dancing with the stars

Thanks Stacie and Julie! Because of these two, I did something today I never would have imagined myself doing... AND I had a great time! We went to watch the taping of "Dancing with the Stars!" What a great time we had! It is really fun and interesting to see how it all happens and comes together. There was an awful lot of waiting around but in the end it was well worth it! I was in the second row from the dance floor... SUPER exciting! After the show we went to dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant at the Grove Shopping Center. It was delicious and a perfect ending to our outing.

Heather will be happy to hear that I actually made it to the mall (I know, sit down!) to buy some black heels to wear with my fancy skirt and shirt. The most amazing part of all this is... I actually walked a good 3 1/2 blocks to AND from the studio PLUS all the standing around in these heels and I didn't break an ankle! (I may have a small blister to show tomorrow... we'll see!) Now, keep sitting Heather... I'm thinking of getting new sunglasses at that same mall! I didn't have enough time today so I may go back in a couple of days!!!!! I know... it's CRAZY talk! :)

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get some work done on a project. I feel like I haven't worked on something for soooo long. My fingers are itching to make something. I also have a project in mind that I'd like to complete in time for my Florida trip next week. I'll have to really get on the ball tomorrow so we'll see how it goes!

we're home

We had such a lovely vacation! I can't wait to go through the pictures... the girls, mom (grandma), and I went hiking a couple of days and I'm sure we got some great photos. We also played with the twins on Thursday and I'm sure that we have some fun shots of them. I'll have to go through them and update my flickr, etc.

This morning we went to breakfast as a family before Leila needed to head back to school. While we were there my friend, Julie, called and left me a voicemail that she had tickets to see "Dancing with the Stars" on Monday night AND did I want to go?! I guess she had left a couple of messages Friday as well and I just hadn't checked my phone (I was sleeping almost all Friday afternoon-recovering from the drive!)... We finished breakfast and I went out to call her to tell her, "for sure, I want to go!" I started chit-chatting and then Leila had to tell me to get off the phone since it was rude I wasn't talking to them... What was I thinking?! :) I just got excited with all the volleyball gossip catch up, etc. Good thing I have my girls to keep me in line!

Cami just went off with one of her friends to the mall for the afternoon... so I'm going to go and sit out in the backyard with Norm for awhile... It's so nice out right now and the jasmine is blooming so it smells wonderful!

s h o p p i n g

The girls and I are having such a great time! It's so nice to spend time with family!

Today we did THE big shopping. Wow! It was a very big job... I must say, I am very pleased with all the things I got. I am actually excited! Cami, Leila, Heather (my sister), and my mom were amazing! They kept me from escaping out of the store AND they kept me busy in the fitting room while they were the "runners". I definitely couldn't have done it without them! Now I just need a few accessories, a pair of sandals, swimsuit, and "underthings!" The major shopping is done! YEAH! (It was also nice that my husband didn't have a heart attack when I told him I was going to do MAJOR shopping!) :)

We also did a little hiking on the red sandstone rocks overlooking the city. It was very fun and I think I got some nice shots. I can't wait to see how they turned out. Tomorrow we'll go hiking through Snow's Canyon for awhile. I always love that!

packing

I am just about packed... Cami is packing her stuff now. Leila still isn't home, but she wasn't on planning on driving home until around 8:00. I'm planning on being in bed around 9:30 or so to make sure I get enough sleep. I'll wake up around 3:15 am and hopefully we'll be on the road around 4. I always enjoy the drive. We should be there around 10:00 am our time if everything goes well. I love that, because we still have the whole day ahead of us!

I did put together a couple of items to work on. I will finish an order I have for three white chocolate heart truffles and I have a couple of other chocolate pieces cut out that I'll put together as well. It's a perfect project to take I was able to fit all the pieces into a small tupperware!

Time to finish packing... :)

almost vacation

The girls and I are leaving for Utah on Saturday. Norm had to cancel coming with us... too much work. We'll miss him, but I think he'll be lots more comfortable working here if he has to work. I had to get some Easter stuff ready to go today. I wanted to have the little Easter gifts ready before Cami came home from school. No school tomorrow, so I really had to get ready! :)

I want to see if there are any projects I can put together to take with me to work on. It's going to feel odd to have my shop "on vacation" for a week! I have really enjoyed concentrating on creating and listing items since the beginning of this year. Prior to that I would only get the chance now and then to list an item. I am really excited to be creatively productive this year! I have a list of projects I plan on making and it feels great when I mark one off... (of course it's a continually growing list as I keep coming up with new ideas I HAVE to make!) So... it's time to look at that list and see if one is "portable."

