Did You Know?

This is a little known fact...

You CAN'T take HUGE scissors in your carry-on with you when going through airport security.

Just saying...

















Can you see the scale of those shears next to my size 7 shoe? And to top that off, they are so heavy duty! I wasn't about to let go off these bad boys without a little tap dancing, so I got on my dancing shoes and started tapping!
Here is how it all happened.
Teresa called to find out where I was so that Stefanie could come and scoop me up so we could get to the airport before rush hour traffic got out of control. Good thing I had plenty of room in my carry on where I could put all the stuff I had acquired through walking the last day of the tradeshow. A few pieces of paper, some small packs of embellishments, cuttlebug plates, stamp making set, and a large set of scissors. You know, all the regular everyday kind of stuff for a crafty crafter. Shove all that into the carry on and get on the road, easy peasy.
Go through ticketing, get the big bag on its way and start through security with all of this harmless stuff anticipating an easy flight home. You should have seen the faces of the guys who were looking at the scanner, I stood there for a couple of minutes wondering what was taking so long for that bag, I had all of my others. Who stuff was behind mine that was hanging my stuff up, still completely clueless that I was the one hanging everyone else up. (that airport only has one scanner and everyone goes through it) Then it dawned on me! I was the doofus! (not a big surprise, I know) A kind, patient looking agent pulled me aside and asked what was in there, I sheepishly relayed my stupidity and he asked me to tell him where the scissors were without touching the bag. Of course it was in the bright orange Fiskars bag so that was easy to describe. Teresa felt a little embarrassed for me and suggested that I ask if I could mail them to myself or ask the ticketing agents if they could put them in my suitcase that had already made its way to the tarmac. I relayed my request, and he walked me through the terminal to the exit point, handed me the scissors and then said "see you in a few minutes". This is where I credit the quality of customer service that JetBlue offers. I approached the same ticketing agent that had just helped me and asked if I could have a huge favor, and then relayed the whole story to her. She laughed at/with me and then kindly took the scissors and said no problem, the bag was gone but it shouldn't be a problem to identify it and get them safely put in. Seriously? Can you even believe that I got to keep those fabulous scissors after all of that? They are now tucked away with my fabric stash awaiting the moment of inevitable service, and I am sure that they are glad that they have a home with me and not in the trash bin at the Long Beach Airport.
As a crafter, I got a groove, as a scary terrorist not so much. My advice is to not try this at any airport anywhere else in the world or you might risk getting frisked, detained and missing a flight..

;o)

B-

Extra Long Post from CHA

So here it goes, a really long post that is in no particular order...

I should try harder to get it organized, but there is just so much that I am going to use pictures as my cues.
First picture is Sharon Laakonen in the Prima booth. This was a fun booth, the favorites for me were the canvas line. Very alterable and fun. There were also loads of new flowers that I would love to get my hands on!
















And how cute is Maren Benedict? She has a fabulous laugh that makes your heart happy and we got to spend a little time together in the Pink Paislee booth!
















Speaking of Pink Paislee, here is a fun group pic, we are missing a few people as this was the last hour of Tuesday, and things were winding down.
Rebecca and Barry are such wonderful people and the product release for this show was amazing!! They have some beautiful paper that made its way home with me and the embellishments were so clever! Three of my show favorites came from this booth alone! The Artisan Elements are so incredible, cork buttons that coordinate with each line and pleated twill in beautiful colors, all are must haves for me!

















While I was there I had the opportunity to catch up with a few friends, but hadn't had my camera handy. It was fortune that when Laura Vegas and Lynn Ghahary came by I happened to have it out and we had the chance to snap a couple.

















It was so fun to get caught up with Summer Fullerton, Rachel Carlson and Kimber McGray. Summer and Kimber were in the Jillibean booth which had some darling new products, one of which was kraft cards and envelopes that look super cute when used with their stamps.
















Of course I can never get enough of my Kimmer-kins! I was lucky enough to grab a few hugs from her each day as she walked the halls with the delightful Kim Kesti.
















