Hip Girl Boutique Free Hair Bow Instructions--Learn how to make hairbows and hair clips, FREE! - Blogs http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blog.php Free hair bow instructions--Learn how to make hairbows and hair clips, FREE! en Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:31:34 GMT vBulletin 60 http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg Hip Girl Boutique Free Hair Bow Instructions--Learn how to make hairbows and hair clips, FREE! - Blogs http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blog.php Bottle Cap Bows. how to apply the image??? http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/pinkpizazzboutique/45-bottle-cap-bows-how-apply-image.html Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:04:12 GMT I was hoping someone could help me with the how to on Bottle Cap bows. How do you apply the image to the bottle cap. Thanksbow:) I was hoping someone could help me with the how to on Bottle Cap bows. How do you apply the image to the bottle cap.
Thanksbow:) ]]> pinkpizazzboutique http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/pinkpizazzboutique/45-bottle-cap-bows-how-apply-image.html Tutu Dress http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/esmy_gonz/44-tutu-dress.html Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:37:03 GMT Hi Ladies I was wondering if I could get your opinion on my first tutu dress bow:) Hi Ladies I was wondering if I could get your opinion on my first tutu dress bow:)
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]]> esmy_gonz http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/esmy_gonz/44-tutu-dress.html Long Lost Love Conclusion http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/42-long-lost-love-conclusion.html Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:29:21 GMT June 30, 1998. I am up around 8:30am waiting for the boys to wake up. The phone rings. I answer and hear a voice asking to speak to Nancy. I am thinking. “Oh no, a telemarketer.” I am such a sucker and can’t tell them no. I say, “This is she.” He says, “Hi Nancy, this is Pep.” Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God! I had to try to contain myself and act like it was not the shock of my life. We talked for three hours. He was married. He had a job as a truck driver. He hauled cryogenic liquid. Huh? You know, like liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen. Oh dangerous stuff. No not really. The stuff that froze the terminator in the movie. Oh not the stuff that will blow up. Okay. He had long hair now. I had short hair now. He moved to South Carolina in 1988. He told me that. I didn’t remember him telling me that. He said, “I told you the last time I came to see you. Remember I asked you if you wanted to go for a ride on my motorcycle?” I did not remember that. He had been in SC all this time? What had I done? Oh well, we were both married. I told him I wanted to know if he was okay. He said his wife got the letter and read it and wouldn’t give it to him. She called him on his cell phone screaming at him. Asking him who Nancy Hall was. He said as soon as he heard my name he remembered me. He said he had to drive the truck to Myrtle Beach every weekend. And every time he went there he thought about me. He knew he had to get the letter. She kept it for two weeks at her office. She finally gave it to him that morning before she left for work. I think it was a Monday morning that he called. He was off on Sundays and Mondays or Mondays and Tuesday. I can’t remember which. So he was home by himself. He kept saying he was crazy about me in 1986 and I dissed him. I told him I would love to see him again. Not to “hook up”. I just wanted to see him one last time. He said he would like that too. He said, “What if we find out we are still crazy about each other?” I couldn’t answer him. Before we hung up he gave me his phone numbers and his pager number. I told him I would contact him again sometime and maybe we could go out to dinner or something. The next day I paged him. He called me right back. He was so excited to hear from me. I had to get back to reality later that day. Art was coming in from Dallas and we had to go pick him up. We picked him up that night. Did I tell him? No. At this point my intention was really to just see Pep. Nothing more. Remember I am the goody two shoes of the family. I don’t do things like that. That weekend was the Fourth of July. Art took the boys out of town to see his family for the weekend. Friday night Pep was at the beach. I called him and we talked for about six hours that night. What did I find out? That he married in 1992. He had no children. I know this is one side of the story, but his side was the only one I cared about. She was like a Barbie Doll. What? I didn’t look like I used to. I was probably about 20 lbs. heavier than when we met. Uh Oh, I can’t see him looking like this. HM, I better get busy if I was going to see him. What else did I find out? I found out I was still in love with him. It was so beyond my control at that point. My mind was spinning. I was about to make some really poor decisions but I wasn’t letting him get away again if I could help it. We talked probably a total of 12 hours that weekend. That was all it took. He told me his wife was abusive toward him. She was very insecure and would say things to him like she hoped he died driving his truck that day. She threw things at him and hit him. I couldn’t understand why anyone would behave that way. I didn’t truly know him. But I was not letting him go again without knowing him. We spoke on the phone a lot in the next few weeks. Art had to leave again for Dallas for the new job. On July 22 I talked to Pep and found out he was going to be staying in Lumberton the next night. He had to stay over in hotels a lot with his job. Unlike a lot fo truck drivers his company put him in a hotel when they needed to. Lumberton? That wasn’t far from my mother’s house. I had been getting up every morning at 5:30 and walking 3 miles. I had hardly eaten anything. I had lost about 15 pounds in three weeks. I was ready as I was going to be to see him. I called my brother in Sanford. He was 20. I asked him if he could keep the boys for me the next night. I had talked to my mom about Pep. I told her I was going to see him but it was innocent. I didn’t tell her everything. So I planned my trip. Sanford was about 45 minutes from me. I got to Sanford and told my mom what I was doing. Of course she was my mom so she was not crazy about the idea. But I was grown. What could she do? The way I went about this was wrong. I should have made some different decisions. I had thought about leaving my husband so many times over the years. But I thought who would want to be with a divorce woman with two kids? I was stuck. I was sticking this out. But then I heard Pep’s voice. I left the boys with my brother and my mom and headed to Lumberton. I had told Art I was going to meet one of my old college friends in Fayetteville. I was almost there when my cell phone rang. It was Pep wondering where I was. I talked to him until I got to the hotel. I hung up and went to the desk and got a key. I headed upstairs to where he was. I opened the door and there he was waiting for me. Same big smile on his face. I was scared to death. I went in and he hugged me. He sat down on the bed and sat me on his lap. We just sat and talked and caught up. Then he kissed me. It was too late. I knew then that I was never letting him go. We didn’t make it to dinner…… Without all the gory details, we both moved out of our homes into apartments and continued to see each other. We lived about two hours away from each other. We never went more than four days apart until I finally moved to SC with him. Again, unwise decisions by both of us. But when you have been apart from someone for 12 years you don’t always think straight. I couldn’t go through the separation again. So after the separation from our spouses, attorneys, divorces and all we got married. Now we have two children together and Hunter and Grayson are with us. Remember I said Art was a good dad? The best. He loves our boys. He moved to our town to be close to them. We have half and half custody. They are with him every weekend. After a rough time at first we are now like brother and sister again. He remarried. He married a girl I graduated high school with. Weird yeah, but at least I knew her. Recently Art and his wife and the boys joined our church. The boys were baptized a couple of weeks ago. Art’s parents came to watch. We were all standing in the sanctuary after the ceremony and I thought to myself, “I never thought this would be happening.” They had every reason to hate me. I left their son for another man. But they are the greatest people in the world. I miss them being my in-laws. Pep? I love him more now than ever. I looked at him this morning and just thought, “He is that boy.” He still tells me every so often, “Thank you for finding me and for writing the letter.” And I thank him for calling me. June 30, 1998. I am up around 8:30am waiting for the boys to wake up. The phone rings. I answer and hear a voice asking to speak to Nancy. I am thinking. “Oh no, a telemarketer.” I am such a sucker and can’t tell them no. I say, “This is she.” He says, “Hi Nancy, this is Pep.” Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God! I had to try to contain myself and act like it was not the shock of my life.

