Coloring

I like to color.
























I have always liked to color....as a little girl and still now as a 42 old woman. It is relaxing. It is fun. It is just a little thing that gives me a pleasure. Right now I have several Christmas coloring books, a Disney Princess coloring book, a Pooh coloring book that has a little girl named Darby in it, a Precious Moments, a couple other generic coloring books with animals, princesses and such. Now that it is getting close to Christmas - I will be breaking out my Christmas coloring books to color in while watching The Polar Express, Miracle on 34th Street, Charlie Brown Christmas and the other Christmas DVD's we have.

Notepads

I have a little bit of an obsession with having plenty of notepads, scratch pads and sticky notes around.

Besides jotting down little notes, I am a list maker so I always have them around. I have a magnetic one on the fridge for a grocery list. As I run out of things I jot them down there. I have several buy the phone. I leave little notes for Michael around the house or when he goes out of town in his suitcase. I use them I also use sticky notes for books often. I make the places that inspire me and usually write a few words why or what is important about to me and then stick it in the place of the book that caught my eye. Eat Pray Love has A LOT of them sticking out of it.

You will notice in the photo I have several Disney Princesses ones and that is because I like Belle so Michael often buys me things with Belle such as the sticky notes and notepads. I love those little notepads as they are like a book of matches where the flap flips up and then tucks in when closed.

Stickers

I know I am 41 years old (almost 42) so probably a little old for stickers. But I like them. They make me smile - a fun simple pleasure. I use them on mail love, when I make gift tags, decorate gift boxes and notes for Michael and friends. I have a huge pile of stickers that lay in a basket in my office. All kinds of stickers....silly, pretty, politics, holiday, funky, letters and sparkly.

This is So Good!

Winner of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Rights Award at the sixth annual "Media that Matters" film festival.

Bliss

I am hoping I will have some pictures to share tomorrow. I took almost 200 pictures just need to pull them from my camera.

We went to the Farmer's Market that had of course fruit and vegetable stands but also good eats (brats, gigantic caramel pecan roll), flowers and plants, handmade goods (soaps, candles and quilts), flea market type finds (sunglasses, purses and beanie babies). My Mom bought a gorgeous bouquet that I haven't got a picture of but want to take it where she has it in her house as it look so pretty. And then my sister April got 2 bouquets towards the close of the Farmer's Market for $5 for 2 bouquets - a dozen roses and also a bunch of gerbera daisies. So so pretty. My sister Michelle bought me some homemade soap - coconut pear. So yummy smelling it makes me hungry just inhaling around it!

After the Farmer's Market, my sisters and I headed to the sculpture garden. I had never been there. I took a ton of photos there - between the sculpture and the flowers - just so many pretty shots. If you have never been to Minneapolis, you might still know where I have been by the just me mentioning the spoon with the cherry. It is a big spoon with a cherry sculpture that it is famous for.

From there we went to have ice cream and then go to a store called Patina. It is a store I could lose many hours in and did lose quite a bit of time. There are so many little wonderful treasures. It also had art by Papaya Art which I always enjoy. And had the image I used with this post. One of my favorite images.

We then headed back to my sister's house for a bit before she delivered me back to my parents. I spent quality time with Mom looking at cookbooks and visiting. You know that is where I get my love of cooking and also just browsing cookbooks - from my Mom. I think tomorrow we are going to to Penzeys Spices. I know she will love their spices just as much as I do.

I am missing Michael of course but talking to him a couple times a day so that is good.

Very tired from the busy day. But very happy to have had such a beautiful day with my family! I miss them so much living so far away so it is just fabulous to be able to spend this time with them.

The Uniform Project

The Uniform Project. It is a girl who is wearing one dress (7 copies of it for each day of the week) and then dressing it up with other clothes and accessories. And she is doing it to raise money for Akanksha's School Project. It is an interesting concept....I like her creativity in her outfits.

Some of my favorites...


May 7th's uniform


May 12th's uniform


June 9th's uniform

Five Ways to Live Your Dream

I have been going through magazines pulling out recipes, articles and such that I want to save. And I came across this...in Organic Style (which isn't in print anymore but has an online version but I just subscribed to it today.)

5 Ways to Live Your Dreams
1. Break the rules. Do what you want, if it harms no one.
2. Spend time alone, at home, in a restaurant, or across the globe and you'll hear your inner voice.
3. Follow your passion -- whatever it takes.
4. Stop worrying so much about what other people think. It's your life.
5. Get over your fear. Fear is normal, so embrace it, and then you'll get past it.