The new Melody Ross release with GCD was delicious! I got the grand tour from Lori Roop and was given a hug from Heidi Sonboul and Sherry Steveson.

















Dinner Tuesday evening with a few of my favorite crafty girls was the perfect evening! Ellen Hutson and Carmi Cimicata were introduced to each other but hit it right off!
















Claudine is always such a joy to visit with, but sitting next to her at dinner is a little disconcerting! She is petite with a very picky vegetarian palette, and then there is me...

none of the above.
















And Carmi shared dear Audrey Prinzbach with us and she is amazing! Talented in so many
ways, and funny too!


















And how about finishing the perfect evening with the perfect dessert? Dark chocolate fondue, yumm-O!


















This is Caroline from Zva Creative, it was so fun to pop by, check out my booth samples and give her a hug! She and John do a fantastic job of running their business and are a delight to work with.
















Some of the other people that I loved catching up with were April Foster from Studio Calico, the release from that shop is wonderful and their cute booth in the new exhibitors section was wonderfully done, another of my faves!

I had a few minutes to visit with Lisa Johnson in the Marvy Uchida booth, she is so funny and had no problem making fun of me when I walked by with that tired blank look on my face, a girl after my heart for sure! ;o)

Angie Hagist and Charity Hassel were in the October Afternoon booth, it was so fun to meet Angie in real life! She and I have a very similar sense of humor and I love her design style, always witty and clever! And speaking of clever, I got to spend a little time with Teri Anderson and she is about as clever as they come! She was walking the show with Ashley Harris, and it was nice to keep seeing them as well!

Another line that was a real stand out in my mind was the new Basic Grey Basics, so up my alley! Nikki Sivils had some fun releases, but the one that really hit home here was a line called "Dan the Record Man" Laurel has gotten excited about collecting "vinyl" and has an old school record player that her sweet boyfriend has given her. This line is right on trend with that crowd! I forgot to mention the release that October Afternoon had, which is ridiculous because it is wonderful!! Two lines that have a wonderful vintage feel and beautiful colors!! I can't wait to start playing with it!

I spent Sunday in the Teresa Collins booth with some outstanding women, and Teresa's new releases are sure to be a hit! The two baby lines are darling and the others are elegant and have beautiful neutral color palettes that will make them easy to use in any project.

There is so much more, but I am having a hard time remembering without more pictures to cue me. I did better this time, but it just shows me how much room I have for improvement!

I have a funny airport story that I will share later, thanks for popping in for a visit, hope I didn't bore you!!

B-

Domestic Love Winner Announced and Another Zva Sneak

Domestic Love is my favorite set of all the stamp sets I had the opportunity to design. I have a tutorial using it over in the CLASS room at Ellen's creating this fun tag. Loads of techniques using Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Line, and a cheeky poke at domestic bliss.

The winner of the stamp set was selected randomly....


Charlene Austin said...

Hi Becky....Congrats on the cover!! Woot Woot!! It's a total honour to be part of it with you and Tanis. That pinwheel is amazing!!! I love ALL of your work!

5:00 PM

Congrats Charlene! Please email me with your shipping details if you don't mind.

And a sneak peek of another delish Zva Creative swirly flourish that will be releasing at this show, I am really excited to get more of these hot numbers in my studio to play with!



I leave in just 36 hours to head to Anaheim for the CHAW - 10, finishing up some laundry and get the baggage prepped and packed. Really excited to catch up with treasured friends and see the latest and greatest in the crafting world! It will give me some lead time on how to plan the emptying of my wallet for the next few months, LOL!

I won't be updating for a few days, so please forgive me!

Best!
B-

Winner for the Zva Creative Blog Hop!

Zva winners have been chosen and their name will be announced sometime today on the following blogs:

Becky Olsen

Lori Roop

Angelica Franssen

Ingrid Danvers

Lisa Johnson

Each of the 5 winners will receive a Zva prize pack worth $30.00. Congrats winners!

