It's been like, well... forever!

Wow how time flies when you're having fun! Hey, you KNOW it's true, so don't even shake your head at me. I've been soooooo thoroughly enjoying this grandmahood (is that even a word? spell-check doesn't think so) and wanted to pop in to share a bit of what I've been doing lately. Yes I'm still making an occasional greeting card and have done a little scrapbooking here and there, but I've gotta tell you that this little guy has just made our lives around here so much fun! How could anyone possible look at this little face and not smile?

Oh by the way, did I tell you that my daughter is now a photographer? Yup! Well she's kind of doing it on the side now, still working full time, mommying full time and trying to slip in a photo op when she can. You can find her at Photography by Emily Baker here -

http://photographybyemilybaker.zenfolio.com/

How about another peek at the most precious little boy ever?

and back on a crafting theme, here's what I've been working on for Oliver. Just a few peeks, then the finished product will be posted when it's done.

This is my first attempt at strip piecing and really my first official quilt that will actually have some machine quilting if all goes right. Wish me luck!

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The last time I cried

Thursday, November 22, 2012

When was the last time that you cried? Why?

This is usually a tough question to answer, but this time it's a little easier. As I reflect on all that I have to be thankful for over the past year I have to say that the announcement of my daughter's pregnancy has to top them all! I'd like to say that it was what made me cry, but actually it was what prompted it, so that counts. The last outburst of tears was while reading my wishes for my niece and nephew's new baby at her shower. I was sitting next to my daughter who also broke down crying. It was a very special moment for the two of us as we got a brief glimpse in to our future. Here I am with my two sisters, niece and baby.

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My ideal place to get stuck

Monday, November 19, 2012

If you had to get locked in some place (book store, amusement park, etc) overnight alone, where would you choose to be locked in?

That is the NaBloPoMo prompt for today and didn't really take much thought because I wish I was there right now. A Luscious ten star spa (yeah ok, so maybe the stars don't go that high, but this is MY dream and I can have whatever I want!) this spa would come fully equipped with a staff of people to pamper me, bring me glasses of wine, fresh Holiday grapes, chocolate and strawberries or anything else I want. There'd be a steamy hot jacuzzi with soft music playing, warm oil massage and aromatherapy candles burning all over the place. AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Now, back to reality. Tonight we meet the Doula that will be with my daughter and SIL before, during and after the birth of our grandson. Here's how we spent our time waiting.

I drooled over this recipe for Cheesy Garlic Basil Tilapia in the Penzey's spice catalog which uses all of my favorite ingredients. Hey if it's got garlic and basil I'm happy! And tilapia happens to be my favorite fish!

Emily and Matt were checking e-mail and reading weather blogs. We're still waiting for the long-term forecast for December.....

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My grandson voted before he was born!

Well not really, but he was in his mommy's tummy when SHE voted today, so does that count?

See that sticker on her tummy? Yeah, that's OLIVER!!! I am so incredibly proud of my daughter and son-in-law for making sure that he got to experience voting first-hand even before he could see the ballot. They will make such awesome parents!!! My daughter is sooooo organized these days (perhaps it's her nesting instinct?) that she actually studied the ballot ahead of time and zipped right through that electronic voting machine faster than I could say VOTE! I'm sure she said a few words to Oliver while she was touching the screen like how to recognize a good candidate and which party is truly FOR the PEOPLE (starts with a D folks!)

Is anyone else truly looking forward to being able to turn on the television without having to flip through channels adnauseum to avoid political advertisements and then end up switching to Netflix or Hulu anyway? The NaBloPoMo prompt for today was to say what our first act would be if we were elected president. How about banning all those ads? Better yet, prohibit filling those pockets so deep that they have millions of dollars to spend on all those ads, junk mail and phone calls! I think we could heat a house for the winter with just ONE candidate's junk mail alone! Ok, enough of that. Let's just say that I'll be glad when January gets here and we can move on...

Toodles!

Monday,Monday, so good to me

Silly song just keeps floating around in my head with pictures of those four singers, especially Mama Cass in that short dress! Today is Monday, Day 5 of the NaBloPoMo challenge to write a blog post every day during the month of November. The blog prompt for today's post is: "What are your thoughts about tomorrow's election in the United States?" Well to be quite honest I hope whoever wins does what is right for our country, because no matter what they say during all those millions of dollars worth of ads we've all be nauseated by over the past few months, if they are controlled simply by what the deep pockets and party lines tell them to do, we're in trouble. 

