. . . #augsewphoto . . .

. . . instagram friend @kritta22 makes the list . . .

. . . i enjoyed playing along again . . .

. . . if the suspense is killing you 

and you can't wait till the end of the month,

i post one photo a day on instagram . . .

. . . i'm @stuphfromsteph . . .

. . . and my favorite part of posting

is the awesome/hilarious/thoughtful

comments it receive from followers . . .

. . . many of whom i've never met in real life, 

but who i definitely consider friends . . .

. . . thanks! . . .

. . . month at a glance . . .

. . . let's break it down . . .

. . . here are the daily photos . . .

1august2013 - amelia (18) at amanda's wedding 20december2004 | and amanda (23) at amelia's wedding 25may2007 | i smiled when i came across these photos of two of my daughters today | twirling and posing | once a dancer/cheerleader - always a dancer/cheerleader | #couldsomeonePLEASEorganizeallthephotosonmycomputer

2august2013 - will #augsewphoto become #allaboutmykids month? | it just might! | my firstborn @amberhansen01 is an inspiration to me (and to many other people, as well) | she's a wife to @christanhan | a mom to addison, halleigh, tate, and tagg | she serves in a primary presidency and has previously taught relief society, been enrichment leader, and young women's president | she is probably the most in-shape person i know - a workout fanatic | she runs marathons (qualified for boston - but i'm so glad she didn't end up going!) | in her younger days (that sounds bad - she's only 33) she was a competitive swimmer, sprinter on the track team, dancer, cheerleader and homecoming queen | she was (and is hoping to soon be again) an excellent student | she is strong-willed, goal-oriented, and determined | she is beautiful | she is funny | did i mention that she lost her hearing to spinal meningitis when she was fifteen months old? | she is amazing! | #youbetimbragging #proudmom

3august2013 - this was kind of like a pinterest experiment of the plant world | i always see these planters (left) dripping with perfect flowers at a nearby shopping center | and i say to myself, "i think i'll plant some of those - my front porch is so naked in the summer" | and just like lots of my pinterest experiments --- my results don't turn out quite as fabulous (right) | how are my trailing vincas faring? | well . . . i planted them a couple of months too late (i struggle with this, because it involves tearing out geraniums when they still look great), and there's a lot more green than blossoms (they'd do better in full sun - the south side of my house is shaded in the summer) | lessons learned: plant earlier next year in pots around the pool (north side of the house) | also - take everything you see on pinterest with a large grain of salt | #results not typical

4august2013 - it's a magical miracle to me | we take perfectly good fabric | cut it into tiny pieces | and then sew it back together | into something even better (usually!) | top left: seventeen small pieces (of bonnie and camille's bliss) in that block alternated with larger square blocks become (what looks to me like) a tile mosaic in a fig tree pattern called vanilla cakes | lower left: paper pieced peppermints (not gonna lie - these were kind of tedious) became what's still one of my favorite christmas quilts - i'm a •little• obsessed with red&white | #onewayikeepmyselffromgoingcrazy #stillmustmakeaswoonquilttoo

5august2013 - disclaimer: i really ought to look ahead on the photo a day list | if i'd realized that today's subject was kids, i probably wouldn't have used them as my subjects on the first and second | whoopsies! | i feel so blessed that they are all happily married and i love every single one of their spouses as if they were my own | anyhow --- here's each of my children as they appear on our wedding wall of fame - even though none of these photos was taken on their actual wedding day | beautiful photo credits: all three girls - mark mabry; drew - @annierandallphoto

6august2013 - "if you're going through hell . . . keep going" | winston churchill for the win (maybe --- no one's really sure) | with an assist from country artist rodney atkins | whoever said it, and whenever it was said --- it's sound advice | #seealsojustkeepswimmingjustkeepswimming #doryfindingnemo

7august2013 - um . . . pretty little miss hayden | how 'bout you say "cheese" and show us how old you are? | good job and happy birthday, baby girl | at the funeral of an old friend recently, this story was related: every day he would ask his wife, "have i told you i love you today?" | she would always answer, "no" | and he would reply, "well . . . i love you today!" | hayden is my favorite relative •today•! | #isntshedarling #wishshedidntlivesofaraway

8august2013 - the polkadots on my walking socks (thank you kirkland's best/costco) | and the pedicure peeking through, too | walking's gotta happen earlier these days | we humor the youngster in our group who still needs to be home in time to get her children ready for school | #thosewerethedays

