Monday, January 05, 2009

I DID IT!

Well I gave in and started taking down the tree tonight. Why does it takes so many hours to put up a tree and so much fewer to take down? I did hate putting away all those boxed Hallmark ornaments but I do so love them hanging on my tree.

I also cleaned out my craft room! I can't believe it! With my mom's help Sunday I pulled everything, but the furniture out of my craft room to clean it up and change it up a bit. I rearranged the furniture and pray this move will be the magic layout for me. The other just never really worked for me. It does look like I have more room this way. Funny thing, my mom goes OK let's start moving everything back in the room and I was like NO. It is going back in slowly and in an organized fashion. I don't care if it takes me a few weeks to bring all the supplies back in the room as long as they go back in organized. I need to decide what I want to keep, sale and/or give away.

I need to find everything as it comes back so I can finish off all my class projects from Silver Bella 2007 and 2008 plus my PaperCowgirl classes! I pray I keep it better organized this go around. Why do arts an craft supplies get so messy and disorganized on me,y especially when I can keep everything else organized. I mean my closet is organized my type, then color and then by style. For instance all my tops are organized by color (ROYGBIV), then my sleeveless to long sleeves. Is that so crazy?

I'll upload photos of my room later.
Then I can have a CREATIVE 2009!

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Happy New Year

Yes I am alive and well. I'm sorry I have not posted in a while. December was quite hectic at work and then to add Christmas on top of it, I was very busy and very tired. I has sort of been off since Christmas Eve. I say sort off because I have been working during this last week when the company has officially been closed from Christmas day until Jan 2nd. Two weeks before Christmas I decided to put up my Christmas tree, which meant of course unboxing over 60 Hallmark Wizard of Oz Ornaments as well as the couple of hundred other ornaments I also add to the themed Wiz tree with red glitter accents. So after doing the tree I of course had to decorate more of my home, not as much as last year, but the red curtains went up as well as a few other items. I am happy with how it turned out and since I put it up so late it just may stay up a few more weeks for my enjoyment.

Christmas was ok. I spent Christmas Eve night at my sister's not far from my Mom's. Mom's house was just to cluttered and full of people and stuff this year. With a new baby in the house and no place to sleep other than the floor or on an old sleeper sofa mattress, I opted for the twin bed at my sister's new apartment just 3 miles away from my Mom's. And I couldn't leave my dog, Walker at home, so he also spent the night at my sister's. I now am so glad I never got a dog while I was in an apartment, I hated walking him several times a day.

Christmas morning my sister, her two dogs and me and Walker headed over to Mom's where we spent a rather rough day together. Mom was not in a good mood at all and was overly sensitive to say the least. She was Mrs sarcastic and a little too much so for my liking. For the first time in my life I cursed at my Mom. I won't repeat what I said, but I was done with the attitude. I have no idea what set her off but enough was enough with the sarcastic comments, and it worked. I feel bad but I just couldn't handle her attitude on Christmas day no less especially after we had such a lovely day at my home last year.

Then to add insult to injury no one got me anything on my Christmas list. I do not get why they try to over think me and get my stuff I didn't ask for. They give me their lists and I buy off their lists but do they do the same for me, NO and I have no clue as to why not! My list has been virtually the same the last two years. (I know because I keep a list all year long in my outlook tasks menu) I added a few things to it this year, but nope not a single thing bought off my list this year or last. So why in the heck do they ask me for a list when they have already decided what they want to buy for me? In fact Mom and I went shopping together before Christmas and we passed some stools, she commented one on stool and I said no I do not want one like that. I do not have room in my craft room for that type of stool. I want a stool that will fit all the way under my craft table so when I decide to stand up and work it will not be in my way. My craft room is on the small size, and I wanted a small saddle type stool. Needless to say I was very surprised to open a box from my mom and it contained this exact same stool that I had told her I did not want. UGH! Then my sister gave me an i-robot scooba floor cleaner. Now before you pass judgement on me for being ungrateful the reason we all started making lists was to make sure we got each other thins that person would actually like. I got everyone in my family except my brother and his wife items off their list and the only reason I didn't get them items off their list was my brother never gives me a list so I am constantly trying to think outside the box to get him something. So this year my sister and I got them a gift together, a professional style popcorn popper. They have lots of parties and this would a gift to save them money from renting one ever again for a party. Ok so back to the scooba. I am still undecided about it. it is a cool gift do not get me wrong, but since I bought the area rug for my living room this summer I just do not have a big empty bare floor for this item to work really well in and I would still need to mop in the corners and such. This round thing would not work really well in my bathrooms, it would miss spots, so I am undecided on if I keep it or not. If I do keep it I would still need to buy a steam cleaner like a shark or something in that vain to clean the spaces the scooba would miss.

