Holy Cow!!

Thanks Jackie for helping me figure out what was wrong!! I didn't realize I had checked "comment moderation" and I had 29 comments waiting to be approved before posting. What a doofus - can you tell I am so new to this blogging thing??? Well, I have not UNCHECKED this feature so my comments should be back to normal:):)

Hello????

Is anyone out there?? I have not received a comment in over two weeks and one of my friends mentioned she was having problems with my blog, but I think I have everything fixed. If you are out there could you leave me a short comment so I can make sure nothing it up with that feature as well??

I crafted a bunch yesterday and I will be taking pictures today to show you everything I have completed:) Happy Saturday!!!

Black Friday

The shopping madness of Black Friday has NEVER appealed to me...I do however look forward to my own version of Black Friday each year:) I celebrate by not leaving the house, usually until early evening, cleaning up Thanksgiving decorations, and getting down all the Christmas decorations. I love to go through all my boxes of decorations and deciding just what will go up this year. I spend part of the day wrapping presents and doing a little crafting too. On my list today for crafting are Christmas pillows for my friend in Silverdale, WA, trying some of these amazing coasters from Allsorts, trying to load one of Moki's buttons on my sidebar (does that count as crafting?).

Thanksgiving was wonderful! I hosted for the first time in about 4 years and we had a full house...my best friend, Carla, her hubby and two kids, her mom and dad, her sister and her aunt, my hubby and Miss S, and two of our best friends, Frank and Dave. I love Carla and her family. Since Hubby and I have no family in New Mexico, they have literally adopted us and I cannot remember the last holiday that we did not spent with them. Hubby deep fried the turkey and it was delicious. Everyone brought a couple dishes and we enjoyed a marvelous feast.



Here's a kind of blurry picture of most of us:) Miss S and I both had the stomach flu earlier this week so I was thankful that we both healed quickly:) However bad the stomach flu is, it's a great way to lose 5 pounds two days before Thanksgiving!

Before the stomach bug hit me I did a little Christmas gift crafting on Sunday before and after church. I finished another Christmas apron, and added these appliques to a pre-made apron for Miss S. She loves to help me cook so now she will have her own apron to wear:)

I made 4 of these "ten-minute pillowcases" - I love these - so quick and easy and a perfect gift for all those kiddos in your life.


I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and if you are a power shopper on Black Friday, good luck!! (Carla left her house at 4:30 this morning!!)

Count Your Blessings

It appears that my blog was taken over by mumbo jumbo code for a while...but everything appears to have returned to normal:):)
Driving home today I started thinking about how excited I was for this 4 day Thanksgiving weekend...and that led me to thinking about one of my absolute favorite hymns from church...

Count Your Blessings

When upon life's billows
You are tempest tossed
When you are discouraged
Thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings
Name them one by one
And it will surprise you
What the Lord has done

Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your blessings
See what God has done
Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your many blessings
See what God has done

Are you ever burdened
With a load of care
Does the cross seem heavy
You are called to bear
Count your many blessings
Every doubt will fly
And you will be singing
As the days go by

When you look at others
With their lands and gold
Think that Christ has promised
You His wealth untold
Count your many blessings
Money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven
Nor your home on high

So, amid the conflict
Whether great or small
Do not be discouraged
God is over all
Count your many blessings
Angels will attend
Help and comfort give you
To your journey's end

Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your blessings
See what God has done
Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your many blessings
See what God has done

So in honor of this hymn, and of Thanksgiving - here are 4 things that I am grateful for:

1. My Family - we are spread out across this entire country and even the world with Ian in Iraq, and I don't get to see any of them nearly as much as I would like, but not a day goes by that I am not thinking of one my family members. I am especially grateful for Hubby and Miss S who bring joy to my life everyday and love me even with my many faults.

2. My Faith - I don't talk about my faith very often...I try not to be one of those people that shove their religion down your throat...but my faith is very special and sacred to me. I am grateful to know that I am a daughter of God.

3. My Friends - Each one of my close friends are special to me in their own way. Tammy knows me inside and out and she is one of those friends that you can just sit and "be" with - the kind where you don't have to be talking constantly. Carla helps me keep it real. Moki stretches my creative side. For each of these women, and many others like them in my life, I am grateful.

4. My Job - For as much as I b**tch and moan about my job I am grateful that I have a job doing something that I love, that I am paid well, and that my husband is able to go to school full-time due in large part to my good job.

To each and one of you, Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

What a riot!