We talked for three hours. He was married. He had a job as a truck driver. He hauled cryogenic liquid. Huh? You know, like liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen. Oh dangerous stuff. No not really. The stuff that froze the terminator in the movie. Oh not the stuff that will blow up. Okay. He had long hair now. I had short hair now. He moved to South Carolina in 1988. He told me that. I didn’t remember him telling me that. He said, “I told you the last time I came to see you. Remember I asked you if you wanted to go for a ride on my motorcycle?” I did not remember that. He had been in SC all this time? What had I done? Oh well, we were both married.

I told him I wanted to know if he was okay. He said his wife got the letter and read it and wouldn’t give it to him. She called him on his cell phone screaming at him. Asking him who Nancy Hall was. He said as soon as he heard my name he remembered me. He said he had to drive the truck to Myrtle Beach every weekend. And every time he went there he thought about me. He knew he had to get the letter. She kept it for two weeks at her office. She finally gave it to him that morning before she left for work.

I think it was a Monday morning that he called. He was off on Sundays and Mondays or Mondays and Tuesday. I can’t remember which. So he was home by himself. He kept saying he was crazy about me in 1986 and I dissed him. I told him I would love to see him again. Not to “hook up”. I just wanted to see him one last time. He said he would like that too. He said, “What if we find out we are still crazy about each other?” I couldn’t answer him. Before we hung up he gave me his phone numbers and his pager number. I told him I would contact him again sometime and maybe we could go out to dinner or something.

The next day I paged him. He called me right back. He was so excited to hear from me. I had to get back to reality later that day. Art was coming in from Dallas and we had to go pick him up. We picked him up that night. Did I tell him? No. At this point my intention was really to just see Pep. Nothing more. Remember I am the goody two shoes of the family. I don’t do things like that.

That weekend was the Fourth of July. Art took the boys out of town to see his family for the weekend. Friday night Pep was at the beach. I called him and we talked for about six hours that night. What did I find out? That he married in 1992. He had no children. I know this is one side of the story, but his side was the only one I cared about. She was like a Barbie Doll. What? I didn’t look like I used to. I was probably about 20 lbs. heavier than when we met. Uh Oh, I can’t see him looking like this. HM, I better get busy if I was going to see him.

What else did I find out? I found out I was still in love with him. It was so beyond my control at that point. My mind was spinning. I was about to make some really poor decisions but I wasn’t letting him get away again if I could help it. We talked probably a total of 12 hours that weekend. That was all it took. He told me his wife was abusive toward him. She was very insecure and would say things to him like she hoped he died driving his truck that day. She threw things at him and hit him. I couldn’t understand why anyone would behave that way.

I didn’t truly know him. But I was not letting him go again without knowing him.
We spoke on the phone a lot in the next few weeks. Art had to leave again for Dallas for the new job. On July 22 I talked to Pep and found out he was going to be staying in Lumberton the next night. He had to stay over in hotels a lot with his job. Unlike a lot fo truck drivers his company put him in a hotel when they needed to. Lumberton? That wasn’t far from my mother’s house. I had been getting up every morning at 5:30 and walking 3 miles. I had hardly eaten anything. I had lost about 15 pounds in three weeks. I was ready as I was going to be to see him.

I called my brother in Sanford. He was 20. I asked him if he could keep the boys for me the next night. I had talked to my mom about Pep. I told her I was going to see him but it was innocent. I didn’t tell her everything. So I planned my trip. Sanford was about 45 minutes from me. I got to Sanford and told my mom what I was doing. Of course she was my mom so she was not crazy about the idea. But I was grown. What could she do?

The way I went about this was wrong. I should have made some different decisions. I had thought about leaving my husband so many times over the years. But I thought who would want to be with a divorce woman with two kids? I was stuck. I was sticking this out. But then I heard Pep’s voice.

I left the boys with my brother and my mom and headed to Lumberton. I had told Art I was going to meet one of my old college friends in Fayetteville. I was almost there when my cell phone rang. It was Pep wondering where I was. I talked to him until I got to the hotel. I hung up and went to the desk and got a key. I headed upstairs to where he was. I opened the door and there he was waiting for me. Same big smile on his face. I was scared to death. I went in and he hugged me. He sat down on the bed and sat me on his lap. We just sat and talked and caught up. Then he kissed me. It was too late. I knew then that I was never letting him go. We didn’t make it to dinner……

Without all the gory details, we both moved out of our homes into apartments and continued to see each other. We lived about two hours away from each other. We never went more than four days apart until I finally moved to SC with him. Again, unwise decisions by both of us. But when you have been apart from someone for 12 years you don’t always think straight. I couldn’t go through the separation again. So after the separation from our spouses, attorneys, divorces and all we got married. Now we have two children together and Hunter and Grayson are with us.

