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Earth Day is April 22nd and it’s a holiday I can really get behind. I love any opportunity to celebrate our Mother Earth! My kids are really growing up fast and I am so proud to share with you how my daughter Ruby and her friend Cooper are trying to make a real difference in the world by supporting a threatened species. Every year, National Geographic hosts a Geography Bee. This competition is designed to inspire and reward the curiosity of students across the globe for a chance to win college scholarships and the glory of being the National Geographic Bee Champion!   This year,Read More →

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Wow, how quickly this past year has gone by. As I hit this next mile stone, five years without a drink, I look back and really need both hands to count all of the blessings. In the past few months I have been reunited with my quilt “and the Flag was still there” – a quilt that I have donated to Operation Home Front and now am on the final fund raising drive to finish the Mission. You can read more about that HERE. Then my dream of inventing the coolest, smallest rotary cutter for appliqué finally came true. I have worked for the past four years to develop The Shark ApplicutterRead More →

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Rob’s kiddos, Brayden and Ruby, joined him for his most recent trip to Hamilton, MO to film a new set of tutorials and fun was a blast! Check out the Facebook Live Video they did on set HERE. Ruby worked hard for weeks leading up to the trip getting a couple of projects ready to film tutorials with her dad. She’s a natural on camera! Brayden loves making videos himself, so he had a blast checking out all of the equipment and helping to run one of the cameras. Keep an eye out for the new tutorials on Man Sewing soon (You can subscribe toRead More →

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Last month we took some much needed family time and traveled to Bass Lake, California. This is a special spot for the Appell Family. My parents started taking me and a few buddies to Bass Lake every summer for a few weeks as teenagers. Most of us have kept the tradition alive by bringing our own families to Bass Lake. My kids started at 6 weeks old. We use it as a time for relaxing, camping, boating, swimming and enjoying the lake. This year we had some big accomplishments. Here’s my daughter Ruby, who likes to go really fast on the tube, all by herself. My sonRead More →

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February 20th is my 4 year anniversary. For the past few years I have been celebrating my recovery from alcohol addiction by hiking deep into the wilderness and enjoying nature with my newest coin. This year was the 4 year marker without a drink, so my 12 year old son and I did a three day backpack trip in Bug Sur, CA. The destination was Sykes Hot Springs and it was an enjoyable 21 mile hike! My son was a fantastic hiking partner and one of the major reasons I quit drinking. What a blessing to have this time together, a time both of usRead More →

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I can’t believe that it’s almost Independence Day!! I love this time of year! Red, white and blue paving the streets, BBQs, fireworks,  picnics, carnivals, family time, the list goes on forever! In my family,  we have two Independence Day traditions. The first is to participate in the Morro Bay Family Fun Day.  We love to kick it off with the bicycle parade. We all decorate our bikes and  helmets and then cruise along the waterfront in a pack of several hundred people of all ages. The kids have always loved it and I love every chance they get to be creative! We then spendRead More →

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We love to get crafty with the kids, it keeps their imaginations going and allows them to express themselves! (We also want them to love art as much as we do!) Well a few days ago it was International Fairy Day. My daughter loved it!!! My family has been working on Fairy Gardens as a summer project and having an International holiday to celebrate fairies was the cherry on top! I just got around to taking pictures, but aren’t they turning out pretty sweet? We can’t wait to get them finished and painted! We hear that if we build them, the fairies will swarm in!Read More →