9august2013 - remember when i tried to be goldilocks and broke my sewing chair all to pieces? | well --- that chair has been kindly and expertly repaired by @ashleyyoung's husband --- for which i am grateful | ask me sometime about wonder woman @karenhatch carrying said chair to and from her house --- she lives close . . . but not •that• close | on the advice of at least four people - i decided sewing on a kitchen chair isn't much fun | so i ordered something new | and it's really •soft• | and it matches my scissors | and it also matches the 1200 #oops and #bloops labels that have blessedly arrived | happy happy mail | #cheetahobsession

10august2013 - duh . . . that was easy | i loved him then | i love him waaaaaaaay more now | #forlikeever #billandsteph

11august2013 - this was a hard one for me | i don't watch a lot of movies, and i wouldn't call it a crush, but ferris was a pretty funny character | #kindofabadboy #myfamilycanquotethismoviefromstarttofinish #andtheydoitalot

12august2013 - the beginning of a new school year means the return of #mondayswithcolby | he is the happiest, funniest, most talkative little almost two-year-old you can imagine | #hemakesuslaugh #healsomakesmesses

13august2013 - i've had a few, but then again, too few to mention | sorry --- got a little sidetracked there | i could kick myself for not finishing college | i got married four years after high school graduation | plenty of time to get a bachelor's degree | if only i hadn't spent so much time fiddling around | i sure had fun, though, and i don't regret •that• one tiny bit! | #toooldslashlazytogobacktoschoolnow #alsoregreteverytimeiwearwhitepants #alwaysmanagetobrushgainstadirtycar

14august2013 - from 1962 until 1965, my parents and my brother and i lived in a quonset hut in what was known as polo village on the campus of the university of arizona in tucson while my dad went to law school | this was married student housing | two families occupied each hut - with an entrance of each rounded end and a dividing wall at half the length of the hut | my younger brother, jeff, and i shared one of the two tiny bedrooms | we slept on bunk beds | i had the upper bunk | i learned real quick not to sit up in bed - what with that curved ceiling and all! | #wehadnoideawewerechildrenofstarvingstudents #missingmydadthisweek

15august2013 - today's topic is dog/cat | um . . . if you know me •at all• you know "cat" is •not• an option •at all• | one time, though, i was hoodwinked into letting santa bring a puppy to @mandersras for christmas in 1993 | no photo exists of @mandersras with said puppy - who happened to have been born on her tenth birthday | pictured here are my third daughter @ameliarjohnson and my adopted daughter @alissebaldwin | the furball between the two humans may look like a stuffed animal, but she was a real live lhasa apso | the largest of her litter, she was named margaret by the breeders - after their fat aunt (i hope aunt margaret never got wind of that "honor") | her akc registration papers listed her as •diamond margaret• but we called her •maggie• | that dog got groomed every single week of her fourteen plus years | bill's dad used to say that if he believed in reincarnation, he would want to come back as their pampered family dog | he never knew maggie, but i bet he'd want to come back as her, too | #alldogsgotoheaven

16august2013 - two months ago, knowing that the third anniversary of my dad's passing was coming up, i decided to try to organize an evening with my mom, my siblings, and their spouses | they're all busy folks | but the stars must've aligned, because we were all able to spend the evening together at the temple | mission accomplished | i bet my dad was pleased | we were missing one brother who lives in colorado | we need to work on him - and it won't be easy | #loftygoals #photofromthefuneralthreeyearsago #familiesareforever

17august2013 - in all my years of driving, i've sported a grand total of one bumper sticker | after that election didn't go •quite• the way i'd hoped it would, i maybe wanted one like i saw on the car in front of me in the sonic line one day | #idon'treallyhateALLpeople

18august2013 - this one made me laugh | i mean, really if there's one thing i can't stand, it's a •dis•honest craft room | my room is also used for sewing and laundry and it's a place to put all my shtuff | so (clockwise from top left) . . . as of yesterday: i've got enough fabric sitting there to make at least 150 #bloops #bestswaddlesever | chenille lint covering the floor (and tracked through the entire house - always) | #oops #bestburpclothsever in various stages of completion, a long list of custom orders waiting to be filled, a dirty diet coke, and so you think you can dance | plus a washer (full of new sopping wet towels) that won't drain (fixed late last night - thanks @christanhan!) | #honestyisthebestpolicy #butcleanlinessisnexttogodliness

