Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

To you and Yours!

A year full of pleasant surprises, fun and laughter.

May your new year bring you a fresh appreciation of the lives you touch with your art, your blogs and your generosity.

May you have new inspirations, and may all your dreams come true!

~Michelle, Brian and Dyllan Cummings

All done wrapping!

Hello, hello!
~I'm all done wrapping! I stashed the gifts in a tall laundry hamper in the garage so Dyllan won't see them. We are headed to my Mom's in Borrego for Christmas and I fear we have more gifts than luggage! I guess that's what "black" trash bags are for. ;)
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I was also all 'set' to do some more baking, but decided to save it for when we get back. Anyways it's more fun to decorate the cookies with Dyllan at our own pace.
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Speaking of fun, Dyllan had a blast delivering cookies and little gifts with me to the neighbors! He always said, "Merry Christmas!" , but his "Happy Holiday", usually sounded like "Have a Holiday"
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So here's my cottage. I really challenged myself and made her a "scrapbox" cottage!
I glued glittered coffee stirrers from Starbucks on the cottage for a fence, and added icicles to the roof.

The inside has inspirational stamped words, distressed pages for photos and a pretty glittered ornament!



I really like how this turned out and am already dreaming up new ones for my shop and for swaps!

Merry Christmas!

~ The other day while in Walmart buying replacement lights for some outdoors ones that shorted in the rain, I was almost tempted to buy a set of those bubbling lights that I've enjoyed as a kid. But with no price to be seen , I opted out knowing I could always find them somewhere else-anytime, online.

~ I spent the better part of yesterday organizing my closet and sorting clothes for next years artistic altering, cleaning the master bathroom, tossing old lotions and expired products, smelling and keeping all my perfumes in a special spot because they bring back so many memories.

It all started with the eggnog

~ This is sister Lorena. She died last year of Ovarian Cancer. She was a mother of 4 kids, 2 girls, 2 boys. Her life had alot of turmoil in it from her husband to her health to just life in general. It's a really long story and makes me extra sad to think about it.

Almost Done

This is card # 3, made up then scanned for our possible family Christmas card. My holiday banner is card # 2 and if you scroll down a few post, Card #1 "Believe" is the one that made the cut.
I believe I'm almost done with Christmas shopping. I won't see some of my friends and family until after the new year, so that gives me some time.


Wed, I plan to get the oil changed then have a hopefully stress free trip to Hilo Hati at the block of Orange. It's a yearly thing for me to get Brian and Dyllan matching Hawaiian shirts. I also scour the papers looking for their annual 40% off coupon to which I scored two!

Then possible lunch at Johnny Rockets and then home for a nap(both of us) cause I have a potluck party later that night.

I've been receiving the swaps from the 12 days of Christmas swap I hosted. I'm very excited that it's going well and can't wait to show off all the wonderful mini-masterpieces soon!

Another note, remember way back when when I had my 100th post winners? There were 14 of them and I'm just now getting their goodies out! Sorry !

I also asked 12 people to send me their profile pic. I got 12 total. These surprises will be going out in Jan-2008 because of the detail involved. I really hope the girls like what they will get!

I have not added to my shop in like a month! and I'm not happy with that, but then I have to blame the holidays cause I always take on more than I can chew even when I scaled back a ton!

I have alot of "new" surprises to add to my shop that I can't wait to share with you next year! Some of it is old school talent that is starting to re-emerge and the rest is myself really applying my energies to what I've never done before! I'm very excited!

~ So now I'm off to finish "crafty" things while I watch the DVD series "House" - I'm so hooked!
Thursday is my "finish the baking or bust" day.

Rant

Since 3 this morning, when Dyllan woke me up, I knew today was going to be "a day". Gone were my plans for a early morning oil change and a leisurely shopping at the Hilo Hati store at the block of Orange. This has all been postponed till wed.
~ Dyllan in all his cuteness has been a absolute terror all morning. And I need someone to either shoot me or give me a sanity pill. I'm so super grumpy, tired, and still have not finished my 1st cup of coffee! Earlier, it got just too quiet. I found him downstairs in the bathroom washing his hands. Water and foamy soap every where.
He's in the stroller now, strapped in as the final straw. It's a little quiet now...let me check...
Darn! As quiet as he was, he was not sleeping!

