT one nail. In fact, you can do that each day that you don’t lose your temper even once.” Well, many weeks passed. Finally one day the young boy was able to report proudly that all the nails were gone. At that point, the father asked his son to walk out back with him and take one more good look at the fence. “You have done well, my son,” he said. “But I want you to notice the holes that are left. No matter what happens from now on, this fence will never be the same. Saying or doing hurtful things in anger produces the same kind of result. There will always be a scar. It won’t matter how many times you say you’re sorry, or how many years pass, the scar will still be there.

And a verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. People are much more valuable than an old fence. They make us smile. They help us succeed. Some will even become friends who share our joys, and support us through bad times. And, if they trust us, they will also open their hearts to us. That means we need to treat everyone with love and respect. We need to prevent as many of those scars as we can.”

Felt like sharing this today :)
www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

The Mother's Day little Orchard

 Four years ago, I  decided that every Mother's Day, I was going to ask my husband and daughters that I wanted them to plant me a fruit tree  in our backyard. I thought it would remind me from my childhood. I had the best childhood that a kid could ever have. I grew up climbing fruit trees at my grandparents farm. Everything we would  eat since rice, beans, meat, vegetables, fruits, we had them all come from farm. I always wished I could give my little daughter a little bit of how I grew up. The first year we moved to this house, almost five years ago, my daughter and my husband planted me a pear tree. It's 2013 and this is the first year it is going to give us pears, The following year, they planted me a cherry tree, and this year we  got ONE little sweet cherry from it :) The following year they planted me an apple tree and last year I got two peaches tree. The peach tree had only ONE peach in it and it was simply huge, beautiful...I enjoyed so much going to the backyard and looking at my trees and watching the fruits getting big. it feels like they are just like my babies and the best gift I could ever have gotten.

We all here at home were wondering who would get to eat the very first peach... 

Today I thought, well, why not give Isabella and her little friends Chantel who spent the night at our house, to go and pick the first peach off the tree and share it between them. I don't know, but for some reason I wanted to teach my daughter a lesson. Something like, isn't this amazing that you guys planted me this fruit tree for  Mother's day and now  I give you the honor of having the very first fruit of it. I wanted them to realize that if they do good things to others, they will eventually have something good in return.

So, we had a "Harvesting the first ripen peach ceremony". 

The two girls went to the little peach tree, harvested the peach, we washed it and cut in half. I gave half peach to each one of them and watched them eating the peach. 

Isabella, says: - I don't think I like it I don't want this peach, I don't like this "pinkish" color inside. Chantel, started eating and then complained about texture of the skin feeling weird. I pealed it and she had some.  The ceremony was over in no time. They didn't appreciate it as much as I thought they would. oh well my husband and I ended up eating the rest of that peach and It was the most juicy, sweet peach we have ever had. Well, it was special because it came from the "Mother's Day Orchard" that is how we call our backyard now. I hope we are going to have many more trees planted there because our backyard is a little piece of paradise to us and mainly to me, a Mom who was raised in a farm and learned the value of, if we plant it, take care of it, we will eventually get fruits.

Maybe next year, when we have more fruits, Isabella will be a little older, I can try to teach her in a better way that in life, everything we plant, we will eventually end up harvesting. :) Let's plant good trees and good fruits will eventually be harvested!

Just wanted to share my peach tree ceremony :)

God bless

Zee
www.myfirstbirthdaydress.com

Is it possible for a child to be born vegetarian?

 

I cant get it out of my mind  yesterday at dinner time.

My 7 years old daughter Isabella is a very  picky eater. For some reason, she just doesn't eat meat if she knows it is meat. For example, chicken nugget, she eats it because I think she doesn't link that to an animal.. She just see those cute little pieces of  food but she cant see the chicken in front of her. Ok let me explain better.. It's so hard not to be able to speak a better English LOL 

Isabella is just like me. We both LOVE animals, all animals and birds. She wants a pet but so far what we have allowed her to have is a fish.

Isabella has never had steak or any red meat, she has had chicken nuts but I don't think she realizes that it comes from a chicken. Last night we had a rotisserie chicken for dinner.I set the chicken on the table while I cut the chicken breast into little fillets, I wanted so bad that she tried it, so, I told her:

-Isabella, if you at least, try to eat a piece of this chicken breast, I will let you open one of your packages of My little pony's blind bags...

Her eyes brighten up because she loves her little ponies. She has been collecting them. Her daddy bought her some bags and hung them on the refrigerator and she only gets to open one when she cleans her room or do something nice to help. She said "Ok I will try"  I handed her a piece of chicken breast. She took it and kept looking at it for a while then she turns to us and says:

_ Poor chicken, isn't it so sad that she has to be eaten by the humans?

- Her daddy replies: - That is what they are for.

-Are they supposed to be used as food? - Yes, her daddy says, it's on the bible.

It's on the bible? she asked while trying so hard to swallow a little piece she had in her mouth.

That made me feel so bad,.. Now I keep wondering, is it possible for a child to be born vegetarian? Or it is only because she loves the animals?

Zee

My First Birthday Dress

Isabella's First day as a second grader

Good morning everyone!!!

Today is Isabella's first day as a second grader student. WOW time goes fast, seems like the other day she was just a little babe. Now, she even didn't let me pick a nicer outfit for her first day, the one I chose for her she said it was not comfortable, she would rather have comfort over style LOL, gotta love that little girl! :)

The house feels empty, what a difference our kids makes in our lives.

The cutest thing she said this morning to me when I asked her only joking:

- How about now my second grader? Are you still going to sit with the kindergarten kids on the bus?

- Mommy, I am still going to do that because what counts is not the the cover up but what it is inside a kid and I enjoy the little ones....

