THE finished product ..... My NYC travel journal

It's completed .... and it's BEAUTiful!! My sister, Cindy (who I traveled with) ... put together journal pages & pictorial pockets (and lots of fun embelishments) into a spiral log for each of us. I started it the day I left (while sitting in the airport) and FINALLY came up with a cover page today- that I LOVE. The Capt has been chomping at the bit to see it so we will sit down with a glass of wine this evening and I can share my adventure with him at last!! THANK YOU LOULOU .... with the exception of some belching (private joke), I LOVED every minute of it!!!

a white elephant that's brown & pink

Our chorus recently had a holiday gathering that included munchies, comraderie, and ... a white elephant auction. ALong came a GREEN package smaller than a bread box, bigger than a lunch box, tied up merrily with a sparkly gold bow. After some negotiating, I was the proud owner of said package. I announced that I would NOT be opening it at the party, as it was the Captains favorite color & would be placed under our tree at home, with his name attached. The bearer of the gift laughed & reminded me of the "white elephant" concept, and I just figured it would be good for a laugh come Christmas day. It was not.
IT WAS BETTER than a laugh. There was an ahhhhhh instead! The Captain removed this fuzzy little bear gingerly, wound it's base and set it atop the foot stool. With a stitch here & a tuck there .... she is good as new ... and waiting for Addy. She'll love it! (thanks Debby)

yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

WHILE I didn't get what I actually asked for ... I was surprised by what the ole guy left next to the cookies milk I left for him! I have OFFICIALLY upgraded to the next level of digital photography with my new Rebel T3i ............ It's faster, quieter and I'm sure there are a few more "ers" yet to discover!!

THANK YOU SANTA !!

p.s. I asked for a healthy household .... we're still working on that one.

Merry Christmas ... blah, blah, blah ....

ahhh ... the early AM solace

It's been a while since I was up this ealy, rising ahead of the sun- that is if I wasn't catching a plane! I cleaned the litter boxes, folded & put away the last few things that have been sitting in the laundry basket for a couple of days, then settled here at my design table to go thru 2 days of mail. I purposely have avoided feeded the felines because they would no longer be sitting within reach staring at me, For now, I can choose to believe they just want to be near me! The 46 degree chill has kicked the heater on and it gently sways the chimes dangling from the ceiling. The orchestral melody dances thru the room daintily. A forgotten brandy glass sits aside my keyboard .... filled, not with spirits of alcohol but with that of the holidays. Battery operated lights glow amongst the shiney globes & allow me to see the keyboard I now tap upon. Last year, I actually set the lights of my craftroom tree to be on when I got up to to this very job. Nowadays ...... I usually arise long after the sun has made it's appearance. The very sun that now encroaches on the peaceful slumber of the Captain .... I hear him stirring. As day breaks, the magic that was mine begins to fade and I see 2 options for this moment. tuck myself back between the covers or brew a cup of coffee. hmmmmmm

retiring the red coats for 11 months ....

TODAY marked the end of the 2011 Christmas perfomances for our Celebration Chorus ..... we celebrated a season well represented, and are looking forward to some well deserved time off to spend the holidays with our families. ALL THIS being said ... I can already feel the LSBSH creeping up within me (lack of singing barbershop harmony). In my short lived career with the women associated with the chorus (& Sweet Adelines) .... I have become attached emotionally on some level with each of them! Because of schedules long ago mapped out, I missed out on the first couple weeks of the seasonal festivities- much to my dismay. SO singing with them numerous times in the past few days has been invigorating and lifted my holiday spirits ! But, with the hectic times coming to an end ... it will make the rest of the year a little more relaxed and focused on grandkids (and my hubby)... and allow some time for fun with friends & family. With 2012 's goals & obligations just around the corner, I'm gonna take some time to .... read my Sept-Dec magazines with coffee in the mornings, do some baking, play in my craft room, & sing aloud as if I'm the soloist at the Met!

COUNTDOWN to relaxation .....

I may have FINALLY reached the "gent-ler" side of the Holiday Season today. From the time we returned from Hawaii in October ... it's needed to be WAY more productive than I would prefer. Decorating for fall, Chorus commitments (nearly a dozen songs to learn), decorating for Halloween, undecorating, load up the kitchen, family commitments, NYC, UNload the kitchen, undecorating, decorating for Christmas, chorus singouts, cards, presents .....