I've got a last minute craft to finish up downstairs, maybe I'll put a show on for him to watch while I work. Is it nap time yet? I'll put him down about 1:30pm and maybe I can take a "cat nap" too!

Thanks for letting me rant~Michelle

Disneyland Splendor

~Last Sunday, Dyllan, Grandpa Jim and I went to D-land. As we got there around 5:30pm, we got to see the parade. Then we had dinner at a Mexican place over by Big Thunder. Rode the train once, Pooh Bear twice, saw the fireworks and snow, rode Casey Junior four times, and did Small World twice!

Rogers's Gardens

~Last Saturday, Dyllan and I were supposed to participate in a community parade. But I got sick, (again) on Friday and could not see myself pulling Dyllan in a decorated wagon for 2 hours.
So I suggested to the hubby for us to have lunch at Fashion Island and to stop off at
Rogers Gardens for a look see. Brian watched Dyllan out in the garden area, Dyllan being entranced by a electrical train, while I purused, dreamed of fairytales and took lots of pics to share with the rest of you! I also left my wallet in the car, on purpose. ;)

~ So enjoy, feel inspired and click on every pic for beautiful details!

 
  

Tasty Toffee

~ Here is a recipe I thought I'd share! I'll be baking all this week. I usually do alot but this time I'm cutting down and want to have alittle fun so here is my list of baking:

Tasty Toffee
Fudge Crinkles (made from cake mix)
rolled cookies
stained glass cookies
Gingerbread cookies
chocolate chip cookies(from tub at costco)
pre-made gingerbread house to decorate (from Costco)

Please enjoy this "easy and "Tasty" recipe!

Tasty Toffee


1 stack saltines
1 cup sugar
2 sticks butter
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup nuts

Pre-heat oven to 400*
Line a cookie sheet with foil.
Lay crackers out neatly on the foil.
Melt sugar and butter in microwave, stir and pour over crackers.
Bake for 8 minutes (it will bubble).
Take out of oven and pour choc. chips evenly over crackers.
Smooth chocolate over crackers with a spatula.
Sprinkle with nuts if desired and cool. (I put it in the fridge for a bit to firm up)
Break apart and enjoy!

* I have in the past made toffee from scratch but can't keep a eye on it and the Dyllan, so I find this easier and still yummy!

Season's Greeting's!

~ Please click on any Photo for detail!~


~ Still have a few deco's to put up...the nativity scene finish the staircase and other yummy's. Above is a advent calendar I made for Dyllan. I made little gift boxes out of paper cards and glues magnets on the back. In each numbered box is a ornament for him to hang on a mini tree daily. I decoupaged a old tray to hold the boxes.



Our front door is metal and a perfect place to showcase any art Dyllan does.

It's a Wonder...

~ It's a wonder how we all survived with all these safety regulations in children's toys and furniture. Yes, this is me here. Do you remember these saucers? I remember how fast I would go on the linoleum until I hit carpet, and over I would pitch. Also look at my cool toy attached, simple and non-complex unlike the stuff we see today.
Like the extra padding to hold me in?


The following pic's are of my Mom.
Do you notice her "stroller" and far they've come today?
( click on any pics for detail)

Romantic Notions Paper Crown

Something new I made

Home at last

~ I know these seem like a lot of photo's but they are really only a smattering of what we took in our 8 day road trip! So here is a basic run down as most of the info will be shared in a altered journal complete with scraps and touchable stuff.

~We arrived in a San Francisco on sat Nov,17th and spent all of the next day having fun. We've concluded that 1 day is enough in S.F. when you have a 3 year old boy!


Incredibly yummy lunch at Bubba Gump.

Let me tell you of this Carousel which was very beautiful. It has 2 stories where as the 2nd story spins in the opposite direction. Talk about sea sick!

My 3rd Boutique

For my table I found a a pretty lace like plastic table cloth to go over the cheap pink plastic ones I always use.
(feel free to click on any pic for detail!)

I had Scrapboxes, captured faeries, glittered Christmas trees, hair clips, magic wands, packets of custom glitter blend, Crowns, decorated votive holders, and pretty tags.