Remember I said Art was a good dad? The best. He loves our boys. He moved to our town to be close to them. We have half and half custody. They are with him every weekend. After a rough time at first we are now like brother and sister again. He remarried. He married a girl I graduated high school with. Weird yeah, but at least I knew her.

Recently Art and his wife and the boys joined our church. The boys were baptized a couple of weeks ago. Art’s parents came to watch. We were all standing in the sanctuary after the ceremony and I thought to myself, “I never thought this would be happening.” They had every reason to hate me. I left their son for another man. But they are the greatest people in the world. I miss them being my in-laws.

Pep? I love him more now than ever. I looked at him this morning and just thought, “He is that boy.” He still tells me every so often, “Thank you for finding me and for writing the letter.” And I thank him for calling me. ]]> yellaribbon http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/42-long-lost-love-conclusion.html Long Lost Love Part V http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/41-long-lost-love-part-v.html Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:35:16 GMT I promise the next entry is the conclusion! I took a semester off from teaching in the fall of 1997. Grayson was a baby and I wanted to see if I could make the cheer gym work. But in the winter I decided to go back to teaching. The gym was doing okay but the rent was so high that I couldn’t keep it going without the income from teaching. So I started taking Grayson to the babysitter I mentioned and went back to the classroom. Funny how things work out. It was the spring semester 1998 that we got computers and internet in our classrooms. I had a computer at home with internet but I didn’t do much with it and didn’t know much about it. I did our taxes with it, but as far as email. I had a lot to learn. One of my team partners (taught the same group of kids) told me how to get an email account. They had to teach us how to send emails and such. I remember them telling us if we used all caps we were yelling. They had to tell us to enter the www before a web address. Anyway, like any other technology I learned my way around by just digging in. I discovered a people finder page on one of the search engines. I entered Jean Pierre Ouellette. I found some guy in Canada. Nope, not him. I spent some time over the next few weeks looking for him online. I would enter his name and try Colorado or Kansas but I never found him in either of those states. In NC we got a lot of workdays after the kids got out of school. It was a ridiculous number of days. I finished everything in a couple of days and just kind of hung out waiting for our summer to start. One morning I was at the computer and the people finder came up again. I entered “Pep Ouellette”. No state, search. There he was. Pep Ouellette in Camden SC??????? Are you serious? SC? I wouldn’t have believed it but there couldn’t be another Pep Ouellette. No way. I mapped the address. He was living 75 miles from my hometown. There was a way to search other people living at the same address. I found a Joe. I thought maybe he lived with one of his brothers. 75 miles from my hometown. Maybe I could drive down and see him outside his house. I just wanted to get a glimpse of him. Just see him one more time. I wanted to know if he was happy. If things turned out okay for him. How could they not? He was so wonderful. If he married she had to be the happiest person alive. I had received a gift basket from the PTA that day. It had this cool tie dye stationary in it. I took a piece of the paper and wrote him a short letter. This is basically what it said: Hello Pep. I don’t know if you remember me but my name was Nancy Hall and we met at Myrtle Beach in 1986. I was playing around on the internet when I came across your name and address. I was just wondering how you have been and if you are doing okay. This is my phone number and my email address. I would like to hear from you to know if you are okay. If I don’t hear from you don’t worry. I won’t contact you again. Take care. Nancy That was pretty much all it said. And I meant it. If I didn’t hear from him I would not try to contact him again. I put the letter in an envelope, put a stamp on it and mailed it. That was around June 10. Art had a new job with a new company. They sent him to Dallas for about a month. We took him to the airport. After I got out of school the boys and I went down to the beach for a while. The same beach house I was at the night I met Pep. We were there for about two weeks. The boys were little and I used to put them in their car seats and drive and they would fall asleep. During that time I took a couple of drives down to where Pep’s condo had been. Hurricane Hugo had come through and ripped everything apart in 1989 so I wasn’t really sure if I could find it. But I did. I pulled into the parking lot and just sat there and remembered. I imagined Pep with a wife and two or three daughters. I have no idea why. I just imagined he would make a good dad to girls. I could see them on the beach playing in the waves, smiling. I wished it were me there with him. The boys and I came home around June 28 or 29. I rushed to the mail box hoping there would be something there, but there was nothing from him. I had my cell phone the whole time at the beach but there were no calls. I went to my last resort, my email. Nothing. Oh well… I assumed he was happily married and had no need or desire to contact someone he knew for one night at the beach. I said I would not contact him. But one afternoon driving over to pick up Grayson I dialed his number. It was the middle of the day. Maybe I could hear his voice on an answering machine or something. Or maybe if he were married I would know if the voice were a woman’s. He answered the phone. That voice! Oh My God! He answered. I quickly said I had the wrong number. Did he say okay and hang up? NO. He said, “How do you know you have the wrong number?” I thought I would die! I said, “Oh I was trying to call the dry cleaner.” He said, “What number were you trying to dial?” I made up something. He said oh okay and we hung up. OH my God! He was flirting with me and he didn’t know who I was! I heard his voice! I was so excited but at the same time defeated. He hadn’t contacted me. And I promised him I wouldn’t contact him again. So I gave up on ever hearing his voice again. I promise the next entry is the conclusion!

I took a semester off from teaching in the fall of 1997. Grayson was a baby and I wanted to see if I could make the cheer gym work. But in the winter I decided to go back to teaching. The gym was doing okay but the rent was so high that I couldn’t keep it going without the income from teaching. So I started taking Grayson to the babysitter I mentioned and went back to the classroom.

