End of November...

This month has been so crazy for me and I can hardly believe that today is the last day of November!
I still haven't finished my Silver Bella projects - I went upstairs to work on one of them last night and I just couldn't get my act together so I worked on cleaning up a little bit of the mess I've got going on. No crafting today - just too busy~
I'm in the middle of decorating the Christmas Tree - usually it is up and done in an evening or so. Hopefully tomorrow I can get it finished.

I did manage to take 5 huge boxes and 2 bags of Christmas decorations to the Animal Aid store for a donation. That felt really good.
I also took Niles to the Vet for a recheck today and he got his staples and stitches removed and had his pain patch changed to an oral pain medication. We still need to keep him separated from the other dogs until Friday or so but he is coming along so I am pleased about that.


Doug and I had lunch at the Polo Grill - it was fabulous even if the atmosphere is kind of pretentious. I prefer to live so much more down to earth - life is so much more fun that way!
Tonight I went to an Open House/ Pot Luck Dinner Party with my friend Kathy and enjoyed good food and pleasant company.
My only real annoyance of the day was at the Post Office - but I'll spare you the details as I'm sure you can just imagine...
I had wanted to keep December's calendar fairly empty so I can just enjoy the season but somehow I'm managing to fill it up very quickly!
Plans so far:
3 Monday nights: Knitting class at Loops
Christmas Dinner theater with my friend Kathy
A paper clay doll sculpting class at The Paper Crown
A Christmas Ornament Exchange Party
My investment club Christmas Party

Looks like the month is shaping up to be a fun one and I'm happy for mostly informal stuff to do and no "stuffy" parties to attend.

I found out that I was the winner of Elizabeth's Christmas Banner! I just love her blog and was jumping up and down to find out that I won! I will post pictures of it as soon as it arrives. If you just can't wait to see it, pop over to her site and see all the beautiful things she makes. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Okay, enough rambling for tonight. I'm over tired and it's time for bed. Good Night!

Update on Niles

Niles is recovering - he is one tough little guy. This is an old picture of him - he didn't want me to let everyone see him in the condition he is in. ;)
The first night we had him home I was scared to death because I couldn't get him to eat or drink, Plus, he has a Fentanyl patch for pain and I was worried it was going to overdose him and cause him to stop breathing.
He made it through the first night and by late afternoon the second day he was just starting to eat. He will not eat his regular food nor will he eat the high calorie food the vet sent home but I made him some rice topped with canned chicken and he wolfs that down just fine. He is at least up and moving around a little better and not staggering so much - I think the pain killers are starting to wear off too.
Thank you everyone who prayed for him. Looks like he is going to be okay - just going to be a long road and I imagine that those ribs on his right side will probably always be delicate so we will have to be careful with him.

Cup Of Christmas Joy Swap

See that cute little button over there to the right? I'm so excited to be part of Vivian's Cup of Christmas Joy Swap!
My head is swimming with ideas and this swap has a pretty quick turnaround so I need to get started right away.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for this year and believe me, I am counting my blessings.
Doug and I are going to have a quiet Thanksgiving at home ~ the turkey is in the oven and I'm thinking about starting my decorating for Christmas.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Home from Connecticut, New York and Poor Niles!

We ventured up to Connecticut last week. I couldn't wait to meet my new nephew Joao (John) and see my family as it has been way too long! We squeezed so much stuff into our few days there - a trip to New York City - where we saw Jennifer Aniston shooting a film near Bryant Part, Pizza at Pepes, Baby Shower for my sister Jan, breakfast with my Gram and just lots of laughs and good times.
On Friday we took the train from Milford to New York. It's a quick and easy train ride and fun to people watch. Left to right is my brother Bob, his girlfriend Jess, Me & Doug. Can you tell how excited we are? It was actually a pretty nice day - just slightly cold but not too bad - and plenty of sun. We were so lucky!

We had lunch at Simply Pasta, took the subway to Soho, shopped around China Town, went to Supreme - a skateboard shop and after much walking and a little shopping we took the train back to have pizza in New Haven at Pepes.
One of the main reasons for our trip was to meet our sweet nephew! Isn't he just a precious little baby? He belongs to my sister Amanda and if I thought I could get away with it, I would have brought him back to Oklahoma with me!

Another big reason for our trip was a baby shower for my sister January. Her due date is the beginning of January and with the holiday activities we decided to have the shower now. Left to right is January, Me & nephew, Amanda and Jess.

I just can't get enough of this little man! He really liked his auntie too! ;)

Unfortunately, on Saturday while Doug and I were out shopping we got a phone call that nobody wants to get. One of our little Yorkies - Niles - got attacked while away at Doggie Camp. He was mauled by a Jack Russell Terrier and suffered multiple puncture wounds, bruises and at least four broken ribs. Niles is 10 years old and only four pounds and is missing several of his teeth so he really can't defend himself. We were absolutely devastated by the news and of course, it put a damper on our trip. He was rushed to the Emergency Veterinary Clinic here in Tulsa and they did a great job patching him up and taking care of him until we arrived home late last night. We stopped by to see him and *maybe* take him home but he was in such fragile condition that I started feeling weak and almost passed out from seeing him in that condition. We decided to let him stay the rest of the night at the Critical Care Clinic.