Leila has her last final tomorrow morning. She'll probably rest awhile before driving here... She sounded exhausted when I spoke with her today. She's been studying like crazy. It will be so nice that she'll have a week to relax before the new quarter begins. She needs it!

I better start making sure we're all set to go... Saturday is almost here!

a r t i s t

I feel like a bonafide artist! My Flower & Bee painting sold today!!! This is extra special as this is the first painting I have listed on etsy. Tomorrow I will send it to it's new home in Maryland. I'm sure that the little flower and bee will be very happy there, after all, they bring spring wherever they are! :)

I am feeling so many different things right now... the emotions are just coursing through me. I am so excited to mail off the painting, yet sad at the thought of seeing it go, happy that someone appreciated my creation, hopeful that more people will want my work, anxious to start on a new canvas, yet nervous to begin...

A little piece of my heart was in this first painting... and I couldn't be more thrilled that someone thought it was good enough to buy... THANK YOU!

canvas

Canvas! Today I finally made the little painting I've been imagining for a few weeks. This is the first mixed media painting I've put in my shop! I am very excited about it and felt a thrill to finish it. The idea for this little Flower & Bee came to me a few weeks ago when I was busy making a variety of little felt flowers. This one in particular wanted to have it's own space... on canvas. Then it started whining about how it was going to need a bee to keep it company, especially as the decrease in bee population is becoming such big news lately... what could I do? I had to help a poor little felt flower out!

I love the sweet simplicity of this design AND how the felt flower, leaves and bee add such dimension to the painting. I'm imagining a little series of these. Wouldn't they be adorable in a child's room? It makes me happy to look at it. It's spring!

I am very grateful to all my etsy customers... I appreciate each and every purchase! When I see that "etsy transaction" email it makes me feel that wonder that someone enjoys my work and art. It is extremely satisfying to me and energizes me to want to create more. So I thank you.

snap... is it better?

I just got home from Monday volleyball league a little while ago... Great, competitive games tonight. I really enjoyed it. I also got to sub for another team during our "ref" match. Yeah! That means I got to play all 3 matches for the night. I love it when that happens! :) I really needed the extra exercise and concentration tonight too.

I listed a new retro style blossom card today. The card has pinks, browns, creams and blue. It really turned out great. I really wanted to make more items today, but I got distracted. My brother is having some family issues right now... and I was very worried about him and his girls. I hope he understands how the whole family is here to help and that all we want is what is best for the safety and happiness of he and his daughters. It just breaks my heart to think of how difficult this time must be for him. I wish I could snap my fingers and make it all better...

fever remains

Poor Cami... This morning I thought that her fever was gone, so I allowed her to go to school and the pancake breakfast. It was a short day at school so I thought she would be able to rest all afternoon. Well, after lunch she laid down on the couch and I went to give her a kiss and check on her. I found she was feverish again. Dang it! I had to call and leave a message that she would be unable to go to the birthday party tomorrow at Knott's. I felt sooo bad. We promised her that we would take her and her friend there at a later time. The tough part of this is she keeps saying that she feels fine and then she starts to feel really good when the motrin kicks in and drops the fever. I have to explain that she is still sick and that she has to be "fever free" (without medicine!) for 24 hours. She's being a pretty good trooper about it. I know she's disappointed.

This morning I made a new batch of photo cards using photographs I took of the gorgeous Southern Utah desert. I grew up there and visit as often as I can. I love trying to capture the beauty of the desert. I think the photos I put in this set really show the magnificence of the colors and textures of the terrain as well as the fluffiness of the clouds. I'm happy I made them into some note cards. I know I'll be using them!

cactus and fever

I love cactus blooms... Today I made a set of photo cards from some pictures I've taken of lovely cacti flowers. They are so pretty! I am VERY happy with how they turned out. I think they are wonderful note cards that could be used for any occasion!

I also listed the last set of Cherry Blossom Scrap Tags. I was going to keep them to use myself with my packaging, but I already have LOTS of tags prepared for my packaging AND I'm trying not to hoard... so... I listed them. (It's not like I'm not going to have more nice cardstock scraps from the current Blossom Cards I'm creating!) :)

I'm a little worried about Cami. She had a play date after school with a friend and had lots of fun. Then a couple hours later while we were going over the dance class schedule for summer I realized she was looking a little flush. I felt her forehead, and lo and behold, HOT! She's running a fever! She said she felt fine and then went to watch some TV (something she doesn't do often in the afternoon...) AND she fell asleep (another very rare thing!) for a good hour or so.