Funny how things work out. It was the spring semester 1998 that we got computers and internet in our classrooms. I had a computer at home with internet but I didn’t do much with it and didn’t know much about it. I did our taxes with it, but as far as email. I had a lot to learn. One of my team partners (taught the same group of kids) told me how to get an email account. They had to teach us how to send emails and such. I remember them telling us if we used all caps we were yelling. They had to tell us to enter the www before a web address.

Anyway, like any other technology I learned my way around by just digging in. I discovered a people finder page on one of the search engines. I entered Jean Pierre Ouellette. I found some guy in Canada. Nope, not him. I spent some time over the next few weeks looking for him online. I would enter his name and try Colorado or Kansas but I never found him in either of those states.

In NC we got a lot of workdays after the kids got out of school. It was a ridiculous number of days. I finished everything in a couple of days and just kind of hung out waiting for our summer to start. One morning I was at the computer and the people finder came up again. I entered “Pep Ouellette”. No state, search. There he was. Pep Ouellette in Camden SC??????? Are you serious? SC? I wouldn’t have believed it but there couldn’t be another Pep Ouellette. No way.

I mapped the address. He was living 75 miles from my hometown. There was a way to search other people living at the same address. I found a Joe. I thought maybe he lived with one of his brothers. 75 miles from my hometown. Maybe I could drive down and see him outside his house. I just wanted to get a glimpse of him. Just see him one more time. I wanted to know if he was happy. If things turned out okay for him. How could they not? He was so wonderful. If he married she had to be the happiest person alive.

I had received a gift basket from the PTA that day. It had this cool tie dye stationary in it. I took a piece of the paper and wrote him a short letter. This is basically what it said:

Hello Pep. I don’t know if you remember me but my name was Nancy Hall and we met at Myrtle Beach in 1986. I was playing around on the internet when I came across your name and address. I was just wondering how you have been and if you are doing okay. This is my phone number and my email address. I would like to hear from you to know if you are okay. If I don’t hear from you don’t worry. I won’t contact you again. Take care.
Nancy

That was pretty much all it said. And I meant it. If I didn’t hear from him I would not try to contact him again. I put the letter in an envelope, put a stamp on it and mailed it. That was around June 10.
Art had a new job with a new company. They sent him to Dallas for about a month. We took him to the airport. After I got out of school the boys and I went down to the beach for a while. The same beach house I was at the night I met Pep. We were there for about two weeks. The boys were little and I used to put them in their car seats and drive and they would fall asleep. During that time I took a couple of drives down to where Pep’s condo had been. Hurricane Hugo had come through and ripped everything apart in 1989 so I wasn’t really sure if I could find it. But I did. I pulled into the parking lot and just sat there and remembered.

I imagined Pep with a wife and two or three daughters. I have no idea why. I just imagined he would make a good dad to girls. I could see them on the beach playing in the waves, smiling. I wished it were me there with him.

The boys and I came home around June 28 or 29. I rushed to the mail box hoping there would be something there, but there was nothing from him. I had my cell phone the whole time at the beach but there were no calls. I went to my last resort, my email. Nothing. Oh well… I assumed he was happily married and had no need or desire to contact someone he knew for one night at the beach.

I said I would not contact him. But one afternoon driving over to pick up Grayson I dialed his number. It was the middle of the day. Maybe I could hear his voice on an answering machine or something. Or maybe if he were married I would know if the voice were a woman’s. He answered the phone. That voice! Oh My God! He answered. I quickly said I had the wrong number. Did he say okay and hang up? NO. He said, “How do you know you have the wrong number?” I thought I would die! I said, “Oh I was trying to call the dry cleaner.” He said, “What number were you trying to dial?” I made up something. He said oh okay and we hung up. OH my God! He was flirting with me and he didn’t know who I was! I heard his voice! I was so excited but at the same time defeated. He hadn’t contacted me. And I promised him I wouldn’t contact him again. So I gave up on ever hearing his voice again. ]]> yellaribbon http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/41-long-lost-love-part-v.html Long Lost Love Part IV http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/40-long-lost-love-part-iv.html Sun, 10 Aug 2008 05:12:12 GMT Spring of 1988 I was a junior in college. I was still living in Sanford and commuting to school. I was majoring in education. Still engaged. Planning to get married after graduation. My youngest brother had a friend over. I looked out the front window and saw a car coming up the driveway. I told my brother’s friend his ride was there to pick him up. He said that wasn’t his ride. I asked if someone in his family drove a Conquest. He said no. So I went outside to see who it was. There was that gorgeous boy at my house again. With that big smile on his face. I gave him a hug and invited him in. We sat for a while. I told him I was still engaged. He said something about bringing his motorcycle up and going for a ride. I told him I couldn’t do that. He stayed for a few more minutes and then left. That was the last time I saw him. I married Art, my boyfriend, in April 1990. I moved to Burlington NC with him after we were married. We had Hunter in 1993 and Grayson in 1997. Over the years I wondered about Pep. I imagined that he was probably married with children and was making some blessed woman very happy. Art and I were friends, more like brother and sister. We basically grew up together. The biggest thing we had in common was Carolina sports. We enjoyed going to games together. We had a comfortable life. I was a teacher at the middle school down the street. I coached cheerleading at the school and then started an all star team. Eventually I opened my own gym and things started to really go downhill with Art. We argued a lot about the gym. He was a good father but not a good husband. We just didn’t love each other. In the fall of 1997 I sent a card to the address in Colorado that I had for Pep. Remember I said I kept a journal? I still had the journal with Pep’s address in Colorado. It was around his birthday and I sent a card. It came back to me with a note on the envelop that he didn’t live at that address. I found a new babysitter for Grayson that winter. She and I became friends. We used to walk together at night. I remember telling her about Pep one night and wondering how he was doing. As the situation between Art and me got worse I remember looking at myself in the mirror and telling myself I really screwed up when I let him go. How could I have let him go? He came back twice and I sent him away? I lost him because of my own stubborn stupidity. I lost him. Spring of 1988 I was a junior in college. I was still living in Sanford and commuting to school. I was majoring in education. Still engaged. Planning to get married after graduation.