So the winner from the comments left on my blog was randomly selected and big
congratulations to: IrishEyezDesigns

And to thank everyone who stopped by and left such sweet comments, I am sharing another Zva sneak peek!

B-

How about another Zva and Teresa Collins sneak peak?

This is a fun sneak because it has a little of both on it!
The flourish is one of the new Zva designs and is a beautiful combination of darling little pink and small bluish gray pearls. The paper, stamp and chipboard are from Teresa Collins new Chic Bebe line.
There are still a few hours to leave a comment on my Paper Crafts post to be entered to win my Domestic Love stamp set if you are interested. I did a really fun tutorial over at the CLASS room blog using it, if you have a minute, check it out!

B-

Zva Creative Blog Hop!

Yay, another Zva Creative DT Blog Hop!

We are joining together today to share a project that we have created using the latest Zva Creative products that are releasing at winter CHA craft show. I am hoping that you will take some time to join us for a little bit of fun! Zva is introducing 100+ brand new crystal and pearl embellishment designs at the show. All designs have a fresh new look and are available in various popular color choices. If you are attending, please stop by the Zva at Booth # 2991.

The Blog Hop begins at Kim Hughes' blog. She is linking to one of the Zva designers and that designer is linking to the next and so on. There are 12 design team members, so be prepared to be inspired along the way. Hidden on 5 of the blogs is a Zva Creative prize package! Those blogs will be randomly chosen after the hop is over, so it's important to leave a comment on as many blogs as you can along the way. Our team is so wonderfully diverse, so we are hoping that you will be inspired when you reach the end.

This Blog Hop runs through midnight on Tuesday, January 19th and the 5 winners will be announced on Wednesday, January 20th. We will do our best to notify each winner, but it's best if you can pop in to all of the blogs once again on Wednesday...plus, you never know what kind of inspirational creation that you may find there. All you need to do is leave a comment on this Zva Blog Hop post...you do not need to leave a comment on each and every designer's blog post to qualify. The more times you leave a comment along the blog hop path though, the more chances you will have to be one of the lucky winners.

Now onto what it is that I am sharing today!
























The products that I have used are
FL-01CB-114 (Felt flowers pastel)
FL-01CB-115 (Felt flowers bright)
PE-02CB-102 (Multi-colored pearls)
EM-02CB-101 (pink Butterfly)
And the beautiful pink flourish is a brand new release for the show!

Your next stop on our exciting blog hop is...
Lynn Ghahary!!!!

Thank you SO MUCH for joining us!
B-

Sneak Peaks!

I have had a little time to play with some new Teresa Collins paper, and it is so cute! Easy to use too! This little card came together in no time and the layout was something that Laurel really liked, and she NEVER likes anything in pink, especially projects for her! Pop on over to Teresa's blog to see the rest of the line and the blue that goes right along with it, so adorable! There is a

Have You Seen It?

Card Creations Start to Finish is so beautiful and packed with inspiration for the outside and inside of you cards! I was lucky to have one of my projects that I contributed to this fabulous publication make it to the cover, along with the other fantastic projects that were created by Tanis Giesbrecht and Charlene Austin. I was so thrilled when P. Kelly told me that my pinwheel card would be on the cover. This project is so fun, easy to make and the pinwheel really spins!

You can receive free shipping on this gorgeous special issue through January 15th by visiting this link: http://www.shopscrapandpapercorner.com/productdetail/PC21209S42.htm

And make sure to leave a comment at the Paper Crafts Connection blog. Cosmo Cricket has donated 3 sets of the Early Bird collection for 3 of their lucky visitors! I adore this collection and it goes so beautifully with the Domestic Love stamp set I designed. Given that it is the perfect time of year to be using it, I want to give a set away, so leave a comment on this post by Midnight of Tuesday the 19th and I will pick a lucky winner to send it to!

Happy Crafting friends!

Wish I Was...

