Ann-Denise's Valentine Cone Class at The Papercrown

Because I love Ann-Denise and I love her classes, as soon as I found out she was teaching this beautiful Valentine Cone Class at The Papercrown in Oklahoma City, I couldn't sign up fast enough!

(This photo was taken by Ann-Denise)
She always prepares the cutest class kits and as always, tasty snacks!

Ann-Denise had tons of additional embellishments that she generously shared with our class. It's always fun to pick things from someone else's "stash".

I'm thrilled with how my cone turned out! Can you see that beautiful fuchsia flower on my cone? Ann-Denise made that and it makes all the difference on my cone. Awesome!

In December at our Doll Club meeting we had a doll related gift exchange. Everyone brought one gift and we chose numbers to be able to select a wrapped gift from under the tree. One of the ladies had made a really cute, painted canvas doll and I knew immediately I wanted to try to make one.
Here is my attempt.

I didn't use a pattern and my initial vision was completely different than how she ended up. As I was painting, some of her proportions were way out of whack so I attempted to fix it with paint. I used colored pencil to do some shading and I finished her by coating her with glossy Mod Podge. She's not perfect but I think she came out pretty good for my first painted cloth doll.
I'm working feverishly on the three other swaps I'm in - Viv's Heart swap, Laurie's Valentine Ornament swap, and Jackye's Valentine Tag Swap. As it gets closer to Valentine's Day, I'll post what I've been working on - but for now, it's a secret.

Life is short so don't waste it being unhappy.

As a lawyer and as a nurse, you can just imagine that I have seen people at their absolute worst.
Whether it is being sick, on the verge of death, or in some kind of personal tragedy, it is fascinating to watch the personal dynamics between people.
Today, in my role as a lawyer, I went to interview a couple who called me to have their wills drawn up. The wife is dying from Stage 4 cancer and her time here on earth is short. This particular couple has been married for many years but I could tell that they LOATHE each other. From the energy in the room I could just tell that this feeling is nothing new for them - this has been going on for a long time. The body language, the disdain in their voices, I couldn't miss the hatred.
It reminded me once again that life is just too short to spend time wasted like that.
I felt sorry for that lady - the man too, but today, mostly the lady because her time is running out. How many years have they wasted married to each other when they obviously can't stand each other? Why do people stay in that situation? It's too late now for her to find happiness. Maybe for him too. Who knows.
It just reminded me once again of how thankful I am for my life, and how important it is to me to be with someone who not only loves me but makes me happy and makes me laugh. I'm so thankful for all the fun we have and the respect we have for each other. We like each other *and* we love each other. I'm going to guard that like crazy because once the love and respect start slipping away, we are on very dangerous ground. You may never get back.

Vintage Christmas ABC Book Swap page

So, in the middle of November I was invited to join a Vintage Christmas ABC Book Page swap. I was excited to be part of this swap because I had seen some other ABC book page swaps and had wanted to participate. However, I had NO IDEA how I was supposed to squeeze in making 27 pages in the midst of all the Christmas craziness. Thankfully, a few other people in the swap had fallen behind in getting their pages done and the hostess decided to extend the deadline until January 20, 2012.
I was given the letter "D", and part of the challenge was to use as many "D" elements we could come up with.Here is the front of my page:


The back of the page had to have some kind of decor on it and a list of all the "D" elements we came up with.

I was able to finish mine with a little time to spare and got them in the mail this week. Go me! Here they all are, packed up and ready to go. Whew, lots of labor and love went into these and a little bit of anxiety sending them off into the world.

Now, just to wait to see what everyone else came up with for their pages.
And just to add to my already full schedule, I've joined one more swap - a Valentine ornament swap. I'm so excited!

All signed up for Birdsong 2!

Last May, I went to Karla's cottage in Kansas for Birdsong and had such a wonderful time that I couldn't even wait to sign up for this year's event! As it gets closer, I'm sure some of the ladies will start hosting swaps. Last year I participated in the Frilly Bird Swap - do you remember?
I stressed out over my bird. I couldn't come up with an idea, then when I finally did, I wasn't sure I did it "right". Turned out lots of people liked my bird and the lesson for me was to just honor my creativity and not be so critical of myself.

Speaking of swaps, I finished the 27 pages for the ABC Vintage Christmas Book Swap. I had the letter "D". I need to take some pictures then get them off in the mail. Our deadline is Jan. 20th - so I've made it with some time to spare.
I've also signed up for Viv's Heart Swap and a Valentine Tag swap *and* I got into an 8 week "Learn to Sew" class. Guess I'm going to be really busy!

Happy New Year!

We celebrated New Year's Eve with our friends, Lori & Roy, by going to Mexicali in the Brady District for dinner and then on to the Eli Young show at the Cain's Ballroom. I had never been to the Cain's before and it was really neat to see such a historic place. The show was good and we actually made it until midnight!
Here we are on New Years Eve 2010 at the Flaming Lips New Year's Eve Freakout:

Here we are on New Years Eve 2009 at the Flaming Lips New Year's Eve Freakout:

Here we are on New Years Eve 2008 at the Flaming Lips New Year's Eve Freakout:

Our first year was in 2007 but those pictures aren't on my computer.
Happy New Year!!