My youngest brother had a friend over. I looked out the front window and saw a car coming up the driveway. I told my brother’s friend his ride was there to pick him up. He said that wasn’t his ride. I asked if someone in his family drove a Conquest. He said no. So I went outside to see who it was. There was that gorgeous boy at my house again. With that big smile on his face. I gave him a hug and invited him in. We sat for a while. I told him I was still engaged. He said something about bringing his motorcycle up and going for a ride. I told him I couldn’t do that. He stayed for a few more minutes and then left. That was the last time I saw him.


I married Art, my boyfriend, in April 1990. I moved to Burlington NC with him after we were married. We had Hunter in 1993 and Grayson in 1997. Over the years I wondered about Pep. I imagined that he was probably married with children and was making some blessed woman very happy. Art and I were friends, more like brother and sister. We basically grew up together. The biggest thing we had in common was Carolina sports. We enjoyed going to games together. We had a comfortable life. I was a teacher at the middle school down the street. I coached cheerleading at the school and then started an all star team. Eventually I opened my own gym and things started to really go downhill with Art. We argued a lot about the gym. He was a good father but not a good husband. We just didn’t love each other.

In the fall of 1997 I sent a card to the address in Colorado that I had for Pep. Remember I said I kept a journal? I still had the journal with Pep’s address in Colorado. It was around his birthday and I sent a card. It came back to me with a note on the envelop that he didn’t live at that address.

I found a new babysitter for Grayson that winter. She and I became friends. We used to walk together at night. I remember telling her about Pep one night and wondering how he was doing. As the situation between Art and me got worse I remember looking at myself in the mirror and telling myself I really screwed up when I let him go. How could I have let him go? He came back twice and I sent him away? I lost him because of my own stubborn stupidity. I lost him. ]]> yellaribbon http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/40-long-lost-love-part-iv.html Long Lost Love Part III http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/39-long-lost-love-part-iii.html Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:56:34 GMT Before he left my house he grabbed a huge 16x20 picture of me in my cheerleading uniform off the wall. He took it with him. The night we met I had some Hawaiian Tropic lip balm in my pocket. Pep borrowed it from me. I can still smell Hawaiian Tropic and it reminds me of that night. It is strange how smells can remind us things. I went back to the beach with my uncle and his family about a week later. I was miserable. All I thought about was him. We went to my grandmother’s house where my mother picked me up. She brought with her a package from Pep. In it was a card with a letter from him. There was also a cassette tape. .38 Special with the song he sung for me that night. And the shirt he was wearing the night we met. And a picture of him without a shirt sitting on his bed. Are you kidding me? Is this guy real? I melted when I read the letter. I slept in the shirt for months. And I played the tape over and over. I still know all the words to every song. A few weeks later I decided not to return to UNC. I enrolled in a local community college. I got up the nerve to call his house one night. Not having a job I did not have the money to pay a long distance phone bill. My father was extremely controlling with money and would not have given me permission to make the call. I decided to accept the consequences later when the bill came. His step father answered and said he wasn’t there. But he would tell him I called. I can’t remember whether he called me back. I think he did but of course we had to count minutes back then for long distance calls. We continued to write letters. A few weeks later he called me again. He had to call on a pay phone from his dorm. He told me he had put the huge picture of me on the wall in his dorm room. He told me that he told his mom the night we met that he had just met the girl he was going to marry. He told everyone at school I was his wife. That fall my boyfriend would come to my parents’ house and mope around and beg me to get back together with him. My mother talked to me over and over about how it would never work out with a boy halfway across the country. She felt so sorry for my boyfriend. We had been dating for five years. He was like her son. I decided to get back together with him. I felt like it was hopeless with Pep. He was so far away. Without being too graphic here, my boyfriend was the only person I had ever been intimate with, and I felt a lot of guilt and obligation for that reason. I had never even been out of the Carolinas. How could I, this sheltered NC girl, expect to be able to carry on a relationship with someone in Kansas? It was hopeless. I wrote to Pep and told him I couldn’t contact him anymore. I told him I was getting back together with my boyfriend. The thing that I regret most is that I threw away all the letters and pictures he had sent me. That spring Pep came back to NC. He called and asked me if he could get his shirt back and he brought back my picture. That was it. My boyfriend was now my fiance. He had asked me to marry him in December. Pep left and went back to Colorado. Before he left my house he grabbed a huge 16x20 picture of me in my cheerleading uniform off the wall. He took it with him.
The night we met I had some Hawaiian Tropic lip balm in my pocket. Pep borrowed it from me. I can still smell Hawaiian Tropic and it reminds me of that night. It is strange how smells can remind us things.

I went back to the beach with my uncle and his family about a week later. I was miserable. All I thought about was him. We went to my grandmother’s house where my mother picked me up. She brought with her a package from Pep. In it was a card with a letter from him. There was also a cassette tape. .38 Special with the song he sung for me that night. And the shirt he was wearing the night we met. And a picture of him without a shirt sitting on his bed. Are you kidding me? Is this guy real? I melted when I read the letter. I slept in the shirt for months. And I played the tape over and over. I still know all the words to every song.

A few weeks later I decided not to return to UNC. I enrolled in a local community college. I got up the nerve to call his house one night. Not having a job I did not have the money to pay a long distance phone bill. My father was extremely controlling with money and would not have given me permission to make the call. I decided to accept the consequences later when the bill came. His step father answered and said he wasn’t there. But he would tell him I called. I can’t remember whether he called me back. I think he did but of course we had to count minutes back then for long distance calls.
We continued to write letters. A few weeks later he called me again. He had to call on a pay phone from his dorm. He told me he had put the huge picture of me on the wall in his dorm room. He told me that he told his mom the night we met that he had just met the girl he was going to marry. He told everyone at school I was his wife.