Sometimes when she's having a growth spurt she'll get a fever for a few hours with no other symptoms, I'm hoping this is the case. She has a pancake breakfast event going on at school tomorrow morning that she doesn't want to miss and Saturday she is planning on attending a Knott's Berry Farm (!) birthday party! She definitely doesn't want to miss out on any of these events. I'll keep my fingers crossed that she wakes up in the morning feeling perfectly fine with NO fever... poor little thing...

allergies and dad

I am really suffering from allergies today. There are some plants blooming in the backyard that I must be VERY allergic to. The Flonase isn't even touching it. I may have to double up for the next few weeks with Claritin too... I can hardly concentrate right now. Yuck!

Today is my dad's birthday... Happy Birthday Dad! I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful and thoughtful dad. He does so much for all of us (6 kids PLUS families) and tries to make sure that everyone knows he's there to help in whatever way he can. What a wonderful example he is to me and my family. He's MY dad and I love him VERY much...

comfort

I made tuna casserole for dinner tonight... mmmmmm... comfort food at it's finest! I know it was good because Cami went back for seconds AND thirds. (She rarely ever takes seconds!) Now we also have some delicious left overs for another time this week.

Cami had ballet today. She's very excited because her teacher told her that she's one of the most improved and that she is going to be able to skip ahead a level when classes begin again in the fall. Over the next couple of days Cami and I will go over the summer dance school schedule. She wants to take lots of dance classes as her summer activities. I'm so glad that she loves ballet. I love watching her practice and it makes me happy to see the joy it brings her.

Norm picked up some new furniture for us yesterday! It was such a NICE surprise! He chose a great buffet for our kitchen as well as a bench/shoe holder for our front hall. It will be nice to have a more formal place to put our shoes when we come in the house. Yeah! It looks so inviting and feels good to walk in and see how organized everything looks.

I have selected some more paper combinations for some new blossom cards. I'm hoping to work on cutting a few out while we watch American Idol tonight.

paisley and plum

I am having such fun today listing the two new Blossom Cards. This one has the coolest papers. Paisley and skulls blossom on a pink foil heart cardstock. I had no choice but to show it with "You Rock!" The other blossom card I listed today is very elegant in shades of plum and eggplant. It looks so beautiful...

Now I have to leave the fun of my office and do some grocery shopping. (sigh)

looking forward

I'm almost done with two new Blossom Cards! Yeah! I hope to finish assembling them tomorrow (glue will be dry by then), then photos... and listing! New color combinations are working great. I can't wait to fold them to see the final effect! I'm having such fun with these!

It's hard to believe the weekend is over. It seems like it went especially quickly... I know this week is going to fly by also. Cami has short days at school on Wednesday, Thursday, AND Friday this week. I like to plan for her to have friends over sometimes on short days, it makes a fun change of pace and she loves it. We've been having some lovely weather... it would be so nice if it's still warm later in the week, we could fire up the heater for the pool, and they could swim... (aaahhhh... summer will be here soon....) :)

I'm going to have to be as productive as I can be the next couple of days!

this or that paper?

Cami and I had such fun together selecting the new papers for the next few Blossom Cards. She really got into it! She asked detailed questions about how and why I choose certain types of cardstock and what goes where, etc. She organized little stacks for each set and enjoyed being the final "yay or nay" vote. It was a lovely way to spend some time together while Norm was off to the UCLA basketball game. (Great game! UCLA won in the final seconds, so he was VERY excited!)

I did list a set of 20 tags made from the beautiful scraps of the last few Blossom Cards. I haven't decided if I'll list the last 20... I really like them and may decide to use them in tagging items purchased from my shop. We'll see.... :)

Volleyball tomorrow morning... Yeah! I didn't play Thursday night and I feel like I really NEED it! My Monday league is starting up again this week, so that will be good. That league is very competitive AND a lot of fun, PLUS I play with my friend, Julie, and that's always a blast! GET SOME!!! :)

h o m e

She's hhhooommmeee!!! Cami had an absolutely wonderful time at camp! (how could she not?) The ranch her school class stayed at is the same ranch where they shoot "The Biggest Loser," she was excited that she was able to see them. (Although that's kinda funny since she has never seen the show...) It was a terrific experience for her and I'm so glad she had such fun!