19august2013 - my most recent attempt at installing a zipper should've earned me extra credit | running the entire length of the window seat cushion i reupholstered for my bedroom, that thing measures four and a half yards long | you should have seen bill and me trying to restuff the foam into the new cover | looked like a professional wrestling match | #itwasafeistyopponent

20august2013 - there are plenty of inside design features i'd love to change around here, but, back in the mid-nineties, when we planned to add on to and remodel our home, i'm so glad i held out for a bigger closet | this all happened at the same time my former master bedroom became my sewing and laundry room --- win/win!! | and my love of #roygbiv color order gave birth to cardiganville | #imaybeateenytinybitobsessive

21august2013 - in case you haven't noticed, this is THE color | the end | (sorry i couldn't find anything in coral last summer when you wanted it @jessalynromney} | also: #bloops now have their own tags - they're no longer wannabe #oops | #bestburpclothsever #bestswaddlesever

22august2013 - don't you just love it when a crush leads to dating and you end up married? | this photo of newly engaged @wromney and me appeared in the sweetheart section of byu's daily universe newspaper on valentines day 1979 | the topic of the article was "economical dating" | here he's shown paying at the movies and his quote said, " the money doesn't matter - stephanie's worth the investment" | awwwwwww | #34yearsandcounting #hewantshismoneybacksometimes

23august2013 - it's a #flashbackfriday and #augsewphoto combo meal deal | june 2005 - when there were only ten of us | and i made everyone match | there're eighteen of us now | you can see our house in the background (which was probably today's intended subject) | but, to me, "home" means these people (and all the rest of them) | it means sunday dinners together | it means the craziness, the noise, the laughter | it means missing the ones who aren't here | it means love | it means everything! | #whyamisomushylately #familiesareforever #lovemyhomeANDmyhouse

24august2013 - seriously . . . | this is definitely one of my favorite photos (november 2011) | these three - oh, boy! | tate, elliott, and tagg | grandbabies number three, five, and four, respectively | firecrackers, energy, noise, cuties | 

photo credit: @pkgreenfam | great capture, phil! | #tatesgumkillsme

25august2013 - please please please be right today, mr. weatherman | 90% chance at noon seems like pretty good odds | here in the desert, we need every drop we can get | #sofarthismorningnothin' | (edit: it never rained)

26august2013 - it might seem kind of trivial on the surface | but when i consider the advances in technology during my lifetime, it blows me away | i've used a rotary dial corded landline phone | i've searched the card catalog and encyclopedias and rolls of microfiche and periodicals at the public library to write a research paper | i've ordered gifts and clothing out of a catalog i found in my mailbox | i've written letters by hand to friends in distant lands and waited weeks for a response | and now --- all of that is obsolete | i have "friends" i've never met | i text all my family members | i see my utah grandbaby on my phone screen | research on any topic imaginable is at my fingertips | i've sold gifts for hundreds of babies | i've bought stuff way too easily | i sent and received emails from my missionary son | used properly - technology blesses our lives | #ithaschangedmine #howaboutyou?

27august2013 - our most wanted gift is backordered until march | we're thrilled | and (though she wrapped this plate of treats in her favorite color --- subliminal wishful/hopeful thinking, no doubt) @mandersras says they will wait and be surprised as to what color of #oops and #bloops they'll need | #grandbabynumbernine

28august2013 - not feeling very creative | what would you suggest?

29august2013 - hexagons and triangles | i spy (ca.2007) | this is the quilt that gave me carpal tunnel | holding down those tiny acrylic templates while fussy cutting | @addieleigh02 is eleven now and wouldn't be caught dead playing on an i spy quilt

30august2013 - how to wrap up the very cutest baby burritos around | several thousand (actually maybe only a couple hundred) finished new 100% cotton crinkle gauze #bloops this week | washed, cut, serged, tagged, and folded | still to do: bag and label | a serger is kinda fast and loud and really vibrate-ish | my ears might still be ringing | #bestswaddlesever

31august2013 - it's not that i'm sleeping in | i see glorious sunrises like this most mornings from the bank of the consolidated canal | it's •part• of what makes getting up early worthwhile | the other part is fun friends and conversation | exercise? that, too, i suppose | but (probably oversharing here) when i get home, i tend to dilly dally/procrastinate the whole shower/hair/makeup/dress for the day routine | so my goal for next month is to get ready and start being productive first | #checkinstagramblogsfacebooklater

. . . if you actually made it 

to the end of this post, 

you deserve an award . . .

. . . and please forgive typos . . .

. . . it's too long to proofread! . . .