That made me feel so proud of my little girl :) She has been growing up so much lately. To all the kids out there. Let's all moms pray that they will be safe and God bless our little ones and our family :)

Have a blessed day!

Zee

Never let people, money, or your past control your life

Today... Oh today... I could go on and on about all the things that happened today, some good, some bad. As always, LOTS of work. No matter how hard I worked today, how many challenges I've faced today, no matter how many times I wondered WHY? I am so thankful for this wonderful day :)

Thank you so much dear Lord for one more opportunity that I had to spend time with the ones I love and really matter in my life. Thank you for teaching me how to say "NO"," IT"S ENOUGH" This was something I have been trying  to learn  for a long time, but today I consider myself a victorious. I said NO. How do I feel now? I feel like a heavy load is off my shoulder and I am in control of my life and business again. It's a good feeling :) That is why I chose to have my own business, to be my own boss, to work from home, so that nobody would tell me what to do. Yes, I know my little First Birthday Dresses don't make me enough money yet, but I also, I know myself, I know exactly what I want and I am in no hurry to get there... I like to enjoy, to stop and smell the flowers along the way.

 I know the time will come when I wont be able to make enough dress for my website. I can see it clearly. it's my passion, my pride and joy. So, don't tell me what to do and what make or doesn't make money. I want to have a life, I want to enjoy what I do. What we take with us from this world when we are gone, are all the good moments that we live, so, thanks for misunderstanding my words, that was the only way to set me free. I am SO THANKFUL for today :) All the work is done and I am ready for some rest. I know that tomorrow will be a brand new day and that everything will be possible  because I BELIEVE :))

Blessings to you all kids :) 

Yes this is our motto “True Course Ever”

Hi there :)

How was your day? Busy?

You tell me about it...I have been up at 5:00 AM working and right now it's 9:56 PM. At 4:30 I had to stop for a few hours so that I could attend my  Pilots Meeting. Am I a Pilot? Nah... Pilot International is this wonderful non profit organization that I am proud to be part of and serve as a board member. If you want to find out more about it, here is the link to the website.Pilot International It feels good to be able to help and raise awareness about brain related injures and diseases, adding to this mission we make  lot of friends around the country and the world at the same time. Friends that we can count on them during good and bad times, our motto is  “True Course Ever” :) My life, is much better better and makes more sense when I am able to help and donate some of my time to make this world a little better. I believe in the human being and I believe that if each one of us donate a little bit of our time, we can change the world around us. What a good feeling it is knowing the I am not only passing through this world, I have been trying to touch other peoples lives. Thank you Lord for giving me the desire and helping me to find the time to do this. Our Chapter in Springfield is still tiny compared to others but, we will find more member to join us . Today it's our Governor Holly Spirrison Baker 's birthday. She was supposed to be among us but her family needed her with them tonight,  Karla, from Jacksonville, IL, brought a tiny and delicious cake, we ate it in Holly's  honor :)  afte our meeting was over with. What wouldn't we do to put a smile on Holly's face :))) Happy Birthday Holly. God bless you always.

I am very proud of women like her who have two small kids at home, work and still find time and dedication to be a "Pilot" There is no better way in my opinion, to show our kids how to make a difference than making it ourselves.

Sometimes, when I lay in bed to finally rest, I thank God for one more day and I get amazed with everything I get to accomplish in a day. Lots of work done today. No My First Birthday Dress  embroidered though, too many regular orders to get delivered.

Tomorrow will be another day and I hope I will be able to have another beautiful and productive one. I want you to BELIEVE that you can do anything if you decide that you want to.

Blessings to you and your family. 

Zee

Trying to get back to the normalcy

Hi there! It’s been a while since I have posted here.

I had my parents visiting from Brazil, they were here for a month and we had lots of fun but, I've gotten so swamped with my work. Unfortunately I couldn't take the entire month to enjoy their visit to Springfield, IL, but trying to jungle in between work and given them some attention.

At the beginning of their stay at our home, it was really hectic, Customers calling, coming in out all the time, I was feeling kind of lost but, things got better. Isabella, my 7 years old daughter had some fun time at the pool with her grandparents but, the language barrier really sucked. They don’t speak English and Isabella doesn't speak Portuguese so, it was a little confusing for her.

The best part of their trip, was being able to give my daddy a party to celebrate his 66 years. He was so happy and excited with our friends coming to say happy birthday and enjoy some good food with us. I love my daddy :) My mommy and daddy also went fishing, we went to the church and did some nice things together. 

What I didn't know is that my Daddy's dream was to be able to fly on a plane. He had never flown before. It made me feel very good inside, knowing that I was able to turn one of my daddy's dream come true..

My parent’s visit has taught me something very important. I REALLY need to teach my daughter the Portuguese Language. Poor thing couldn't communicate very well with grandpa. Actually, I think we all should teach our kids another Language because it will make their life much easier in the future.

Oh right, now that I am back to normal life, I am keeping on embroidering my First Birthday Dresses and hoping that the economy will get better soon so that I will be able to sell more of them. It’s my treat to myself, stop once in a while and enjoy sometime embroidering each one of my little dresses.

Juliana has still been helping me with the website and I am so happy about that… One less thing to worry about.

Yesterday, after I had a dress sold on my website, I realized that my customers didn't know they could have their dresses personalized for free with their baby’s name, so, I had to make some changes to the website. I hope it will bring me more Customers :)

I intend to start posting more often now that life is getting back on track and finding out more way to help the moms celebrating their babies First birthday! It’s a very special occasion and an important milestone in a child’s life, celebrate their First Year of life.

Here are some pictures of my parents visit

You all have a great day and enjoy life 

Blessings

Zee