Skiing!!!
I love to ski, and the opportunities for me to get up into the mountains and enjoy this fabulous sport just haven't presented themselves (yet!) this year. But that can't stop me from doing a little dreaming in my studio can it? This fun little image is new in the Every Thing Creative shop, and has friends for the tennis court and golf course as well! (Can you tell I enjoy the outdoors?)
Details for the project are on the ETC blog if you are interested.
And be sure to come back tomorrow, I have something fun up my sleeve!

Ski ya later!!
B-

Yay!

After being separated from my computer for the last few days while it was visiting the dr. I realized just how attached to it I am! Should probably find a way to deal with my addiction, but for now I am doing a big ol' happy dance that it is back in the house and feeling so much better! Now just to avoid those ugly little buggies that manage to crawl in from the outside.
I did take a little time to slow down and enjoy my kids while this was all going on. We played some rock band, watched some movies and enjoyed the new season of Chuck!
In between all that fun, I did spend a little time in my studio and came out with a few new projects. I will be doing so new product sneaks over the next few weeks for Zva Creative and Teresa Collins, some really fun stuff! All of the new product out just makes my heart melt, I just love it all and can't wait until it ends up on my desk ready to be played with!
B-

Fun Times

A little sarcasm there, but my poor little 'puter is just not happy with the copious amount of work that I am making it deal with. It has been complaining for a few months and we have been masking the symptoms with quick fixes, but today it became very apparent that the upgrade to Win 7 is a must. Being compelled isn't my favorite way to handle a large task, but that is usually how it works.


Maybe it is appropriate to start the new year with a cleaned up 'puter anyway ;o)

Working on lots of fun stuff, new Zva Creative is in the house, and there will be a blog hop again in the very near future, so keep your eyes open for that. There is also new gorgeous new Teresa Collins products that are gracing my work table, and they are so fun and easy to use. She has really kicked some boo-tay with this release!

Ellen and I are working on a game plan for the must see manufacturers at CHA, if you have any suggestions for what your favies are, please leave a comment so we can check them out. There are some terrific sneaky peeks going on, so the excitement is really building for us.

And can you feel it? There is love in the air, so many beautiful Valentine projects starting to pop up everywhere! The colors of this holiday are so sweet and perky that it is hard to get grumpy with all the love is swirling around, such a good thing!

B-

p.s. Yeah, I originally put in a pic that I had already shared! I am such a doofus! Changed it to be the one I originally meant to put in, thanks for being patient with me!

Twenty-Ten

It sounds good, a fun number to say for what I believe will be year full of fun and adventure!

With an eye looking forward my heart needs to express gratitude to 2009, a year that was difficult, pushy and made me grow. Not necessarily in the ways that I would have chosen, but worthwhile none the less.

Thank you 2009 for:

1. Providing me with a job that was challenging and fulfilling.
2. Taking that job away so that I could learn humility and find the strength to overcome that loss.
3. Showing me how to let a son leave for two years to go to another country to serve our Heavenly Father.
4. Letting me watch a daughter transition from a spunky high school student to a mature college student.
5. Watching with pride as a daughter develops her learning skills and becomes an exceptional student and having enough wisdom to support but not push her.
6. Taking the time to visit a beautiful island nation with the man that I have been married to for 22 years.
7. Friends that have blessed my life and the opportunity to help them through troubled times when they needed it.
8. Loads of professional growth in the crafting industry, learning how to design stamps and then use them with loads of fun products.
9. A large improvement in my organizational and follow through skills.
10. Improved patience and appreciation.
11. Learning the difference between wants and needs.

The list could go on, but this is the highlight reel. 2009, don't take this wrong way, but I am happy to have you in the rear view mirror, you were quite the challenge for me!

Welcome 2010, I am ready for you!
B-

Exhausted!

