Scrappy Stuff

Here are a few pages I have been working on, this was a class by Candice Carpenter that I took a while back, I love the black and Im putting them in a pink album that Glenni gave me last year that I have been waiting for the perfect theme for.....so I think I will continue this album with pages in black and white and pink...and with a vintagy theme. I LOVE Candices work, shes one of my favs, I have taken several classes from her and I have loved them all.
I got the dreaded phone call today, my time is up, Im back to work, THIS WEEK, love the way they give you so much notice! So I have a couple more days of freedom, I cant go in tomorrow because I have an electrican spending the day here, we had a problem some where in our wiring, I have no electicity in 1/2 my house, at least its the half we can live without for a day or two......
So anyways, Im off to have some fun, and make the most of my last days of freedom without stress and goals to think about.........

Too much fun......

I have been off the whole month of January, and can I just tell you,, I have been having too much fun....and I really dont want to go back to work,lol, at least not yet. I feel like Cinderella waiting for midnight....anyways,Im not sure when I go back, I know its in the next week or so, so I will continue to enjoy this time off, doing just what I want to do, fun stuff!
Speaking of fun stuff, check out this Fiesta tea pot and creamer and sugar set that arrived on my door step yesterday thanks to ebay....its so beautiful I cant stand it.If you remember I bought Fiesta dishes at Christmas.....well, I have a confession to make, I have a bit of a quirk, maybe some of you can relate, but I cannot just buy one of anything, I cannot MAKE one of anything, I certainly cannot just EAT one of anything...and when I start collecting something, Im not happy until I have it ALL, fast....in other words, Im on a mission to complete the collection as fast as I can....now that isnt exactly what the concept of collecting is I know, but I cant help myself, I want it all and I want it all NOW. I was going to ask for this teapot for my birthday, but then I just happened to see it on ebay, and you know the rest...
The same goes for my scrappy stuff, if one is good, more is better...just look at this pile of Valentines scrappy fun.....now I did not NEED any of it, but I sure like to look at it!
Back to only making ONE of anything, heres another Annie, I just had to make her after Tammy told me about this website where you can get FREE Annie patterns......omg so I went there and checked it out, and YES, she has free Annie patterns, so I downloaded one, and whipped her up, she was so fast and easy! Thanks to De for being so generous!!!!!!
OK, so another thing I have gotten addicted to since I have been off this month is the food network, omg, Paula Deen is my fav.....and that lady with the show called semi homemade or something like that, where her kitchen is a different color and theme every day, and she wears a matching top, and doews incredible tablescapes, and love her show!!! SOOOOOO because Im so compulsive, I just HAD to find one of those salt jars they all use, you know how they pinch the salt in thier fingers and with a flair it goes into the pot...so I found one at my fav place and I swear, when I do it the way they do it on the shows, I feel like a chef!!!!!!!! Its so much fun, I urge all of you to go get one, my daughter has one and I saw it in her kitchen on my last visit and I thought it was so cute, but seriously , it will make you feel more competent in the kitchen!!!!!!
So today it finally is not raining, Dallas says we have a break for a day or two, I might venture out, I think I need some exercise, Ive been inside entirely too long...........when Im stuck inside too long ebay and QVC sometimes get the best of me, thank God Im going back to work soon!

At Last.............

After months and months, and probably over a year.......well, have you heard of the saying S%^#! or get off the pot......well, today I got off the pot!!!!! I have been threatening to make a doll again for so long that Im sure I sounded like a broken record....but seriously, I havent made a doll in at least 4 years, since I gave up being Allthingsraggedy.....well, today I decided to just do it.....and I did!!!!! I had some yummy Valentine fabric that Glenni gave me last year when I was visiting her....because shes been listening to me threaten to make a doll for so long, so I used it to make this Annie...thanks Glenni! Anyways, I have to tell you I was a bit nervous to see how she would turn out.....but shes pretty dang cute! Maybe I will even make another one, who knows.....
OK, speaking of Glenni, she and I went to this cool scrappy store in LA last year when she was visiting....I loved it, but its a long drive to Sweetpeas and Snapdragons....BUT when the hubby asked me if I wanted to go to LA with him, and he would take me to a great steak place if I went, I said, cool, but will we be anywhere near Pico street????????? OMG, so he took me there and I got my Valentines fix, and some motivation to make Valentine Annie...anyways, would have been more fun with her with me, but I did love it! This is the scrappy store where Brittany Spears go, we just missed her last year.....
OK, Im off to hug my Annie, she was a long time coming.......

Bright Spots....