That fall my boyfriend would come to my parents’ house and mope around and beg me to get back together with him. My mother talked to me over and over about how it would never work out with a boy halfway across the country. She felt so sorry for my boyfriend. We had been dating for five years. He was like her son. I decided to get back together with him. I felt like it was hopeless with Pep. He was so far away. Without being too graphic here, my boyfriend was the only person I had ever been intimate with, and I felt a lot of guilt and obligation for that reason. I had never even been out of the Carolinas. How could I, this sheltered NC girl, expect to be able to carry on a relationship with someone in Kansas? It was hopeless.

I wrote to Pep and told him I couldn’t contact him anymore. I told him I was getting back together with my boyfriend.
The thing that I regret most is that I threw away all the letters and pictures he had sent me. That spring Pep came back to NC. He called and asked me if he could get his shirt back and he brought back my picture. That was it. My boyfriend was now my fiance. He had asked me to marry him in December. Pep left and went back to Colorado. ]]> yellaribbon http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/39-long-lost-love-part-iii.html Long Lost Love Part II http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/38-long-lost-love-part-ii.html Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:34:22 GMT I found out his name was Pep which I thought was a strange but interesting name. He was 18 and he was from Colorado Springs CO. So I planned to meet him the next night. I didn’t really think about it much anymore. Shaye and I went back to the boulevard the next night. We walked some and drove around some. It was getting late and I was tired but I hadn’t seen Pep. I figured I had missed him. It was about midnight. We were walking back toward the pavilion getting ready to go when I heard someone call my name. I turned around and there he was walking toward me. I had only seen him sitting in his car or stooped down at my window. He was like a giant! He came up to me and we went to a little restaurant on the corner and sat down. I found out that he was about to start his freshman year in college and would be playing football. He was huge. He was 6’4” and weighed 250. His real name was Jean Pierre. He told me his last name. He asked me if I could spell it. I had four years of French so I got it right! He was so cute! He had dark brown hair and green eyes. And he smiled at me. And he was so nice. We sat there for a few minutes. He said he had been at a party and had to convince his friends to leave to come back to see me. We walked out on the beach at the pavilion. He told me he had a confession to make. He said he lied about his age. I thought he was going to tell me he was 25 or something. Instead he told me he was 17. Looking back I think it shouldn’t have been that big a deal. But I was 19. I kept thinking he was my little brother’s age. Anyway, I got over that pretty quickly. I was very skeptical about any guy who was nice. My step father was not a nice person and neither was my boyfriend. So for a guy to be nice to me I thought he was probably lying. So as nice as Pep was I didn’t trust him. I felt really guilty even talking to him because I had a boyfriend. But when he kissed me the first time I kind of got over that too! We walked back up from the beach and he rode with me and Shaye to take someone back to his hotel. We got out at the hotel and hung out by the pool. He kept telling me how beautiful I was and that he was “butter”. We got back in the car again and went back to the beach where our house was. Shaye and her “friend” went swimming. Pep and I were hanging out at the car. He told me about his new favorite song. It was called “Somebody like you” by .38 special. He started singing it. Then a security guard from the campground came by and told us we either needed to go home or on the beach. So we went on the beach. I fell in love with him that night. I can say that now since it is over 20 years later and I’m still in love with him. We took Pep back to his condo around 5:30 the next morning. He went in to get his camera to get a picture of me. He came back out and said his mom and his aunt were out looking for him. They were afraid something had happened to him. Now that I have a 15 year old son I can imagine how worried they must have been. But I didn’t want to let him go. He gave me his phone number at his condo and we left to go back home. No cell phones, text messages, emails back then. I guess I got some sleep that morning. When I got up I looked everywhere for his phone number but I couldn’t find it. We were leaving to go home that day. I knew if I wasn’t able to talk to him I would never be able to contact him again. I asked my mom if she had seen it and she said no. But then she finally admitted that she had hidden it from me. I asked her why. She said because of my boyfriend. And she didn’t want me “pining away” for some boy halfway across the country. So I called him and we talked for a couple of hours. I got his address and home number and he got mine. We had to hang up because I was going home that day. Pep would be staying for another week before going home to Colorado and then leaving for college in Kansas. My mom and dad decided to take my brothers to the Pavilion amusement park on the way home. When we got there my father realized he had left his watch at the beach house. Mom and I left to go back to get it. I talked her into taking me to Pep’s condo before going back to my father and brothers. So we drove the few miles to the condo. I knocked on the door and he answered with a big smile on his face. I can still see him at the door in my mind. Tanned and gorgeous. He came out to meet my mom. When she realized how cute and sweet he was she said she wanted to take him home. He pretended to try to get in our car. We stayed a few more minutes and then left. I just realized this happened almost exactly 22 years ago. It was August 5. The ride home was about 3 hours. I cried a lot of the way. I loved him. It seemed impossible but I loved him. I was exhausted from lack of sleep. And I was thinking about the anniversary of my cousin’s death the next day. A lot of emotions going on at once. My cousin was killed in a car accident in 1984. He was 16 and I was 17. A sweet boy. I still miss him. So I went home. I talked to my boyfriend. I broke up with my boyfriend soon after. Even though I knew it would probably never work out with Pep I started to realize that I deserved better than what I had. I wanted so badly for it to work out with Pep. But I didn’t see how it could. If it happened in 2008 we would have texts, emails, all the technology of today. But we didn’t have any of that. I had my wisdom teeth cut out that week. I must have talked to Pep again during the week but I can’t remember. Then that weekend I get a phone call. It is Pep. He says he is in my town at McDonald’s and can I come and get him. He has driven to Sanford NC from Myrtle Beach with his brother and friend. His parents had flown home and left them the car to drive back to Colorado. But he took a detour to come to see me one last time. I drove to the McDonald’s near my house and picked him up. His brother and friend stayed there. I took him back to my house. I guess he probably stayed for 30 minutes to an hour. I couldn’t believe a boy would go to that much trouble for me. I was in heaven. I introduced him to my uncles and aunts who were visiting us that day. We went downstairs and spent some time together. He was just the nicest person I had ever met. We said we would keep in touch with phone calls and letters. I took him back to his car and he left. I found out his name was Pep which I thought was a strange but interesting name. He was 18 and he was from Colorado Springs CO. So I planned to meet him the next night. I didn’t really think about it much anymore. Shaye and I went back to the boulevard the next night. We walked some and drove around some. It was getting late and I was tired but I hadn’t seen Pep. I figured I had missed him. It was about midnight. We were walking back toward the pavilion getting ready to go when I heard someone call my name. I turned around and there he was walking toward me. I had only seen him sitting in his car or stooped down at my window. He was like a giant! He came up to me and we went to a little restaurant on the corner and sat down. I found out that he was about to start his freshman year in college and would be playing football. He was huge. He was 6’4” and weighed 250. His real name was Jean Pierre. He told me his last name. He asked me if I could spell it. I had four years of French so I got it right! He was so cute! He had dark brown hair and green eyes. And he smiled at me. And he was so nice.