This morning we took him from the ER clinic to our vet and he stayed there most of the day today. We have him home tonight and put him in his own little "playpen" where he can move around a little bit but is safe from being bothered from our other dogs. We've got him doped up on a Fentanyl patch to keep his pain controlled but the problem now is that he is not eating. I'm hoping he will regain his appetite soon - he is just too little and can't afford to lose any weight. Plus we have to get his antibiotics into him. If you pray, please pray for Niles to have a quick and uneventful recovery.
I hope to work on some of my Silver Bella projects this weekend and post more pictures.

White Christmas Tag Swap & Connecticut!

It's been a crazy day here trying to finish up my tags for my White Christmas Tag Swap, refinance our mortgage loan, and pack for Connecticut. Plus, we had to take the dogs to Camp Bow Wow - which is always a nerve wracking experience as Phoebe barks/whines the entire ride.
Anyway, I finished my tags and printed out the mailing address where I needed to send them only to read in the directions that we were supposed to do variations of whites and creams. OOPS! Yeah - probably should have read that closer *before* I made all those tags. Let's just say this is *MY* interpretation of a White Christmas ;)

I think they are cute and I got them in the mail today so they will arrive before the deadline. There is no time to redo them since we head to Connecticut first thing tomorrow morning.
No time to work on my unfinished Silver Bella projects either - those will have to wait until I get back home.

Silver Bella 2010

Just a quick post to let you know I'm back from Omaha! I've got an incredibly busy week but I wanted to share a couple of pictures with you.
Swap night was incredible - the talent of the ladies at Silver Bella is just breath taking. My only regret is that I didn't get a chance to see each and every swap. There were so many events going on at once it was just impossible to see everything.


My friends from Oklahoma City, Jackie and Franc. Both of these fabulous ladies teach classes at The Paper Crown in Oklahoma City. A few months ago I had the pleasure of taking the cutest decorated birdie box with Franc and I look so forward to taking one of Jackie's classes the first chance I get. You *MUST* check out Jackie's Blog: "Good Grief Girdie".
I took a felt flower frame class with Betz White. I've got to add a few more leaves but my here is my project mostly finished:

Me and Rachel at our finale dinner on Saturday night - lots of fun but boy were we tired!

I did not get a chance to finish a few of my projects so those will come later as I finish up. I participated in the Cupcake Book Swap and the Fabric Banner Swap and am so happy I did! Can't wait to show you pictures of those - but first I've got to take some pictures.
Thursday I travel to Connecticut to see my new nephew. I've got to get unpacked, laundry done, repacked and a million other little details to take care of. One is to make the tags for the White Christmas tag swap I'm in which are due Monday - ahhhh! I'd better run for now. Catch up with you later!

Silver Bella 2010 Here I Come!

Packing the Jeep and heading off to Omaha today. Can't believe the time is finally here!

If I'm able to post while I'm up there I will. If not - well, I'm sure I'll have plenty to blog about when I return. See ya!

Getting excited for Silver Bella 2010 and stress with Dogs!

On Wednesday I leave for Omaha to attend Silver Bella. Lots to do before then and I am so excited that I can hardly wait! Supplies to gather, car to pack...
This is my first year to attend but I've heard all about it and it sounds fabulous!



Been busy on other things too. Took all four dogs to the vet on Friday to get their annual check-ups. Can you say NIGHTMARE!?! I was also dropping my Jeep off for service -oil change, new wipers, rotate tires (for my upcoming ROAD TRIP!!).
Doug had Nestle, Phoebe and Teddy Bear in his car and I had Niles with me. When he picked me up from the car place I opened the door and he said, "Welcome to Hell!" I knew what that meant - that meant that Phoebe barked incessantly all the way from home.
Ugh - we got to the vet and while waiting to be let into a room she barked this constant high pitched, rapid paced, screetching bark. It was so embarrassing and stressful. Once we got let into the room and they examined her she *finally* shut up!
Everyone got a clean bill of health (except us - we had heart attacks when we had to pay THAT bill) and Niles, Nestle and Phoebe have to go back in on Monday for teeth cleaning. I don't even want to think about what that is going to cost. Whew ~

I made January's baby shower invitations and got those in the mail last week.


I'm still working on the garage organization project. I meant to get it done way back in June but the heat wave set in and the wasps were on attack mode and there was NO WAY I was going to work out there under those conditions.
Now that the weather has cooled down, I have been making trips to the donation center and donating tons of stuff.
I still have lots to get rid of but for some of the stuff I didn't have a place to put it since we don't have shelving out there. That is until now.
We went to Sam's this week and bought these:



Now I just have to get them put together.

Hello November!

Well - there were definitely fewer trick or treaters this year and the bunch I did get seemed grumpy. It was like pulling teeth to get them to even mutter "Trick or Treat" despite my enthusiastic "Happy Halloween!" and my AWESOME candy bags. Oh well - I think the kids of today are just bombarded with too much Halloween and the fact that maybe candy isn't that much of a treat anymore. I had fun and I'm happy so good for me!
I'm so looking forward to this month and all that is in store for me. I'm heading off to Silver Bella in Omaha next week and as a bonus my friend Wendy is coming to Omaha to meet me for brunch before I head back to Oklahoma. Then, I'm headed home to Connecticut to meet my sweet new nephew and have a baby shower for my sister who is due with her baby boy in January! Plus, we have the Thanksgiving holiday in there and lots of crafting to be done. Whew!

Actually tonight, my girls are coming over for another crafting night. I have no idea what I will work on but I have plenty of projects to choose from.