Lain found this awesome little Quiz - hers cracked me up, so I thought I'd have a go at my own and now I'm laughing even harder. Coincidentally, the morning radio show I listen to has a "Chuck Norris Fact of the Day"...little did I know I would be terribly missed by him:)

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

I've had a semi productive day - I cleaned the kitchen and the pantry, bought the last few remaining T-day groceries I will need, started my T-day cards to send to a few friends, and even wrapped a few presents. I cannot, however, get in the mood to craft which is extremely frustrating as there is so much I want to do! I did come up with some cute little gift tags. Once I started wrapping presents I realized I had no idea where my Christmas gift tags were. I used my label maker in Word, added a little clip art Santa, and voila - Christmas gift tags! Feel free to use them yourself - I created them to print out on Avery 5160 labels which I literally have thousands of.

My "Sick" Day

I have just about had enough of work and decided earlier this week that I would play hooky (sp?) today...I really needed it! My wish list of items to accomplish this weekend is a mile long and I am happy to report that I have checked several off already:)

I have a lovely half wall between my kitchen and great room that I have always wanted to decorate really cool for the holidays. Today at Hobby Lobby I lucked out because all the Fall decorations were 80% off - so for under $10 I bought this garland, candles and pumpkins. I really like how it turned out and the candles make the house smell so nice.

My last "R" arrived this week from Moki's initial swap and man is it a beaut! Cathy sent this beautiful watercolor picure/colage. I love it! Thanks Cathy!

I finished my Apron atc's for Selena's swap - I have been on a purple and green kick lately:):) I also finished up the remaining Christmas atc's for Amy's swap (I posted about those a few days ago), boxed up a couple packages that are ready to be mailed out and cleaned the kitchen. I want to clean the pantry too this weekend so I think I will start that next:)



This is part of the envelope from Cathy - she decorated it with several lovely drawings - I love her style:):) Now my Hubby really thinks I'm crazy because I've started keeping decorated envelopes:)

What's on your agenda this weekend? I have Christmas ornaments to sew, several presents to start (and hopefully finish), put together some Thanksgiving goodies for Miss S's class and teachers, clean the pantry, finish laundry, make some birthday and thank you card samples for a class I am teaching at church, try to organize my sewing area so I actually have room to work on aforementioned ornaments and presents, give the three crazy dogs a bath, and watch 5 taped episodes of Nip/Tuck.

Never Forget

My sweet mama reminded me of two family veterans we can't forget:

Francis Berry - WWII Pacific - my maternal grandfather
Ron Becker - Navy, Vietnam - my step-dad

Happy Veteran's Day

Oh man, I'm barely through the title and I'm already teary eyed. Veteran's Day holds a very special place in my heart this year with my brother being in Iraq. I went to my ATC group this morning and our theme was "quotes" - this was my favorite....and was very appropriate for Veteran's Day:

Freedom is not free.
A price is paid so that others may have life and dwell in peace, happiness and freedom.
If you don't stand behind our troops, please feel free to stand in front of them.

I love it...it so perfectly expresses how I feel about our troops...war sucks, but our soldiers are out there putting their lives on the line for us...and soldiers have done that forever and I am grateful every day for the sacrifice they have made.

So Happy Veteran's Day to:
Ray Terry - Air Force, Vietnam - my dad
Grandpa Terry - Navy, Korea - my paternal grandfather
Grandpa Holguin - Navy, WWII - Hubby's maternal grandfather
Opa de Ruiter Zylker - Air Force, WWII - Hubby's paternal grandfather
Michael Linderman - Marines, Gulf War (KIA) - my dear friend from high school
Rick Hughes - Navy, Guantanamo Bay - my brother in law
Ian Terry - Army, Iraq - my brother

I love each of these men dearly. And to all our veterans - thank you!!!! I would love it if you visited my brother's blog - www.latitude35.blogspot.com and left him a veteran's day greeting. I love the above picture of Miss S - it was taken on the Fourth of July 2003.

Swap and Craft Goodness

I particpated in this Vintage Bird Swap and this week my package from my partner, Kerry, arrived...it is so beautiful!! The top two pictures show what she sent me and the below picture shows what I sent her:):) The bird collage and the white metal bird bath are now in Miss S's bathroom - they fit perfectly with her garden theme. Kerry loved the blue dove napkin rings that I sent her the best:)

I was finally able to get some crafting in this weekend - I needed a little break to charge myself up for my trial this week and this was just the thing I needed. I blatantly copied Moki's idea for a little Christmas notebook - it has tabs for gifts and ideas, and an envelope glued in the back for receipts and coupons. The size is about 5.5 x 4.25 and it will fit perfectly in my purse to keep track of everything I have still to buy and do for this season. After Christmas it will go in my Christmas Scrapbook as a beautiful momento. Thanks for a fabulous idea Moki!! Also - instead of blank paper inside I used noteback paper so I have lines to write on:)


I started my Christmas ATCs for Amy's swap...and in the process came up with this gem which I think will be just perfect. I am also participating in her ornament swap and I will do the same general design just in fabric in a little 4 x 4 inch quilted square for my ornament. I hope to make a few extras for my own personal gift giving as well. O Tannenbaum has always been one of my favorite carols:)


So now it's your turn...what Christmas crafting have you been up to??