Paris to The Moon Costa Mesa

Last Saturday I had about 4 hours to myself.
~I started at Lakeshore Learning in Lake Forest, it's a teacher supply store. I got something for Dyllan, a Birthday gift and 2 x-mas gifts for my nieces since we be seeing them on Thanksgiving.
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~ Then I stopped off at Trader Joes's which was near by for some Olive Oil and a snack.
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~From there I braved the mall. I offered to pick up the brining spices from Williams and Sonoma as our contribution for Thanksgiving. I had to park in la la land since a chunk of the parking lot was roped off for a pink motor home from Life channel which was doing make overs on women and filming it too. I also did not anticipate walking so far or I would not have worn my new rocket dog sneakers with out socks. As I limped back to car, I was wondering where I parked until I remembered I had my hubby's car not mine and his seemed to blend in a sea of other silver Honda's.

Family Portrait

I just love this!
This is Dyllan's 2nd fam portrait.
It is drawn on a big piece of butcher paper and drawn upside down!
Daddy is on the far right with the glasses, I'm in the middle and Dyllan is on the left.
He did it all by him self! I only suggested who he could draw, he did the rest!

I'm tickled "pink" that Dyllan likes to draw so much!

One Woman's junk is another Woman's treasure...

I'm a craft aholic and I admit it.

I took a before pic for you all to see the chaos of my studio. You will see that photo when I'm done, probably after I finish my projects.
You might not hear from me until Friday and this is why, so please, pardon my ramble...
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1. Get materials and make demo's for Wednesdays MOPS craft. I will be making paper pumpkins, the same craft is what I'm making for table setting on thanksgiving with inspirational thoughts inside.

On this Sunday with my craft group, I'm having a card swap with a Christmas theme.
You make your card and attach it to the outside of a shoe box.
On the inside of the box are organized packets of the material s needed to make the card;

• pre cut paper
• ribbon
• stamps
• ink pads
• embellishments.

 It's enough for 10 people and is supposed to be made in 15 min or less, all the boxes are on a table, you grab one box, when done with that card, take the box back and grab another!

1. I'm putting the finishing touches on my swaps,100th post treats, oct. blog treats, and a crown give away.

1. My goal is to have everything shipped off by Friday so I can focus the rest of my energy on my Boutique items to be sold on November 14th!

I gave away a ton of out dated materials to military moms when I went to a retreat in September. Now in re sorting my studio, I'm finding more "stuff" The way I sort the good from the bad, is I look at it and pretend I'm in a fave shop, if it does not appeal to me, it's a goner.

I don't want to pay for shipping, but would like to give this "stuff" away to a happy home or two. I live in south Orange county, drop me a e-mail and we can set up a date for you visit.

It mostly consist of stickers, 12x12 patterned papers, wall paper rolls of strange designs, embellishments, some ribbon scraps, odds and ends. In the case that you don't like any of the "stuff", at least we get to meet and you can see where I create!

A dream come True

~~~Yesterday I put on a bunch of my Swing Music CD's. The 1st being Brian Setzler. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Dyllan be-bopping past me on the tile floor. In between taking down Halloween decorations and washing dishes, I danced with Dyllan showing him my moves and him insisting I try his. He made one up and it went like this: Put your right foot out to the side, slide it back in, wiggle like crazy. It was cute and went with the music!
~~~ Dyllan kept asking for "fast " music, so I played "Eddie Reed", Big bad Voo Doo Daddy, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Royal Crown Review. I've seen a lot of these guys in person and have many autographs and memories to go along with the music.

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~~~The pic above is of Me, Swing dancing many years ago at Disney land. I used to go to the thrift store and find vintage goodies to make a costume for dancing. My hubby is not much of a dancer of any kind so I have not danced for a while. Although now I'm looking forward to teaching Dyllan and to some day have a new partner!

~ Click on the pic for more detail!

Recap from October

~~~Just catching up in all my October happenings. Sorry there are no "craft" pic's, these are mostly for the Family and Friendsto see what we've been up too.
The following are from Halloween's Trick or Treat party @ our house!

(Please click on any photo's for more detail!)

20 ways to confuse Trick or Treater's

Susan has this on her blog and I think it's hilarious! It's a day late but would be fun to try a few on the "too old to trick or treat" kids next year!

* 20 ways to confuse trick or treaters*
(some are little "extreme" but others would be worth the look on the faces of the older kids!)
I highlighted my fave's!

What a night!

