BloomingPink

Thought I would put a few more bright cards together in celebration of the return of Alice. I better get these in the mail quickly or they WILL be late!

Aren't these little earrings a treat? They are simple yet elegant with just a splash of color. I finished these up last night (and just barely in time, I should add).

What does one do while waiting for snow to melt and Spring to come? ....Make jewelry in springtime colors, that's what! I made the blue sparkly loops with paper, rubber stamps, crafting pigment, and high quality jewelry resin. The backing for the loops is a galvanized flat washers from Home Depot! Who could guess, eh? And that's what THIS girl does in a hardware store...look for items she can turn into baubles and bling!

These took literally 15 minutes to whip together...which is a good thing, since I am working a stamp camp tonight and tomorrow and had to bring a door prize contribution.

One of my favorite pieces of furniture is a cabinet I purchased in 2001 (before I moved and remarried). Its one of the nicest things in my kitchen.

At least something around here is relaxed!

....You Wild Thing!

Just a little treat I created for Valentine's Day. What I did: I create the template for the front and back so that I could cut it out on my Cricut. It's the first time I ever did that and was it ever fun! Then I put it together using a rectangular strip of paper scored and cut to make a little basket about 1/5 inches wide. I hand cut the designer paper front panel (there's also another one on the back). I had the crochet flower....something I made last weekend. I added the brad and leaf, attaching it to the front with strong adhesive. Finished it up with the little strip of ribbon at the top and popped in a bag of chocolates!

As a full sized adult, have you ever stepped in snow that came up over your knees? Well, it was a first for me! After getting blasted last week with over 2 feet of show, we received another similar snowfall only 4 days later. We've now broken the record of the most snowfall since they began recording snowfall in 1885. Pretty cool, eh? The last record snowfall was in 1995. I remember it well, because it was the most snow I'd ever seen in my entire life. Being from the south, we rarely experienced white stuff and I remember being impressed and bewildered about what to do. My dogs were perplexed as well. I wonder if Clyde remembers. Because he was about two years old at the time. Anyway, here's a few snapshots I took with my pocket camera as we were trying to keep up with the digging. It was still snowing while we were digging. And after we were done, we strolled down the lane. Snow was blowing towards our back on the way down the lane...but on the way back, it was an icy stin...

I made another pretty purse full of postcards! The design is completely different internally, but similar in the way it looks on the outside to the other one I made for the biker babe of our group. This was sent to ANOTHER friend from our little group that is having a birthday - Ginny- the self-declared leader of our group. Her spirit explodes sunshine and joy. She is THE reason that our group has sustained throughout the years. Through her persistent and consistent communication, invitation, spirit, and friendship, we've been able to remain a group of close friends. I hope she has fun using the cards enclosed. And following is a series of pictures that gives you a better idea of everything I put together. Opened all the way up: Postcards tucked away in two of the sides: Two close-ups:

It was 4:00 AM and I had just left my house to hit the road heading towards DC with a colleague to spend two days working. This busy shopping center was never so peaceful. I was driving and wished I had been able to take some pictures of the scenery on the interstate when we were on the beltway close to the worksite. DC received quite a few more inches of snow than we did. It was a gorgeous way to see the sun rise.

This is what happens when I leave to go meet my husband for lunch! I returned to find Kinky atop my computer, sitting on the keyboard, keeping herself warm by the heat of the disk drive spin. In the background, I hear a faint and periodic Dinging sound...You know the sound...made when a key in error is hit! Thank goodness I always lock it when I step away --> because of situations just like this! Bad Kitty!

Today is my road warrior friend's birthday. I CONVENIENTLY forget how old she is now. Not to spare her, mind you, but because she is the youngest of our little group! Our little group of Rah's live vicariously through her adventures atop Harley. (Doesn't that sound dirty?!) She bought a Harley (or two) a year or so ago and travels around...satisfying one goal last year to bike across the US on a wildly short whirlwind of a vacation. I just love the excitement of knowing that she's out there on a bike, troubles, anxieties, and stresses BEHIND her, kicking up the dust, and avoiding bugs and various other critters flying into her fairing (mouth)! It's a delight to me, who sits most days in front of this computer, making charts for bitter, old, corporate uptights. Oh, oops...I'm starting to sound bitter like them, eh? As a contribution to her whiles, I created this Post Card Bag, so that when she stops for a bite, dip, nap, or drink (gasp), she has on hand a post c...

So, when the jogging in my life increases, so does the cravings and appetite for carbs....and.....FAT. This was what my body said I had to have on Sunday morning. It insisted. John (youngest and home for a short bit longer until he returns to college) gave me a nice little plug-in flat grill for Christmas. It is the perfect contraption for grilling not only pancakes, but FRUIT! I had some frozen peach slices and blueberries. Yes, they went on the grill with the batter and, of course, tablespoons of butter. Yum. Now, what I didn't show you was I included whipped cream on mine. I know, shame on me, but hey, I say I can... Because I jog. And with all the pain in my foot the jogging is causing...well, a little sweet whipped sugar and fat...Just the Medicine I Need... Okay, okay...WANT.

is always so much fun. They revive the senses. Every girl needs an ample supply of girlfriends.

Excerpt from Kinky Cat Chronicles - #1 I don't know what she is thinking, but if she walks out of the house wearing that, she'll have all the neighbors laughing. Maybe a hairball will delay her just long enough to wake up her fashion muse.

I found this pretty little bowl and a few others at a thrift shop near my work! While my husband was unimpressed with them and perplexed by my joy, I'm sure my daughter would understand. She thrifts not only as a matter of necessity but also because she is purposefully mindful about reducing needless capitalism and the use of poor labor in other countries. Her other main focus is to repurpose as much as possible to reduce needless waste and trash in the environment. She knows how hard it is to find something useful AND pretty...especially now that it's such a trendy thing to do. I guess my thrill was more of the "look at the pretty item I found", which means that I'm still more trendy and capitalist than I wish to be.

I'm on a "Let's Take Photos of our Food" kick. Really craving Tzatziki Sauce, but without a bud for lamb, I decided to whip up an impression of Greek so I could overload a pita with the tastey white spread. This dish was all about the sauce. Instead of lamb, I spiced up a combination of superlean ground beef and turkey with mint, cumin, salt, pepper...You'll also see some grilled eggplant included which was added to increase bulk, decrease calories, and fool the men in the house who dislike undisguised eggplant! The roses -- > Well, sweet as he is, my husband surprised me with them this evening. And...they add color to what would otherwise be a mostly offwhite and greenish photo! Now, let's see what else around here (besides hair balls) I can snap a photo of.

Behind my bright grin, I am an awkward woman. Only occasionally do I muster up the courage to put on an outfit that makes me look and feel even a little bit pretty. And it's getting harder as I enter my late forties. Things are sagging and skin is shifting in ways I never knew possible! And this month, the January of every year, is the WORST month to have the television on, because it's a constant plug for the beauty myth. I have been plagued with a distorted body image for more than two-thirds of my life. Januaries are the worst for me every year. Not because I indulge over the holidays. I really don't. But because of those darned commercials sending me constant messages which reinforce this putrid dust that penetrated my tiny little unprotected self esteem when it was wee. When I do feel ever so slightly pretty and elegant, I just have to have a little silent celebration... And this little wrap helped me feel just that. Damn the fact that I was missing the mark on corpora...

So, at around 2 PM, my friend, Kathy, realized she was a fashion faux pas. At 2 PM mind you! I was laughing so loud that almost everyone in our wing heard me and came over to see what was going on...