OK, its rainy, and hailing, and omgggg she just did it again!!!!!!!! see previous post!!!!! Sorry for the interruption......I seem to have no peace today with this puppy, I cant put her out, its rainy, and hailing!
OK, so I looked around for some bright spots, and I found them, in my bathroom,lol, cuz Ive spent so much time in there rewinding TP!!!! Anyways, I LOVE this shower curtain, it reminds me of scrapbook paper, and I love the colors!!! Love it so much I also put it in the guest room!!
So its a little gloomy, the sun comes out in spurts, then it rains again, I have decided I could never live where the sun doesnt shine...I have no motivation when its like this!!!!
So I think I will curl up under a blanket, cuz we dont get to do that much in Cali, its usually too warm, have a cup of tea, and read my new book "Quilting for Dummies", and maybe later I will feel motivated enough to make some more squares!!!!!

Terrible Twos

OMG I thought I ad the empty nest, but I find myself chasing around this puppy like shes a toddler going thru the terrible twos..........she will find anything and drag it out, including her favorite, TP!!!!Yes that TP winds all the way down the hall to the family room.......its her new game, I finally wised up and took it off the roll.
Between her and the bird, its a circus around here...

A Good Day.......

For CHILI!!!!!!!! Its been trying to rain, Dallas says is supposed to rain, we been waiting for the rain, I even made a pot of chili in anticipation of the STORM, but the big STORM WATCH hasnt happened yet......dont you New Englanders just love when cali is on STORM WATCH......lolololo......you would think we are expecting a noreaster or whatever those things you guys have back there are called! Anyways, it was a good excuse to make chili.......in my new Rachel Ray cast iron pot from COSTCO!!!!!!! I love it, I just wish it was red..........
Yesterday POkie the parrot was on a mission to attack the broom, needless to say I did not get much sweeping done, but he soon found another poor innocent victim as you can see, little Sadie May and Poke haad quite a wrestling match on the kitchen floor, I think the bird won.......
OH, and for all you gals following the abduction of Annie, I think you may need a hint as to her where abouts......because if you go over to Sharon's and leave a comment shes having a drawing, and listen, she does pretty cool drawings, so get over there.....so heres the hint....."a tisket a tasket........poor Annies in a _______", now thats a pretty good hint, but from what I recall of Sharon's house, she has about a million _________s......I think she collects __________s.....now mind you, I did not have anything to do with this crime, Iam not mean, contrary to what one commentator said over at Sharon's, Im only trying to help here, personally, if she has to pay the ransom, its all good with me, I loved her cheeseball! So get over there and solve this mystery!!!!!!!

Lots of sewing going on.....

Well, as you can see, I finished my table runner yesterday, yeah!Its so cute, I love the flirtations line by Moda....it really brightens up my coffee table. I also spent some time working on Doe's
quilt, I finished 6 blocks, this is my first attempt at a real live quilt, other than a real prim type quilted wallhanging, in which you sure didnt have to match any thing up, and beleive me, Im sure not matching everything up!!!!! Im not sure if Im cut out for this type of quilting, where corners and crap have to be perfect, maybe thats why Im a PRIM artist,lololol......butI will give it a go, I do love the fabrics and this kind of work is very relaxing, well, it is when you dont give a crap about matching corners, lolololololol...OK all you quilters out there, dont hate me......I did go out and buy "Quilting for Dummies", and I will take a class or two, cuz ya know what, I realized this thing, if I ever finish it, needs to have binding....omg, just that word strikes fear into my heart.......remember, Im a PRIM person, I never even hemmed my Annies dress, lol. Maybe I just just stick to dolls........they love ya no matter what! Anyways, I will finish this quilt, it will NOT be perfect, but I will love it anyways!
I did manage to "almost" finish my garage yesterday, but dang, my hands got so cold I had to quit, HERE, in so cal, it was sooooo cold, I ran to make another thrift store run, and I saw the temp. sign, it said 42 degrees!!!!! In So Cal...omg...in the middle of the day!!!!!
OK, one last thing...about the drama over at Sharon's , shes having a drawing if ya can figure out what in the heck happened to her Annie......evidentally she was abducted during a party that I happened to be at.....which does NOT incriminate me in any way, I repeat, my hands never touched that Annie, no not once, BUT, I might know her where abouts, maybe a little birdie told me....but heck, Im hoping she will pay the ransom, I want more cheeseball!!!!! Anyways, if you want to find the Annie......let's just say, she did not venture far from her spot, and thats all Im gonna say on the subject!!!!!

Just what I needed........