~~~ Last night was a complete success for the 3rd year in a row. All but a few of Dyllan's friends came for good food and lots of Trick or Treat fun!
~~~We live in a 300+ track neighborhood that is culdesac's and all connected. It's also flat which is a plus. I think we hit 8 culdesac's with his friends, after they left, Dyllan and I went out just the two of us and hit a few more.
~~~ I'm not so hip on the the people that hang out front of their house in a lawn chair with their bowl of treats and I just don't bother with the ones that leave a bowl on their front stoop with a sign that say's "take one please." Both of those take the fun out of trick or treating!


~It's all about watching your child ringing the doorbell and singing "trick or treat!"
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I'm still tired.
Did anybody tape TAPS's, on a real VHS? I don't have tivo and could not muster the energy last night to find a tape. They were investigation the Waverly Manor from 9pm-3am in a live broadcast. I conked out on the couch after 2 hours.
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I'll upload Halloween photo's maybe tonight of last nights festivities. I also have to go through all the Oct. blog post to choose winners! How exciting!
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I'm still playing around with the details but for now, how do you like my new banner and blog design?

Still a few more things to do...

~~~~Yesterday I hosted a Halloween Crop party at my house, but do to the fires and some stomach virus floating around, only 1 person showed which was fine with me cause the day was mine to work on crafts regardless. We feasted on Stouffers chicken enchilada, ruffles with salsa and dip and some delish' desserts she picked up from a gourmet bakery.
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~ We watched "The Blair Witch", "Creep Show" and a little bit of "Signs" With the exception of creep show which is fun along with a few other movies of that nature that I own, I personally get a better thrill on the movies that freak out my mentality.

Spooky Treats

~Since it's almost Halloween, I wanted to share with you some of the treats I'll be conjuring up for Halloween. They are not only fun and easy to make, but will leave your guest asking for more!

Ghosties

Card making and stuff....

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~ Our home is safe from the fires but not from the smoke! We are fairly close to Camp Pendleton's fire and it's just awful! The sky is orange. We are staying in the with air conditioner on auto and 2 air purifiers running.
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~As you may have read earlier, I went to my Mom's in Borrego Springs for a visit with Dyllan on Sat, and came home on Monday. During the stay, the only time the tv was on was to play Dyllan's Dvd's. And plus the air was fantastic in the desert, blue skies with lots of wind. We had no clue to what was going on in California until Monday. All the normal ways out of Borrego were closed or on fire. I ended up adding 2 hrs onto my already 2 hr drive to take the "back" way out of Salton Sea and Palm Springs route. I will post pic's from this visit soon.

Wax coated Autumn leaves

~It's here, today's the day and I'm very excited!

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I'm also buzzing because tonight Dyllan and I are following our 3rd year tradition of the both of us dressing up in our costumes and meeting friends at Disney CA Adventure Halloween bash! It's a lot of fun and something I look forward to every year!

Halloween Greetings To You

~~~~~ Every Year my decorating for Halloween changes, specially now that we have a 3 year old boy who gets "spooked" as easily as he can destroy things with the touch of a finger. So sadly I did not go "all-out" this year and kept things simple. After Halloween, I'll post some pics from dress up to lit decorations and also some glimpse of the past!



Hard to see unless you click on it, I saw this "somewhere" and used CD's as templates onto cereal boxes. Stamped the letters and then added glitter.

Halloween Hat Swap

~~~ This is the Halloween Hat I made for Cathy Nash of Tadpoles and Teacups!

~ I applied fabric scraps and buttons around the brim with sewing and fabric glue. added ribbon and a spider on the top. Glitz-ed up the hat a little gold glimmer mist, made a double size rosette and sewed a packing tape transferred image to sheet music

These are what I received from Cathy!

The little one with the cat is for Dyllan-how sweet! and she says the inspiration for the other one came from my crowns.

I love them both!

Seems so long ago

Having a better day today and am in the process of finishing up on past due projects plus a multitude of blog post. Here's one from a friend that would be fun for everyone to play along!
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Never again

~It's been a busy couple of days and I apologize for not uploading some promised pics of current projects. I will do it soon.
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~ Last Sunday I hosted a crop at my house through my group West Coast Croppers.
For $5, I taught the girls how to make 4 Halloween cones using vintage wall papers, clip art and the rosette trick.

Things I learned from this demo:
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1.There will always be the one who does something first then ask how to later,,,(pouring a pile of glitter then asking later if it's too much)

Going to D-land today!