My last listed Cherry Blossom Card sold today! It's time to make more! Tomorrow I'll select the next batch of papers. Tonight I had to use up all the scraps from the first ones I made! The papers are just too beautiful to not try and use every last, little bit... sooo, I made tags! I was able to get a set of 40 in various sizes. Tomorrow I'll take pictures and list them. I haven't embellished the tags, they are little blank canvases, awaiting their new owner's creativity! I was also able to punch out little flowers, hearts, and other shapes out of the odd pieces that will go along with the tags. Little bits and pieces to enhance the tags or whatever else! I'm so glad I took the time to do this. I avoided more stray pieces in my already full "scrap" bin and now I'll be able to look at my new paper combinations without distraction! That's always good!

I can't wait to make more cards tomorrow. I miss having one open to look at on my desk... I also need to work on a custom order I have for chocolate truffle pin cushions. Tomorrow I'll have to cut the felt pieces I need, then they'll be ready for me to sew in between volleyball games on Sunday. :)

no excuses

OK, OK, OK, I'm going to admit it right up front... I did NOT go clothes shopping today. I DID make it to Costco however! :) I'm not about to go through my list of excuses, I'll just say this... I didn't feel like it! The stores will still be there in a couple weeks, don't you think?!

I'm so excited that Cami will be home tomorrow. I can imagine her little voice going a hundred miles a minute to tell us all about her trip! I can't wait to give her a big hug...

Walter's upset

Volleyball night! I just got home and boy, did I have fun!! Our team won all three games and it was just a terrific night! I love it when it feels like the whole team is working together... it was great!

I'm counting down to when Cami comes home... I think Walter (our cat) is too... He's doing an awful LOT of whining and crying and sitting by the door. (Walter acts a lot like a dog... If you whistle for him, he comes running!) Tomorrow will be her last full day gone, I pick her up at 12:30 on Friday. This means that I need to be REALLY productive tomorrow. I want to work on projects all day but I know I NEED to do some shopping (I really don't like shopping much) to get some new clothes for our Florida trip PLUS Costco... If you left it up to me I'd put off the shopping stuff, however, I've been putting it off all week. I guess I'm going to have to "bite the bullet" and take care of the shopping business tomorrow... (aw shucks!)

history and inspiration

This is the picture I took of our cat, Walter, today. I made the photo into a darling card for Cami. I know she'll be so happy to see her cat when she gets it at camp! Of course, I wrote the card as if it was coming from Walter... I know she'll get a kick out of that! :)

I spent time today reading my grandpa's history. My mom spent hour upon hour transcribing his history from tapes. My sister, Bethany, then arranged the document into chapters, etc. It was so nice to read. I could hear his voice and imagine his movements. I miss him so much. It was amazing to read of all the things he's done and to read the details that you don't really catch when you're young. I loved reading about the pivotal moments in his life like when he realized his love for art and his need to be an artist, his love for plants and landscaping, and his drive to make things work when others thought it was "impossible." A great man and an inspiration...

blue and purple

Cami started her week of Outdoor Education! She was sooo excited when I dropped her off this morning. I sent out a letter to her on Saturday so that hopefully it will be at the ranch for her later today. I will send another letter to her tomorrow. It felt really odd to look at my watch at 2:50 and NOT rush off to pick her up! No running back and forth to ballet today either. Although I enjoyed not running around, I sure did miss seeing her and having her chit chat all about her day. I can't wait to hear about her adventures when she gets home on Friday... It feels very blue without her little happy self.

Today I made a purple blossom card. I listed it AND it sold! :) I LOVE that! Tonight I'll get it packaged up and ready to send to it's new home. This blossom has pointed flower petals. I really like how it looks... the purple polka dot, graph, and floral papers all were terrific together! I have enough paper to make another one of this combination, so I'll work on it and get it listed for tomorrow.

I spent time today washing some of the fabrics that I plan to use later in the week. Now they are washed and ready! Yeah! I'll get some pieces ready to go, and then I'll wait for my sewing labels to arrive before I actually begin piecing things together. I hope to have the labels by the end of the week! I can't wait to see how they turned out...

packing

I just spent some time with Cami, helping her to pack for her big week. Boy, am I starting to feel a little sad... I'm going to miss her soooo much. Helping her make sure she had everything made me think of when we were getting Leila ready to go off to college. That same type of feeling to a lesser degree. The emotion of excitement for them to start a new adventure, yet the regret of having another part of childhood over. My goodness, where has the time gone? It is definitely a reminder to treasure all the moments, great and small....