I told you that I came home from Sharons with a renewed sense of inspiration, a need to dust off the machine.....and guess what came in the mail yesterday.......an adorable Moda charm pack, flirtations, the cutest Valentines theme......Pat sent it to me as a thank you for a pattern I had given her. She had admired the last table runner I had made, lol, will I ever get past table runners, lolol......and inquired about the pattern, and I had memorized it so I sent it to her, well, wasnt I beyond thrilled when she sent me this charm pack, so I immediatly got to work......this is the 3rd one I have made, I did a spring one and a Christmas one.....they are so fast and easy, and not quite the production or committment that a doll would take.....Im almost done, think I will finish it in the morning. Maybe, just maybe I will leave the machine up and work on Does quilt, a class I took months ago, I made 4 blocks and havent touched it since, but I want to, I really do.
Theres so much drama going on over at Sharons what with the abduction and all that Im just on pins and needles until she either finds her Annie or she pays the ransom, in which case we will all be eating lots of cheeseballs. I just want everyone to know my hands never touched that Annie, no, not once! Iam innocent, and my name is in the clear, which is more than I can say for a certain blogger whose intials start with B and end with H, and thats all Im gonna say on the subject.

Bloggy Party Fun!!!!!!

Well......can I tell you what a good time I had at Sharons Bloggy party last night!!!! She had a little get together for some local bloggy friends, and one not so local, Carol all the way from Florida....there were a great group of bloggers there.....Ginger and Beth and then there was the infamous Nancy No blog.....and another gal who came with Ginger who doesnt have a blog yet either......anyways, it was great fun just looking around at Sharons house, I never seen so many quilts in one place before, Lordy she had more quilts than they had at the quilt show.....love her home, she made it so nice and cozy for us, she made the famous cheeseball, and yes it is everything I thought it would be!!! And she had these darling red heart plates and heart glasses for us, and she let us bring them home, plus a darling little gift bag with soap and lotion.....just the best hostess!!!! I came home with more inspiration to sew again than I have had in a while.......thank you Sharon for hosting a great little party!!!!

It's been awhile....

Since I bored you all with pictures of my baby Sadie May......I just have to tell you how much fun she is and how much pleasure she brings us. Its very hard with a puppy but she is so worth it, and I love her more and more.....anyways, she loves her toys and has a blast with them, so I thought I'd share some pictures of her wrestling with one of the toys she got from her Grandma, who was nice enough to take care of her while I went on a cruise........Enjoy!

Ramblings.........

OK, this is a picture of my dining room set.....its the first furniture that the hunk and I bought when we married, we have had it for almost 25 years....it has great memories and sentimental value, lots of fun around this table.......HOWEVER, I have a question....its dated, its pine, and Im not sure if its TOO dated......this is my question.....should I number one, paint it black....number 2, get a new one, or number 3, keep it? I do like it, but is it too country and dated??? I saw one painted black and crate and barrel and it looked really cool, but Im so afraid....

OK, so I went shopping the other day and I scored, see the placemats, I had bought the napkins before Christmas to go with my new fiesta ware, but the placemats, well, they were pricy,Williams Sonoma, so I just went with the napkins and a table runner....omg, can you beleive I founds these for 75% off at thier after christmas sale!!!!!! They arent even Christmas.....what a score!!!!! I also found lots of other awesome stuff, 75% off...AND the best part, nothing was from CHINA!!!!! yeah!!!!!

Heres a pic of my new pieces of Fiesta ware the hunk got me for Christmas, LOVE them!!!!

So, the flower....well, let me share this sad fact with you.....I never go in the house from the front door, always thru the garage...and for the last few months, I havent even been around to the front door, either I was too busy working, or it was raining, or its been windy, or Ive been gone...OR more than likely I have avoided it because I know its a mess....soooooo, this morning I went out front, because it is a gorgeous day and I wanted to check on my poor neglected plants....and I found this beautiful flower among the weeds.....I also found that I still had my little mini HALLOWEEN flag up...omg how sad is that???? So Christmas has come and gone and I had a HALLOWEEN flag up......and people, lots of folks have come to my front door in the last few months, Im mortified!!!!! I just pray it was dark the few times my daughters future in-laws came to visit, and maybe, just maybe they didnt notice?????

So in conclusion, I have decided to check on my front porch more than every 3 months..

OK, the water, smart water, love it......and Im drinking it, and I took my vitamins, and I have not eaten a carb in 4 days......now all I have to do is get my butt out on the path and put one foot in front of the other....

Maybe tonight..........

Back on Land........