We sat there for a few minutes. He said he had been at a party and had to convince his friends to leave to come back to see me. We walked out on the beach at the pavilion. He told me he had a confession to make. He said he lied about his age. I thought he was going to tell me he was 25 or something. Instead he told me he was 17. Looking back I think it shouldn’t have been that big a deal. But I was 19. I kept thinking he was my little brother’s age. Anyway, I got over that pretty quickly.

I was very skeptical about any guy who was nice. My step father was not a nice person and neither was my boyfriend. So for a guy to be nice to me I thought he was probably lying. So as nice as Pep was I didn’t trust him. I felt really guilty even talking to him because I had a boyfriend. But when he kissed me the first time I kind of got over that too! We walked back up from the beach and he rode with me and Shaye to take someone back to his hotel. We got out at the hotel and hung out by the pool. He kept telling me how beautiful I was and that he was “butter”. We got back in the car again and went back to the beach where our house was. Shaye and her “friend” went swimming. Pep and I were hanging out at the car. He told me about his new favorite song. It was called “Somebody like you” by .38 special. He started singing it. Then a security guard from the campground came by and told us we either needed to go home or on the beach. So we went on the beach. I fell in love with him that night. I can say that now since it is over 20 years later and I’m still in love with him.

We took Pep back to his condo around 5:30 the next morning. He went in to get his camera to get a picture of me. He came back out and said his mom and his aunt were out looking for him. They were afraid something had happened to him. Now that I have a 15 year old son I can imagine how worried they must have been. But I didn’t want to let him go. He gave me his phone number at his condo and we left to go back home. No cell phones, text messages, emails back then.

I guess I got some sleep that morning. When I got up I looked everywhere for his phone number but I couldn’t find it. We were leaving to go home that day. I knew if I wasn’t able to talk to him I would never be able to contact him again. I asked my mom if she had seen it and she said no. But then she finally admitted that she had hidden it from me. I asked her why. She said because of my boyfriend. And she didn’t want me “pining away” for some boy halfway across the country. So I called him and we talked for a couple of hours. I got his address and home number and he got mine.

We had to hang up because I was going home that day. Pep would be staying for another week before going home to Colorado and then leaving for college in Kansas. My mom and dad decided to take my brothers to the Pavilion amusement park on the way home. When we got there my father realized he had left his watch at the beach house. Mom and I left to go back to get it. I talked her into taking me to Pep’s condo before going back to my father and brothers. So we drove the few miles to the condo. I knocked on the door and he answered with a big smile on his face. I can still see him at the door in my mind. Tanned and gorgeous. He came out to meet my mom. When she realized how cute and sweet he was she said she wanted to take him home. He pretended to try to get in our car. We stayed a few more minutes and then left.
I just realized this happened almost exactly 22 years ago. It was August 5. The ride home was about 3 hours. I cried a lot of the way. I loved him. It seemed impossible but I loved him. I was exhausted from lack of sleep. And I was thinking about the anniversary of my cousin’s death the next day. A lot of emotions going on at once. My cousin was killed in a car accident in 1984. He was 16 and I was 17. A sweet boy. I still miss him.

So I went home. I talked to my boyfriend. I broke up with my boyfriend soon after. Even though I knew it would probably never work out with Pep I started to realize that I deserved better than what I had. I wanted so badly for it to work out with Pep. But I didn’t see how it could. If it happened in 2008 we would have texts, emails, all the technology of today. But we didn’t have any of that.

I had my wisdom teeth cut out that week. I must have talked to Pep again during the week but I can’t remember. Then that weekend I get a phone call. It is Pep. He says he is in my town at McDonald’s and can I come and get him. He has driven to Sanford NC from Myrtle Beach with his brother and friend. His parents had flown home and left them the car to drive back to Colorado. But he took a detour to come to see me one last time.

I drove to the McDonald’s near my house and picked him up. His brother and friend stayed there. I took him back to my house. I guess he probably stayed for 30 minutes to an hour. I couldn’t believe a boy would go to that much trouble for me. I was in heaven. I introduced him to my uncles and aunts who were visiting us that day. We went downstairs and spent some time together. He was just the nicest person I had ever met. We said we would keep in touch with phone calls and letters. I took him back to his car and he left. ]]> yellaribbon http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/38-long-lost-love-part-ii.html Long Lost Love... http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/37-long-lost-love.html Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:45:40 GMT Nice title huh?

August 1986. I just finished my freshman year at the University of North Carolina. Very rough year. I didn't have a good year academically. I had a boyfriend who had treated me like crap the whole year. He had cheated on me but I didn't find out till much later. We had dated since I was 14. So at this point we had been together five years already.

