Who gives a rat's #ss?

I'll get to the title in a bit....but here are some pictures from Heather's 40th birthday soiree at Dion's Pizza a few weeks ago. She requested the place because it's a great family gathering spot - the kids could run around a bit and watch the pizza making.
Her brother and dad came into town to surprise her. I just love this photo of the her seeing them - it was a great moment!

I'm putting this one up of my daughter and her friend playing Twister at a sleepover at our house last weekend. My husband and older daughter went to a basketball game, and I had so much fun playing with these little girls! I got in on the Twister game, (great exercise!), made chocolate chip cookies which we ate warm with cold milk, and it was just a delightful evening.

Her friend got her pillow out at bedtime, and I had to take a picture of the pillowcase her mom made - look at the Hip Stitch fabric!! It looks beautiful!

And I want to share my feelings of thankfulness for the many good people in our lives at Hip Stitch. Here's one of them:

Don, with his daughter Moxie peeking up behind the counter. (and me making a goofy face) His wife Gay took the picture. They are amazing, supportive friends who have been with us every step of the way as we launched this business - with advice, guidance, and are our biggest cheerleaders!

So speaking of being thankful, I want to share a few names of those who mean so much to us:

Our landlords at Christ Ray of Hope - a true blessing and truly good people.

Our lounge regulars who share their lives with us and make our day so much brighter: Gail, Amy, Peggy, Ann.

Our fabric shopping regulars, of which there are so many, which makes us so happy, and for those, like Kathy, who make something and then share pictures with us!

Tabby and Kara, whose love of sewing just shines in them. They're so talented, and kind, and fun women!

Jess, who maintains our website and does an amazing job at that!

Emily and Portia, who are our "fabric barometers" - they're awesome women who are one step ahead of what's hot in fabric, and we love to pick their brains and absorb their creativity!

Heike, who sadly (for us), has moved back to Norway, but who found Hip Stitch on the internet when she was preparing to move to Albuquerque for a few months, and blessed us with her warm personality and beautiful little girls!

and so many more....Leanne, Bonnie, Betty, Ophelia, Cyndi, Dolores, to name a few - thank you for helping us along the way with your love of fabric and of sewing!

And now onto the title of this post....I'm writing this from my home, as my husband and girls are at a family gathering to watch the Superbowl. I haven't even turned on the t.v. today - nope, not once. I've been content to sew and enjoy a quiet afternoon/evening. So, at this annual gathering, much time goes into preparing bets, in which everyone puts in his/her guess and a bit of money. Fun bets, like "What's the 1st commercial for after the game begins?", "What's the sum of the digits of the score at the end of the 1st quarter?".

So for a number of years now, a regular bet starts off with the title "Suzanne and Jim's 'who gives a rat's ass about the game'?" (Jim is my brother-in-law, who also does not follow sports) Then an obscure question - this year's is "What is the mean of the temperatures of Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Tampa at half time?"

A long story to explain the title, I realize, but I hope it's been entertaining!