Good Karma

Just on a whim I decided to go to Barnes & Noble today at lunch to check out Amy Butler's new book- In Stiches. I remembered that Barnes & Noble emailed a coupon to me for 10% off - I logged on to print it off and noticed that it expired today!! Then I completely fell in love with the book:):) so I decided to buy it. When I was checking out the lady behind me let me use her frequent customer card for an additional discount, then I remembered that I had a few dollars left on a gift card from my dear sister (and the gift card ended up havint $12 left on it - I only thought it had $4.00 left on it!!)....so long story short after the coupon, discount, and gift card I ended up only having to pay $8.75 for this beautiful book! I am so excited to try every single one of these projects!!! I hope the karma gods smile on you as much as they have smiled on me today:):) And tonight I'm off to game night with my dear friends...I made something special for our monthly gift exchange:)

Goodies!!!

I was very thankful to have received several goodies in the mail this week...especially considering the stressful week I have had at work. Trial prep really drains me.
Here is a pic of my Red and Black Swap from swap bot - my partner did a great job in picking out items for me - fabric, notions, bracelets, santa mug, and other assorted little goodies:) The little guy in the middle is a red devil that says "whenever you kiss me my toes curl up" - too cute!

I also did another swap with my atc friend, Jeanie - I sent her one of my Frank atcs and another atc I made and in exchange she sent these too cool atcs. I cannot for the life of me get a good picture of them.

My Swap bot secret sister revealed herself to me - thanks Christine! Here are most of the goodies she sent me in 4 different packages. Everything is perfect! She included some Hello Kitty stamps and stickers for Miss S - don't tell her though as I might keep the stickers for myself:):)

And I saved the best for last - my Handmade Apron Swap parcel arrived from Germany!!! I hosted this swap on Swap bot and we had 9 participants. Dieuwertje put together this wonderful package for me. It was beautifully wrapped. There were lots of oohhs and aahhs as I unwrapped every item. I saved the apron to open last:)

Strawberry milkshake mix, herbal tea, white hot chocolate, wooden spoons, several metal cookie cutters, silicone cupcake liners and a star mold (like for cookies or pancakes), little spice packet and princess stickers for Miss. S. The apron is beautiful! Red gingham with a beautiful rooster inlay. I already have it hanging in my kitchen. I LOVE IT!!!

So thank you to Dieuwertje, Christine, Jeanie, and Sher for making my week so much better:):) OOH I almost forgot - I received my fat quarter swap from Pam and from Jill. Thanks to those beautiful ladies as well:)

More Japanese craft goodnes...

I have received some wonderful mail this week...made all the more special due to the fact that I am slammed at work and am preparing for a 2 1/2 day trial which starts on the 14th. I spent most of today working on preparing exhibits for the trial.

I have a wonderful new friend named Dawn that I met through Moki's initial swap and when she found out I am starting to collect Japanese craft books she offered to get me one anytime when she is in Seattle...this delicious book arrived from her yesterday - the picture is not too clear but it is Heart Warming Life Series ISBN 4-529-04018-6. I borrowed this book from Moki over the summer and fell in love with it - thank you Dawn!! And the check is in the mail:):):)


The next piece of goodness arrived today from Michelle in Texas who was my partner for the Swap-bot Wish List swap I participated in. I was so touched that she chose this book for me and ordered it...what an awesome gift. It is entitled Linen Handiworks for Everyday Use and the ISBN is 4-8347-2403-4. It is filled with tons of beautiful projects!! Thank you so much Michelle.

I am happy to report that my collection is now up to 5 books:):):) With a wishlist about a mile long...

Happy Halloween...a day late!!