I did get a barbecue grill! I can't wait to get it set up and use it and with the way the weather has been around here I may be able to use it this winter. I left everything at my Mom's and have yet to pick them up. I'll go by tomorrow after work and pick everything up. Yes on top of working on through my holiday break and not getting anything done that I had planned to get done, I have to go to work tomorrow! Why oh why didn't I take the day off like everyone else including my manager! Oh well, I may just take a week off later this month and I promise I will not work through it.

I am hoping and praying 2009 is much better than 2008.
Some goals of mine in 2009:

Get Healthy!
Clean craft room
Get etsy sight up and running
Pay off two bills so I can buy new living room furniture to match the new carpet
Buy curtains for living room
Buy shades for windows in home. (After 3 years it's time to get rid of the paper temporary shades don't you think?)
Paint Bedroom and guest bedroom
Sew Roman shade for craft room (I have had the fabric for 2 years now)
Find a Home Church - get back involved in one
Spend more time with friends and family than home alone
Find and add tile to fireplace.
Finish refurbishing items in garage
Clean Garage!

I think that is a good start.

I would love to add go on a beach vacation this year, but we shall see.
Let alone add find a boyfriend, we shall see. LOL.

Oh yea this is a must get more crafty and post more!

have a Blessed 2009 and please stay in touch,
This year I am going to do some giveaways.
So stay tuned!

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Silver Bella Pics

I know everyone has posted Silver Bella pics by now, but here are the few I took. I just can't seem to take pics at Silver Bella. Thankfully others, but then again maybe the 3rd time is a charm. So I will be back next year, like there was a ever a doubt I would return to Silver Bella for year 3. LOL.




Mary's wonderful Poster just for us Bella's.


Mary herself signing away after out Luncheon



The cutie Megan herself. I adored her little house!














Jana and 2 of my roomies



Kim, Susanne and Jessi



Downtown Omaha


I loved these displays.




Susanne and Debbie
Joanne and Heather

Monday, December 01, 2008

Here's Austin the newest member of my family


My newest Nephew and our little Election day baby

Austin Ryan




Just hours old, not even a day when these pics were taken.



The proud daddy and first time Daddy, my brother.

Daddy has red hair and baby has brown hair



And a Grandma who is delighted this little one is living with her, My brother and his family moved in the weekend before Austin's birth.







Thursday, November 20, 2008

Coming Down From a Glitter High

WOW! What an amazing Glitter fest this year at Silver Bella! The classes were fabulous, the teachers awesome and vendor night Amazing! I just wish I could have spent more money and bought something from every vendor there! So a note to the vendors if you have items left over please add them to your website and/or etsy shop so this shopaholic can still buy somethings later from ya.

Ok so I started this post a couple of weeks ago. I swear it took me a that long to fully recover from Silver Bella. I got home and slept approx 12 hours that Sunday. It was a great exhaustion and it sure was hard to go back to work the next day. In fact all that week was hard on me. I soon realized that my iron must also be low and started taking my iron pills and sure enough I was back to the old me in no time.

Fast Forward a few weeks and now it is Thanksgiving week and weekend. I spent that day at my cousin Lisa's house not to far away with 42 of my paternal family members. Now mind you I only have 2 paternal first cousins and no they do not have 20 kids each, so many of my relatives at this dinner are cousins, my dad's first cousins their families and etc. This year it included lots of guests. My lone Great Aunt, Aunt Betty Jane was in the hospital this year. She is the last of the 4 McLaughlin sisters that helped create the large brood at our Thanksgiving dinners. Sadly the day after Thanksgiving my Aunt passed away.

My mom, and I as well as various other family members went to visit my Aunt on Christmas day and when we saw her she was not doing well at all. She was in much pain and had only been given 6 to 9 months to live. For a lady in so much pain she knew who I was and was very much her sassy self. She cracked a joke or two and was watching the Dallas Cowboys on TV. She will be greatly missed but she is now with the Lord, in his loving arms and pain free.


I did a little shopping on Black Friday, not much but enough to realize the mall was not crowded at all. I have a few of my family members taken care of now so that feels good. I am going to make some additional soldered charms for some others.

I spent all day yesterday cleaning my closet and bedroom. It was past time to bring out the sweaters and out away the shorts and tanks. I did also get rid of loads of clothes I no longer wear for one reason or other. My car is packed and ready for a trip to Goodwill. It felt so good getting rid of some many clothes. I had waaay to much in my 13 foot long closet. I still have to much and will go through it again when it is time to change everything back. I took to heart the show "What Not to Wear"and got rid of any stained, torn , not great fitting and clothes that I no longer wear. I have so many extra velvet hangers now it is not funny. From here on out I only buy items I love of well made quality, items that fit me perfectly and look good on me. No more buying something I like that fits poorly that is on sale. My items need to work together and I need to buy some items off of Tim Gunn's must have 10 wardrobe essential items.

I will try and post Silver Bella pics tomorrow. And I need to post pics of my sweet 28 day old nephew. He was a perfect Thanksgiving baby. He got passed around and around and didn't get fussy until it was time to eat or be changed.

i promise pics tomorrow.