BUT, I think all if not MOST of the "timely" obligations are completed and now I hope to enjoy the fruits of my labor!! AHHH

leg aching work!

has a tornado hit my craft room? NO

Just the annual holiday card-elf getting it's mailings ready for take off. I signed, added notes, & addressed 50 cards that will visit the post office tomorrow via the Captain ... and handmade another 20+ that will accompany me the chorus singout & holiday gathering on Saturday. Last to accomplish in the next few days .... more intricate designs for the CDSFEOTS gang. Total time today ... roughly 7 hours, with what I HOPE to be less tomorrow to get the presents wrapped that now crowd my floor! The Captain helped a great deal today by staying so occupied himself that he didn't distract me :o) RIGHT NOW .... I am going to take my aching legs (from walking around the craft table a million times) and put them to bed!!

my sista, my friend, my treasure

My neighbor Julie & I, have long joked about being alike in so many ways, we certainly MUST BE sistas-from-anotha-motha! But more importantly, more precious to me ... is that she is my friend. I love her.

Her personality & sense of humor mirrors mine in so many ways that I feel sorry for our hubbys when it's us against them ... as they ALREADY start off behind the eightball! I adore her attitude toward what life throws at you, her appreciation for our little slice of paradise, her ever-cheery attitude, even when she's pissed off about something .... I get it. I get her. She gets me. She is strong in ways I could never measure up to & supportive of those things I do that are foreign to her. We are not a matched set of book ends ..... we are the pages in between that make up the interesting stories. SO- I was not shocked that she brought me a little pwise (as I call them) from her escapade away ... NOR would I ever expect any thing from her in response to anything I do FOR her ... because I do it without thought. I do it in my own way and I know that is enough for her. She asks even though it's unnecessary, she thanks even though it is not expected, and she gives graciously & generously because it is her nature to do so. She is special to me in so many ways, and not a day goes by that don't look upward and say a little thank you that she is part of my life!! I know it was not the cup- per se, that convinced her that "this one" was for me .... but rather the sentiment written inside of it's rim.

"WHEN WE'RE TOGETHER ... even the coldest day feels warm". To which I say. DITTO JULES!!

Santa already came down our chimney !

and left us a gift FAR too large to get down the chimney!! (?)

oops. we already had the doors off when I got around to taking the before pictures (argh) Keeping in mind that I am NOT comparing myself (in anyway) to a designer ... BUT .... I do know what I like (and it doesn't "usually" make people gag, uh, or laugh) ... so, since I first started making this house OUR HOME ... I have wondered WHO'S IDEA it was to install a gray/black/white patterned corian countertop over golden oak cabinets? To me- mixing the cool colors of one with the warm tones of the other, has been oil & vinegar in my veins for a few years. (to the point that I was entering kitchen makeover contests). SO- imagine my comfort & joy to hear that Santa was bringing me new cabinet faces??!!! The pictures don't do it justice. It turned out just as I envisioned AND ... I no longer HATE the countertop!

forget Chicago ... New York is "My kind of Town"

I can post but a thimble full of info on our adventure in NYC last week (much less the emotion involved) ... because I need to focus my energy and creative spirit on finishing the NYC journal Cindy made me for the trip, along with catching up a weeks worth of Project Life .... but I gotta put something here, cuz people are asking questions!! ****Let me start out by stating that it was an amazing trip, even with the near 3 hr delay out of SLO and missing my connection to JFK and the car that was reserved for pick up. I cannot imagine navigating the city on my own (nor would I even try), but with Cindy & Heather ... that was never an issue! Travelling with 2 gals (each) with a keen sense of direction is the way to go. I found the city to be exciting & exhilarating and ... because of the time of year .... QUITE beautiful! I can say that now because we survived the runaway horse & carriage, & the strange dude that was trying to grab the coat tails of a gal to get onto the subway car as the doors closed. We came home with TIRED feet & empty wallets and a TON of great pictures to revisit the memorable moments! YES- it was mighty cold. YES- it was costly. and YES- I would go again !!

I'm getting airsick from the time flying by!

A week ago from this moment, I was arriving in NYC to spend the next 4 days with my sister. I wish I could do it all over again!! If we knew then, how it would unfold, we might have done things a little differently .... but would we have had more fun?
NO.
We had a magnificent time. Infact, I'm going to spend just about all day tomorrow reliving it, as I FINALLY have the time to sort through all the pictures I took to document it in Project 365!! If I wasn't so tired from everything I needed to do (and go to) since I returned, I would pull an all-nighter just to get a headstart. wooo-hoooo