I am such a pansy, LOL! Been trying to spend more time with the kids while they are home through the holidays, and it has been wonderful! But it also means that I am behind a little on my schedule for getting projects done and meeting deadlines. A few late nights are in my very near future, and I am already exhausted! I shared a really fun Valentine's tutorial over at the CLASS room today. Ellen has a really FAB 12 days of Christmas going on, there are loads of great tutorials and projects, and if you leave a comment on the blog posts you will be entered to win some amazing goodies that she is giving away every day! (makes me wish I could play along for sure!)
This time of year also has me thinking about how I can improve myself and the choices I make, and after some serious reflection (mostly in the mirror...) I have realized that I am not taking very good care of my health and body so that is going to be a big priority for me this year. I think it will help me feel better and also improve my self esteem as well. After my knee surgery five years ago it really hurts to do most of the types of exercise that I enjoy. This has created what I refer to as {bracket creep}
a little over 5 pounds a year is what I have gained and it has been really hard to notice until a few months ago when my clothes really started showing the lumps. Hard to face, but time to do something about it. If you have any words of advice I would love to hear them, but my plan is pretty simple, eat less and exercise more.
It is time to get back to the crafty stuff I have waiting for me, my melting pot will be very busy for the next few days!
B-

Did You Have a Merry Little Christmas?

I sure hope so! We did. It was very low key and simple. Our finances are very tight (as they are for most!) and so there was not a large pile of gifts waiting under the tree like there had been in times past. But it was a beautiful day where we had waffles together for breakfast, opened the gifts at noon, had 45 minutes on the phone with Tyler in Brazil and went the the movies together. Easily one of our best family days together since Tyler went on his mission. Tyler is amazing, and we loved hearing what he is up to, what things are like there and how much he has learned in such a short time. Doing a little mom math, I figured out that he is over 35% done with his service and soon we will get to start counting the days the other direction.
Today everyone has slept in and when they get up they will enjoy some chocolate chip pancakes, time with the dogs and then maybe a little shopping at the sales to spend some Grandma money.

Best wishes for a peaceful weekend for you and yours.
B-

Enjoying the Christmas Season

It is so nice to be slowing down a little and enjoying time with my family during this wonderful holiday season. It has been good to get a little crocheting done (3 hats and a blanket for Chloe's boyfriend) and some homemade goodies to share with friends and neighbors. It has been so fun to spend time with the kids doing that. They are so happy to have some down time from school, especially Laurel and Chloe.
Wanted to share a layout I made recently, it is Pink Paislee's Holiday line with a Zva Creative crystal frame.
Hope everything is well for all of you and that you are taking some time to relax and enjoy as well!

B-

Hero Arts Preview Party for 2010 catalog!

Hop on over to the CLASS room to play along, Ellen has planned a fantastic scavenger hunt that is fun and definitely worth the effort! And don't forget her Christmas sale, the discount on holiday products keeps getting better as the sale goes on!

B-

Christmas Centerpiece

It is the most wonderful time of the year, and that makes every second precious! So I have shared over in the CLASS room a fun tutorial on how to make a really easy and cute centerpiece that doubles as a mini album.

There is going to be a really great preview party for the new Hero Arts stamps at Ellen Hutson's shop, so be sure to head over and check out what will be going on.

That is about all I have time for at the moment, sorry to be so short!

B-

Snow Day!

The snow has been falling all day, and it is so beautiful! I just love snow days! I actually had a nap this afternoon and sipped on a few cups of hot peppermint tea, I needed a slow, quiet and relaxing day. The 12 tags of Christmas with a Feminine twist is done, and while it was exhausting, I enjoyed doing it so much! It gave me a new found respect for Tim and his ability to perform so consistently, and I also learned a ton myself as I pushed my knowledge to new levels. You should see me taking a picture with my left hand and applying stickles with the right, quite the balancing act. I love the project that I created, and am so grateful to everyone who stopped by the CLASSroom to see what was going on!

I also got my January Creating Keepsakes, it was an issue that had two of my projects in it. Made me so happy to see my layout of Tyler in the sketch section! The other layout is of Chloe and in the article called "Those Quotable Kids". I am so in love with my hobby of paper crafting it is crazy! Whether I am making a card, scrapbook page or other playful project, I am in hog heaven if it involves making a mess in my studio! Such a lucky girl!