Believe it or not I used to really get involved in politics, or at least in radical advocacy work on my own time while trying to play the good state government employee serving as a Legislative Liaison who wasn't allowed to lobby or say anything contrary to the current administration. Talk about migraines! Yeah, after I figured out that it wasn't just the aspartame  MSG and chocolate that brought them on and finally gave in to the fact that my job and the internal conflicts it was causing might actually be a big contributing factor I gave up all the nasties and have rarely experienced one since. Well admittedly I haven't completely given up chocolate, but have learned that, unlike the stressful job, consuming it in small increments is ok.

So what does all that have to do with my thoughts about tomorrow's election? Quite honestly, even though I still vote and I know that only one vote really CAN make a difference, I just can't get overly excited or worried about who wins or loses because you know what? Life will go on!

Bottom line with me is that I'm more concerned about the upcoming baby shower I'm throwing for my daughter on Saturday than I am about the election. There you have it! Here she is with our empathetic Border Collie, Katie. Our Golden Retriever has also gotten in to the habit of patting Emily's belly. Guess they're making sure Oliver is okay. I love it!

Time to get organized!

What do YOU do when you take time off from work? Well if you're like me you work even harder at other things. Whether that means gardening, cooking, sewing, taking kids to doctor appointments, cleaning house, caring for elderly parents, or like me, organizing your craft space; it usually requires a lot of work. I've taken the next two days off to clean up my two rooms dedicated to my crafts. Yes you heard me right, TWO ROOMS!!! AAACK!!! For those of you who are now wallowing in jealousy over the fact that I have two full rooms for my crafts (one for paper, the other for sewing) let me tell you that I'd have more room on my dining room table than in both rooms put together! More space means more STUFF!

On Saturday my daughter and I had a very successful sales event in Lawrence, Kansas. There were a dozen Etsy vendors set up in a room at a downtown restaurant, Pachamamas (with absolutely FAB food that we've promised our husbands we'd taken them to later!) The crowd was awesome and steady throughout the entire day and the other vendors were all so friendly and talented that just meeting them would have been well worth the time.

Anyway.... I've finished doing inventory and now it's time to make a dent in the mess called my craft room. Hopefully I'll be able to spend tomorrow cleaning up my sewing room. I have every intention to finally get both rooms to the point where I can actually walk in, sit down and do some creating, then eventually start creating tutorials. What would you like to learn how to do? Is there a paper craft that you've seen here that you'd like to learn all the steps? Maybe you've seen a finished product somewhere else and just can't figure it out? I used to do training as part of my job and I guess you could say that it's in my blood. There are already soooooo many awesome tutorials out there and I don't want to repeat things that are readily available, so pray tell, what can't you find? Not that I can guarantee I'll be able to figure it out, but it'll give me something to shoot for when this old antique computer gets replaced by a graphics capable one. Oh, please also tell me if you're more of a visual, auditory, textual or hands-on learner. I'm one of those people who needs to do all four: see it, hear it, read it and do it. If you're anything like me you do best when there are written instructions to go along with the video tutorial so you can concentrate on soaking in all the visuals and listening rather than scrambling to write everything down.

Ok, NOW I'd better get out of this room and get to work in that craft room! Hopefully I'll have some success stories and pictures to share later. Oh, OH OH! Don't forget to sign up for my October Blog Candy Gratitude Giveaway that closes at midnight on October 29th!

It's a Mother-Daughter Day!

Yippee my daughter is on her way over and we get to spend the day together. We're going to scout out some garage sales looking for things to upcycle for our Etsy shop and Farmer's Market. It's just so much fun finding things that might otherwise end up in the landfill and transforming them in to something useful that will bring a smile to another person's face!

After our shopping trip we're going to make a valiant effort to cut my little Harley's hair. He does NOT like having his face, neck, legs, or well, just about any place touched by metal. I managed to hand cut the fur on his back and have snuck up on him and cut off some mats around his neck, but as soon as he discovers that I've got a scissors he tries to bite it or me. Wish us luck!