I was too tired last night to post on actual Halloween...but I am happy to report that the DZ family had a fabulous Halloween!! My office had a potluck for lunch and we stuffed ourselves silly, then we closed at 4:00 p.m. to all head home for trick or treating. I dressed up as Cinderella and Miss S let me borrow her crown for the finishing touch:):) Sydney was The Little Mermaid....she and I went trick or treating at about 10 houses in the neighborhood and she scored! We have a cute little grandma that lives next door and she had a whole special bag for Miss filled with candy and other little treats and toys. She is awesome! Miss S was more into handing the candy out at the house than trick or treating herself and I was happy about that:)

Here's my work crew- 9 of the 17 employees dressed up we had (from left to right), geisha girl, dead southern belle, pirate, cleopatra, hippie, little dead riding hood, bat girl, cinderella and an ostrich jockey. We had so much fun!! However, it is quite hard to work all day in a ball gown:):)

Cloth Paper Scissors

I bought the newest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors last night...there is lots of cool stuff in it but I don't think I will ever do any of the projects in here. SO if you are interested in it, I will mail it to you (US only) - all I ask is that you send me something small of your choice in return. Let me know if you are interested!

3 Fat Quarters + One Hour = My First Apron

Introducing my very first apron! This was made for my Handmade Apron swap partner and I hope she likes it!! One fat quarter is the middle part, then the second fat quarter I cut in half and that is the side pieces, then the last fat quarter was used for the pocket and the waist band and ties. I love how it turned out. I really hope my partner likes it - it will be on its way to her in DC after I get to the post office tomorrow:):)

Miss S's Fall Party

I was in charge of the Fall Party for two kindergarten classes yesterday - we had 30 kids and a good time was had by all!

We started off by reading a story about fall...then broke up into 6 different stations for crafts, coloring, singing and decorating cookies.



One of the stations was leaf rubbings - here's Miss S with her creation:)

Singing time - we learned Mr. Oak Tree (to Where is Thumbkin) and Leaves are Falling (to London Bridges)

Some more stuff...

Here are the ATCs from the recent Halloween ATC swap I hosted through Paper Crafts Magazine - I think everyone did a great job. My contribution is the Frankenstein one on the top - I titled it "Frank's Big Night". I have three extra to trade for one of your atcs - leave a comment if you are interested:)


And my newest stamp set (from Hero Arts) ...I LOVE acrylic stamps - they are so easy to use and I love being able to see exactly where I am stamping:) I also love my initial:):) The biggest "R" is almost 4 inches tall and I have so many great ideas for this set.

Inspiration strikes!!

At the Play Day I went to last weekend with my new artsy friends, I picked up a whole stack of free CDs to make altered art with. Inspiration finally struck and here is my very first altered CD! It is a gift as part of the Secret Sister swap I just sent out with Swap-bot. She has a new baby boy named Jack and I thought this would be SO cute hanging on his door or above his crib. I hope she likes it! It was very easy - I used Tim Holtz paper forthe background and for the cutout letters and I distressed both with my Tea Dye Distress Ink pad. It took all of about 5 minutes to put together. I plan on making more as Christmas ornaments, with a longer hanger so they can hang on the tree. What do you think??

A Little Craftiness and a Friday's Find

So this is really a Thursday find, not a Friday Find but I still wanted to show it. I was a few minutes early to work and there was a garage sale right by the office with ridiculously low prices - not very much good stuff though, lots of really old stuff, and not in the good was:) Then I found this probably 2 ft by 2 ft of hand basted crazy quilt with about a yard ofthe gold fabric you can see in the triangle on the right....price was $.75!!! The sweet little old lady having the garage sale said "Hope you can make something beautiful with it" and I sure will!! It's time to fire up the decorative stitching on my machine and go to town:) I might make a few Christmas stockings for the not one, not two, but three vintage Christmas swaps I am in:):)

Here is my red and black swap all ready to send out to my partner in Alaska.. I made a potholder, two pouches - one using Moki's tutorial and another top zippered pouch. The flower pin can be added to the pouch or worn alone, and a tissue holder. Also in the box are some scrapbooking goodies, a black composition book, buttons and cardstock. I hope she likes it all!!!
Miss S and I made this haunted castle from a fun foam kit from Michael's. All the pieces had sticky backs on them so it went together really quickly and easily. I love it!


And lastly, my little corner of homemade pumkins made at various church activities the last couple years. The ones in the basket are made of fabric with a real wood stem, and the one on the books is an orange raffia style pumpkin. I love these guys and I love that I can put them out in September and they can stay out until it's time for the Christmas decorations:)

Happy Sunday so you all!!

Congratulations!

Congrats to Jacki, Rohanknitter, Knitting Mama and LauraJ for scoring some vintage zippers! Please send me your snail mail addresses at raeshadrz at yahoo dot com and I will get them on their way to you! Have a fabulous day!