Its so good to be back.......if I would have stayed on that ship any longer you would have needed a crane to get me off........yes, the diet has started, omg, I, we, ate with wild abandon, all the while knowing the diets would start as soon as we docked....matter of fact, we were all so full and bloated we even passed on the parting breakfast buffet, although one reason could be that we departed at 6:30 in the morning and we felt like we had all just eaten a few hours before, lolol.....
A good time as had by all, we hit the casino everynight, Joe had most of the luck, winning at Texas hold em 3 nights in a row, lost on the last night, but heck, his winnings practically paid for our room!!!! Chelsey and Alex had some luck at the craps table and roulette, I however was up and down, but in the end, I was down.
Anyways, while we were in Ensenada we went to the fish market, as you can see by the look on Chelseys face she was not impressed, she prefers her shrimp in scampi thank you very much, but Alex was quite excited to see where his dinner came from!

So while we were watching all the birds, this ginormous pelican grabbed a fish from one of the fisherman, can you see the tail hanging out of his beak, and the huge fish in his throat???? He let us get quite close, but he gave us the evil eye, all he wanted to do was down that lunch, and we were bugging him. He finally flew off in exasperation, I hope he didnt choke on that fish!!!!

So we are back, the New Years resolutions start for me, most of my purging was done last week, maybe one more trip to the thrift store for the things I couldnt quite let go of last week, I will this week. Diet started today, I will wear a cool dress for the wedding, not a matronly suit.....and I will walk everyday, yes I will. OK, Im off to the store to stock up for the diet......more cruise pics tomorrow!!!!

Brrrrrrrrrrrr........

Holy Cow its COLD outside!!!!!!! And before all you New Englanders, and you KNOW who you are start snorting, remember, we dont OWN coats here, and if we do, they are in the deep dark recesses of some closet, and pulled out only when we travel, back to see YOU in New England!!!!!! Shhhheeesss, Im leaving for a Mexico cruise today, and Im not even taking thongs.....thats shoes guys, not the underwear kind!!!!!!!Im taking a frigin rain coat!!!!!! And a deck of cards....how sad it that???
Anyways, I can feel your pity all the way here...gee thanks.....maybe I will even wear a knit scarf on my cruise, God knows I have lots of them!!!!
Couldnt resist taking a pic of our foothills covered in the white stuff, and the darling penguin, a giftie from Tracey ...sad thing is I have to hide the poor thing because Little Cheech wants her so bad she ca taste it, I cant even put her on a shelf where Cheech might see her, or she stares at it and whines for hours.....sad.
OK, I will see you all in a few days.......and this time I wont take any pics of poop for sale! Bon Voyage!

Rain Rain go away!!!!!

I think I may be going a little stir crazy, this rain is making me nuts! Especially since we are leaving in the morning on a 4 day Mexico cruise, that will not be near as much fun if its raining!!!!
I have not been out of my pajamas in 2 days, does that say anything? OH wait, I did shower and get dressed to go see Kenny Loggins last night, then I got right back into my PJs. I have been in my PJs as a matter of fact for most of this week, and maybe some of last week too. You see, Im off work for a few weeks, and can you say NO STRESS....Im literally vegging out, lolol.....OH I have been purging, lots of purging going on around here, I made 2 trips with a full car to the thrift store, and filled the trash cans to the brim! For the trips to the thrift store I did get out of the PJs and into sweats. See, I have to dress up for work, so when Im home, Im a hag!!!!! Anyways, the garage is almost done, a couple more days and its done! So far I have also purged and cleaned all the medicine cabinets, 2 hutches, and the cupboard under my television.....and one closet, and I dont even miss the crap Ive been clinging to for dear life!!!!
Heres some pics of favorite things I got for Christmas....the album made for me by Glenni is a masterpiece, I look at it everyday and everyday I find something new, she asked me to send some of my fav pics from last year, and she had pics from our trips to see each other, anyways, I will treasure it forever!
The cookbook I bought myself, had to have it after I saw her (Jessica Seinfield, Jerrys wife) on Oprah....even tho I have no little kids, and we love vegies, its the cutest cookbook Ive ever seen. I really bought it for the "healhty" brownie recipe tho, but if you are a collector of cookbooks, its a must have!
I also got one of those little nano thingys, anyone taking bets on whether I will ever figure it out? Also, if you look at the nano pic real close, you will see the cool PJs I have been wearing all week, thanks Tracey .
All in all, its been a nice time since Christmas, I have not started my diet tho, that will start this saturday when Im back from the cruise.....I have already broken all my resolutions about vitamins and water and walking, well, its been raining for a week so I cant walk, not my fault....but I will start saturday on my health quest...but the purging, yes, going well, Im still ok after getting rid of stuff I thought I couldnt live without, and I have empty shelves and cupboards for the first time in years!!!! Fling on!!! I will see you all back here saturday with pics of the cruise, pray for sunshine please!!!!