~~~We were supposed to go last Monday but I forgot about the Holiday. So the only other day I could manage was today. Brian is coming home from Chicago tonight so Dyllan and I will be meeting my Father-in law Jim there at opening times. This will be the 1st time in 5 years that I'll be at the park when it opens. Only cause the winter hours open at 10:00am instead of summer 8:00am. A little more doable.
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~~~I plan on leaving the park no later than 2:00pm so Dyllan can get a nap in and I can finish sprucing up the house before Brian gets back (late). In the meantime, I picked up a disposable camera, the good quality kind with a flash from grocery shopping. I'll call it a surprise camera since we wont' see what's been taken until we develop it! I thought it would be a good start for Dyllan and I can let him start his own scrapbook, with safety scissors and all.
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~~~I did research on the little kids camera that I'm hearing so much about. Digital, unbreakable. I'll ixnay it till some one one with kids comes out with something better. The pictures are fuzzy and the "delete" button is bright red and huge.
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My Halloween and Fall stuff is almost up, I'll take pics inside and out. Got my hat swap goodies from Cathy Nash, will be posting those this week end and will be working on goodies for my drawings all month long.
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Have a great day!
~Michelle

Funny Stuff

~Today Dyllan and I went to Walmart for a few things after Pre-school. I kept on trying to go down isles in the store but people were blocking moving spaces with their carts. So finally braving a isle to make a short cut, and only to discover no space to go, again, Dyllan shouts from the cart ( he likes to sit in the big roomy part) "Move people! Move!"

The two ladies looked up and I stumbled a apology as I pushed their carts aside to get through.

I used that rudeness as a consequence to not a get him a "toy" even though I wasn't planning on getting him a toy either way!

Small Bits of Happiness

• Crisp October Air
• Dyllan's infectious giggle
• Cinnamon in my morning coffee
• Thunderstorms and Lightning
• Warm fuzzy socks
• Crunchy fall leaves
• Hot apple cider
• Mulling spices on the stove top
• Family get togethers
• Disney Land
• Halloween Decorating
• Pumpkin Carving
• Lots of Glitter
• My Muse
• Crop Parties

Your turn. What makes you happy?

Joyful Noise

~~~~~I originally wanted to post a favorite Autumn poem but could not make up my mind which one to share. I love poetry. I have been writing for as long as I can remember and love re-reading past proses I've written in my youth.

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I came across this treasured book and thought it was worth posting. It's poems for 2 voices and a delight to read as well as listen too. Often you get tongue tied which usually ends in laughter from both voices.

Oatman Hotel Ghost Sighting

Happy October! My favorite time of the year! I'm so looking forward to all the fun crafting things to do plus the family fun stuff I do every year with my boys. (Brian & Dyllan)

~~~~ Not for the faint of heart, many of my post(s) will consist of ghostly sightings, like the one below. I will always include interesting facts about the places and am always open to stories.
My dream is to someday make up a book or scrapbook of stories and photo's of these events from friends and my self. Feel free to send me a pic or story if you have any, with your name and place/date of pic.

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~~~~~Every year we go to Laughlin, NV, for river fun and historic sight seeing. If the weather is not too un-bearable, we visit the small town of Oatman in AZ.
Wild burros roam the streets, sometimes the miners have mock gun fights. Mostly I like to look at the old buildings and visit the Oatman Hotel where 2 of my favorite movie stars stayed on a regular basis. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard.
Click here for more history on the hotel.
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Disneyland Musings

Just got back from a day at D-land with Brian and Dyllan. It was so hot! But for Dyllan's sake, we rode the Monorail into the park, rode the Car-tophia which makes Dyllan shriek with delight, then on to Small World, visiting and Dyllan dancing with Belle in a story like play, Dyllan decorating a crown, Eating lunch a Casa Zorro where the food is really good and Dyllan can watch Thunder Mountain race by, riding Pooh-Bear and finishing with the Train ride all around the park.

Pets I remember

~~~One of my daily blogs reads is always Because I said So. A stay at home mom with 6 kids all named after cities. Her wit and writing skills match Erma Bombeck and remind me also of my favorite comic, "For Better or For Worse"
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~~~In today's post she talks a little about her son's hermit crab that died plus other daily happenings. What I liked what her oldest son went into the garage and made a little tombstone with a piece of wood and distressed it to look old with white out! There is even a picture.
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~~~So that brings me to remember of all the pets I've had and burials we've done.
In no particular order...

Weekend Scrapbooking Retreat

~~~ These photos are all from a amazing retreat I went on in Palm Springs!