We did get our tree up this weekend and the girls did a great job of decorating it, it is so nice having kids that are great at helping and taking up where we need assistance.

This week marks Tyler being in Brazil for 8 months! The time is now seeming to fly, probably the time of year, but he is 33% done with his mission! We sent him a box for Christmas, and hope that it gets there in time for him to enjoy it for the actual holiday.

Well, that is all I got in my head for now...
;o)

B-

I have some new tags to share, they have been so fun to make! Head on over to the CLASS room at Ellen's if you are interested in seeing the tutorials.

And thanks for all of the wonderful comments on my little Zva Holly Days house tag!
It was such a fantastic blog hop, the other projects were so inspiring!!

The Zva winners have been chosen and their name will be announced sometime today on the following blogs:

Lynn Mercurio
Hilde Janbroers
Lynn Ghahary
Teri Anderson
Anabelle O'Malley

We had a ball and we hope that you did as well. Thank you SO MUCH for visiting my blog. Please keep an eye out for another Zva Creative Blog Hop in the future.

Hope you are enjoying your holiday season!
B-

Our First Zva Creative Blog Hop!

I am excited to be a part of the Zva Creative DT! We are joining together today to share a Christmas or Holiday Tag that we each created showcasing the beautiful products that Zva has to offer. I am hoping that you will take some time to join us in a little bit of fun!

The Blog Hop begins at Kim Hughes' blog. She is linking to one of the designers and that designer is linking to the next and so on. There are 12 design team members, so be prepared to be inspired along the way. Hidden on 5 of the blogs is a Zva Creative prize package! Those blogs will be randomly chosen after the hop is over, so it's important to leave a comment on as many blogs as you can. Our team is so wonderfully diverse, so we are hoping that you will discover a talent that you have not been aware of.

This Blog Hop runs through midnight on Tuesday, December 8th and the 5 winners will be announced on Wednesday, December 9th. We will do our best to notify each winner, but it's best if you can pop in to all of the blogs once again on Wednesday...plus, you never know what kind of inspirational creation that you may find there. All you need to do is leave a comment on this Zva Blog Hop post...you do not need to leave a comment on each and every designer's blog post to qualify. The more times you leave a comment along the blog hop path though, the more chances you will have to be one of the lucky winners.

I had so much fun creating this little "Holly Day" house, it was quick and so easy! If you are interested in creating something similar, the products that you will need are:

CRP-01CB-102 (The crystal letters)
CRC-02CB-101 (The blue and green crystal strands)
PE-02CB-102 (The pink pearls)
AD01CB101 (The adhesive dimension dots)
The papers are Eskimo Kisses from Basic Grey.

So if you are ready for a little more holiday inspiration,

please hop on over to see what the ever so talented Lynn Ghahary has created.

Thank you SO MUCH for playing. We appreciate your support so very much.

B-

Christmas Tag #4

It is tag #4, but it is only my second tag, it is very fun to be sharing this adventure with Lisa, she has made some beautiful and very inspiring tags!

Thanks to those of you who left comments for Chloe, so sweet and very appreciated!
The winner of my first tag is Elaine Allen! Congrats Elaine, please email me your shipping information so I can get that in the mail to you!

Decorations are going up here in the house today, the kids are having fun putting things out. Do you go around adjusting, or leave things the way they were put out? I am not terribly fussy, but sometimes they just need "fixed" a little. I love to make a lot of what we decorate with, but this year was so hectic that there really isn't much that is fresh going into the mix, feels kind of weird. It isn't like we needed anything, so it isn't a big deal, but still odd that I haven't been working on stuff like that. Is there anything that you have changed or done differently this year? Just wondering if I am alone in that or if others are feeling crunched for time as well.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
B-

Christmas Tags

This is such a fun time of year! Making and giving is one of my favorite things to do during this season, what is yours?
Speaking of making, have you hopped over to The CLASS room to see what Ellen's team is up to? You will love it all! And being completed inspired by Tim Holtz's 12 tags of Christmas, Lisa Strahl and I are creating 12 tags that bring a feminine twist to the holiday tag thing. This tag is from today, there are complete instructions on how I put it together over at The CLASS room.