I am the oldest of four children. The only girl. I set the example in my family. I was the rule follower. I was too scared to mess up. I didn’t do things like cheat on my boyfriend or get in trouble. But I put up with him not being nice to me. I had started college and he moved to a new town and started his new job the same year. He was a jerk to put it nicely. That’s the background with the boyfriend.

My family had a house at Myrtle Beach. We were there that summer and my boyfriend was there for a couple of days. He left to go back home. My cousin, Shay was there with her family. She was two years older than I, exactly. We share the same birthday. She convinced me to ride down to Ocean Boulevard with her. If anybody reading this is close to my age and has been to Myrtle Beach, you know that’s where it was happening in 1986. Back then the boardwalk and the Pavilion were there. It was also a pretty safe place for a 19 year old and her cousin to hang out. I didn’t want to go. My boyfriend had left and I was acting like the typical stupid 19 year old girl whose boyfriend had gone back home. I was depressed. But I went with her to the Boulevard. We drove up and down the street (cruised) and got out and walked some.

While we were walking a car with three boys drove by. It’s funny. I kept a journal all through my teenage life and I still go back and read my journal entry about this night. The boy in the back seat of the convertible stared at me and smiled. I thought he was the sweetest, best looking boy I had ever seen. But then they were gone.

Later it was around midnight and we were back in the car on the blvd. We were on our last round and then we were headed home. Shay looked in the rear view mirror and said, “Nancy, that boy wants you.” I looked back and they were behind us. The cute one said, “Can I ride with you?” Then he came up to my window. If you know anything about Ocean Boulevard you know it moves at a snail’s pace. So he was able to either stand at my window or walk along with us for a few minutes. He asked my name and I asked his. You know the typical teenager stuff. I told him I was nineteen and asked him how old he was. He said 18. He asked if he could ride with us. He laughed at me when I said in my sweet southern accent, “We’re fixin to go home.” He was from Colorado and thought that was the strangest expression he had ever heard. He asked if we would be back the next night. I said we would. So he said he would come back. ]]> yellaribbon http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/37-long-lost-love.html What a difference a year makes http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/34-what-difference-year-makes.html Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:52:50 GMT About a year ago my husband (Pep) and I were sitting in our condo at Myrtle Beach. We were on vacation with our four children. Hunter is now 15, Grayson is 11, Jaycie is 9 and Luc is 7. We were discussing my cheerleading hair bow business I had started the previous November. It had been a rocky road and we just weren't sure it was going to work. Pep looked at me and said, "You have until September to prove to me you can make money at this."

What a difference a year makes. The following December Pep quit his job of 18 years. He now works for me full time. Or with me, however you want to look at it. That part hasn't been easy either. But before he started working with me he was driving an eighteen wheeler and working up to 16 hours a day. I was basically a single parent. He would get up at 3:00am to go to work and would get home around 5pm. He would take a shower, eat dinner and go to bed by 8. We just didn't see much of him.

Sorry this blog is so short. I am up early to take pain meds. I had surgery two weeks ago. It was cosmetic but it still hurt like heck. I can't sleep on my back yet. I am going back to see if I can get a little more sleep before my employees arrive. I have a 9:30 online meeting with the developers of a new web site. We are going to be starting a sister site to Yella Ribbon where we will be selling our ribbons to the public. We are excited about it. We aren't busy enough you know!:becky:

Next blog: Back to the beginning. I'll tell you how Pep and I met. It is a neat story. ]]> yellaribbon http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/yellaribbon/34-what-difference-year-makes.html Lazy http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/mom2girls/33-lazy.html Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:38:11 GMT ayayyayyya i don't feel up to nothin today,, why do i gotta be so darn lazy and why does it have to be so hot in Texas?? :confused:

What a way to start the day LoL ]]> mom2girls http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/mom2girls/33-lazy.html are you new here? http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/normaoliva/32-you-new-here.html Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:03:06 GMT I´m new here, and i hope learn to make hair bows I´m new here, and i hope learn to make hair bows ]]> normaoliva http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/normaoliva/32-you-new-here.html Hi everyone. http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/marie_1121/31-hi-everyone.html Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:36:19 GMT bow:)Hi. I am new to this site. I have been reading the posts for a while, but this is my first one. I make bows for my girls and my sisters' girls. I have three children, 1 boy and 2 girls. I love looking at the pictures of what everyone is making. I would love it if someone has instructions on how to make bottle caps. I will try to post some pics of my bows in the future but I am still trying to figure out just how to do that. ]]> marie_1121 http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/marie_1121/31-hi-everyone.html Embellishments http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/klrvalentine/30-embellishments.html Sun, 22 Jun 2008 04:18:06 GMT Hi Can anyone tell me where to get reasonable and unique embellishments? Thanks so much! Hi
Can anyone tell me where to get reasonable and unique embellishments?
Thanks so much! ]]> klrvalentine http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/klrvalentine/30-embellishments.html new.need help for craft show... http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/scrapbookingmommy412/29-new-need-help-craft-show.html Sat, 31 May 2008 06:53:03 GMT i just started making bows and i am having so much fun. i was invited to participate in a booth at my daughters dance recital and i am kinda freaking out. i have never done one. can anyone help!! how do you store the bows for transport? is there a rule of thumb for pricing? thanks- Karen i just started making bows and i am having so much fun. i was invited to participate in a booth at my daughters dance recital and i am kinda freaking out. i have never done one. can anyone help!! how do you store the bows for transport? is there a rule of thumb for pricing? thanks-
Karen ]]> scrapbookingmommy412 http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/scrapbookingmommy412/29-new-need-help-craft-show.html cupcake hairbow http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/sweetprincessangels/28-cupcake-hairbow.html Thu, 22 May 2008 16:11:40 GMT Does any one have instructions on how to make a cupcake hairbow they would like to share.:o please Thanks Heather Does any one have instructions on how to make a cupcake hairbow they would like to share.:o please

Thanks
Heather ]]> sweetprincessangels http://hipgirlclips.com/forums/blogs/sweetprincessangels/28-cupcake-hairbow.html