 I promise to post more pic's later of what I actually made! 

But in the mean time, please enjoy the scenery.

I got an award!

It's always nice to be given an award for something you do and just reminds us that people do notice the little things we do. So what does this award really mean?

Well here is a little ditty I copied from Laura's blog...

Still here...

~~~~~I want to appologize to all my friends in blog land! It's been one of those week where i have not felt like posting or doing much of anything. I got back from my wonderful scrapbbok retreat late on Sunday and as soon as I came home, I felt drained. Back to everyday life I guess.
~~~~~Later today I'll finally work on posting some pic's from the retreat, show a blog award I got and some other stuff.

In a few, I'm off to MOPS with Dyllan where I'm guaranteed hot coffee and a full meal while Dyllan is taken care of in another room! Plus I'll chat up with any other girls that might be hooked on dancing with the stars as I am. I knifty knit scarves while I'm watching my shows as to not lose out on precious crafting time. Some will make it in my shop while others are future gifts.


Talk to you soon!

Getting Ready

~~~~~This is seriously the last scrapbook lay out I've done in a looong time! It was for a magazine Ad challenge I created for my group. It is of my Mother in Borrego Springs, Ca. We used to live there till I was about 10 and then she retired there cause she likes the desert beauty and heat.

You betcha Mom!

After surviving a busy week and mix of emotions, good and grumpy, I asked Dyllan this morning as he woke up, if he was going to be good today? And he said, "You betcha Mom!"

We will see... ;0)

In a Nut~shell...

~~~~~Basically in a nut-shell, this is how my week is going.
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1. Monday night felt extremely nauseous. Feared the worst. slept bad.
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2. Tuesday Morning awoke not to sickness but to a visit from "Aunt Flo". Went early with
Dyllan to a orientation of "Wee little ones" something like pre-school that starts next Tuesday.
Ran errands all day.

7 Weird Facts about Me.

~~~~~I was not going to do a post today since I'm organizing my studio all day. But I got "tagged" by Jennifer Conway and in my defense, I can never pass up a good tag, especially a 'short' one!

The rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules
2. Share 7 facts about YOU. Let them be random weird, devastatingly interesting.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post, linking their name with the list.
4.Let them know they've been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blog.

Ava Grace Crown

~~~ Here is the Crown I submitted for the Ava Grace silent auction that is to take place September 16-22. Please let me know if you want me to send out a reminder to you the day before.

~~~ Ava Grace was born on February 12th, 2007 with Pfeiffer Syndrome .
She is truly a "little" Angel. 

~~~Now on to my Crown.

Dyllan, Dyllan, Dyllan

I just wanted to take a moment to show off this "cute" pic I took of Dyllan who is now 3. He's holding all he needs for nap time. Yes he still takes a nap. Little boys need to replenish their energy, even if it's only for a hour. In his bag are his trusty $1 bin toys from Target: 1 airplane, 1 helicopter, 1 sea plane, a rocket ship that looks like the challenger, and his worn with love Puppy. In his hand is a giraffe puppet and white tiger he got from his Aunt Katalina to which he call the tiger "kitty".

Good Karma

I've received so many comments on the crown you see in my banner! It also won 3rd place at this last summers fair, so I figured it was a sign to make another.

This particular crown always makes me feel good when I gaze at it's simple charm.

So I've decided to make a new one for the "Ava Grace" silent auction. It has lots of vintage charm; pearls, rhinestones, glitter and inspirational words.

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~Have a great day!

Michelle

Great, now I'm sleepy...

I took our 3 year old son, Dyllan out to lunch today.

We went to Boston Market.

I had my usual 3 side sampler with creamed spinach, garlic dill potatoes and sweet potatoes. Dyllan had mac'n'cheese with meat loaf to which he only liked the meat loaf if I fed it to him, and then of course I ate what he did not.

So now I'm full and sleepy and have a list of stuff to do before Dyllan wakes up from the nap I wish I were taking.

1. finish Dyllan's thank you cards from his birthday on July 30th.

2. Make the grocery list for a trip after nap. we have not gone in 2 weeks and I promised to make chili in the crock pot for Thursday to serve with a corn bread mix from trader joes.

3. finish my silent auction piece (a crown) for Ava Grace.

4. maybe wash the car later.