Today is Chloe's 17th birthday!!! We are so excited for her! She is a fantastic kid, we are so blessed that we have her in our lives! We are taking her to In-n-Out for dinner and I will be making her a cake (which is what I will be doing when I am done here)
And since this season is about making and giving, I am going to give this tag away. All you have to do is leave a comment wishing Chloe a happy birthday by Thursday at midnight, and I will pick someone randomly to send it to!

Have a wonderful day!
B-

Tis the {Busy} Season!

Sorry to leave you hanging with that big ol' picture of my head for so long! I have been pretty busy working on quite a few different projects, and loving every minute of the craziness! We had a fantastic Thanksgiving, hope everyone else was able to enjoy time with their families and friends!
Now light speed to Christmas! Which brings me to one of the fun things that I have been working on! I put up a tutorial today over at Every Thing Creative for stamping on our templates, a very easy and fun way to personalize gifts for the people on your holiday gift list! Everyone loves handmade gifts, especially when they contain chocolate, so maybe this would be something you would enjoy sharing.

Also I have a fun thing happening over at Ellen's for the next 12 days. Lisa and I have had fun getting this ready, so hopefully you will take a few minutes to pop by and check it all out!

I still have cards to do for our family, going to have to put in a few late nights to get it all done. How are you doing on your preparations for the Holidays? Staying sane or cracking under the pressure?

I hope you take some time to slow down to catch a few snowflakes on your tongue and enjoy a mug of hot chocolate!
B-

Happy Thanksgiving!

The turkey is in the oven, rolls are rising and the yams are mashed and ready to be baked. It is at this time that it is so easy to see the bounty that I have in my life and recognize my Heavenly Father's gift of tender mercies to me in this chaotic world. I have the opportunity to spend the day with my 3 beautiful children that are at home and pray for and appreciate the one that is serving in a far away land. And shed a few grateful tears for all that this is, because for me it is all that matters. We have health, shelter, love and peace in our lives and these are so priceless in our world today.
Today I get to take my time putting together a menu that each of us appreciates, and we don't have to rush off anywhere or have anything done in a certain way or by a particular time and that is such a blessing. We can sit and visit about the silly, the spiritual or the cultural and have no reason to judge, just appreciate that we have this time. And I can do it all while wearing an apron with a headband that matches, and my kids love me all the more for being a complete goofball. And for all of that, I am so grateful.

B-

Thanksgiving Eve and so Much to be Grateful for!

My heart is full of gratitude for all of my blessings. Our family has had a lot of challenges and triumphs this year, and we are grateful for it all. I know it has made me a better person and I feel growth in ways that I know my Heavenly Father wants me to improve. It isn't easy and at times I wonder where I will get the strength to get through, and then I remember that I have the most wonderful friends, an amazing family and a Saviour who knows me personally and I am comforted that it will all be okay.
I got to spend time with some of those fantastic friends this last weekend at card group, we swapped some adorable gift tags, visited, snacked, made that adorable Christmas Lists notebook that was inspired by Lisa Johnson, checked out the letterpress system from Quick Kutz, and then a couple of us caught a late showing of New Moon together! It was just what I needed for a recharge of my batteries.
A huge box of super goodie coolness was also delivered to my house from my World Card Making Day win! The sponsors of that contest were so generous, and I can't wait to start digging into and using all of that fun stuff! I am so grateful to have a hobby that I love so much that is an outlet for most of the emotional baggage that gets built up from life.
We have a bunch of our dishes for tomorrow's meal being prepared tonight, so I am going to go get back to it. But I will be sharing pics of my matching apron and headband tomorrow that I will be cooking in! Stuff like that makes me so happy too!
And to all of you who stop in to see what I am up to, thank you very much!

Happy Thanksgiving my friends!
B-