Beautiful Day

We have had a lot going on here lately. So we just needed a little break. After making a delivery to a neighboring town, we stopped by the grocery store to pick up impromtu picnic supplies. And took the long way back to Grand Junction stopping to have a picnic up on the Mesa. There is still snow up there but it wasn't too cold. Just a cool breeze. And a beautiful view of the San Juan mountain range.

On our way up we stopped in a little town that had a distillary. We took a little tour and the owner was very passionate about it. And we could relate as we are pretty passionate about our business too. Michael had a drink of the whiskey and he said it was incredibly smooth.

While driving up, I had one of those moments that choked me up. Because I realized how blessed I am. I was able to spend the day with my love in our beautiful state just enjoying a nice spring day. It was truly a beautiful day in so many ways.

Gratitude Friday

I am thankful...
1. that my cold finally went away
2. that I heard from a friend I was worried about
3. for Frank & JoAnne giving us their wok that. They didn't use it so asked if wanted it. I said: YES! And I have used it twice this week and plan to use it again tomorrow night.
4. for the wonderful gift that my friend Jessica gave me. It just made me smile and was so much fun! (pictures below)
5. for having several good movie nights with Michael this week
6. for getting my list together for spring cleaning - starting spring cleaning next week. Which probably isn't somethign to clook forward to but I am looking forward to cleaning the house out.

I recognize that I have much more to be thankful for in my life.

I got a present from a friend that was so much fun....it was a big ball of yarn that had a little tag on it that said: "unwind me...all the way" and then as I unrolled it little gifts appeared wrapped in it - buttons, beads, charms, stickers & other little emblishments. In the very center there was a teeny tiny handmade book.








The purple/blue one is mine that Jessica made! It was really the coolest gift. I want to do it for someone sometime.

**photos are Jessica's she said I could use them since I was just so excited to unroll it that I forgot to take pictures!

Insomnia....Surfing Etsy

I am having some insomnia and my insomnia brings me to Etsy.com to surf - which is probably a dangerous place to surf in the first place. Lately my obsession has been pottery on Etsy. Tonight I stumbled on to the perfect little gift - ESPECIALLY for those that need....SPOONS. (my 100 things about me - spoons)

The spoons are made by Scrumdidlyump.

Aren't they just the coolest?

Just a few of the others I surfed tonight...
Magpie Pottery - really love those plates. The style of collage on them seems very me.









Tina Rice - I love this necklace - really all of her necklaces but I am not sure I could wear it because of my skin allergies. But they are so fun that I keep coming back to them.









Cyrus Potter - I love the colors of most of his pottery. They just are colors that appeal to me. The lines and colors of the vases are my favorite though.

Captured....Yesterday

This link has amazing photos of yesterday....breathtaking...

Captured - Inauguration Day

Adding this link to the prayer at this mornings service.

The Journey Begins...

I know I won't have words for today. As said many times it is history in the making. In 2004, Michael and I heard just a little clip on CNN of a speech by Obama (weren't hooked on MSNBC at that time). I turned to Michael and said one day that man will be president. I didn't know anything about him. I had never heard him speak before. But that night how he spoke and more importantly the words he spoke were powerful and moved me. And that hasn't changed. When I listen to him, I am nodding in agreement and end up feeling hopeful - in a way I have never felt.

So today I am going to be spend my day glued to the TV. I will have kleenex box near me as I usually am so moved by Obama and in a few hours I can say "President Obama."


*image from Wallpaper for Obama

Escape to Ouray

Back from our overnighter. It was great! So beautiful! I packed sandwiches and such so we didn't have to spend money on food. And our night in the hotel was free too. So we just paid for gas. Oh we did stop and have breakfast on Monday in Montrose so that was the only meal we spent money on. So not too bad. And more importantly we had a lovely time.

So much snow that sparkled in the sun. It was so pretty. As I mentioned last time we had our overnight and went through there was no snow. And for some reason I just think of Ouray with snow. It looks good with snow.

When we got back in town we ran a few errands and then went to pick up a calendar. We got one with the art of Daniel Merriam. Surrealist that kind of reminds me of Michael Parkes in some ways but not at the same time.

A couple photos of our trip - and I will post more later...
(click on the photos to get a bigger view of them)
I did a texture on top of this photo to create lines in it.


This photo Michael took and it is beautiful hotel in Ouray.

Prayer for Christmas

A friend shared this in her Christmas card to us this year and I thought it was beauitful prayer for Christmas...


I salute you! There is nothing I can give you
which you have not; but here is much, that,
while I cannot give, you can take.

No heaven can come to us unless our hearts
find rest in it today. Take Heaven.

No peace lies in the future which is not
hidden in this present instant. Take Peace.

The gloom of the world is but a shadow;
behind it, yet, within our reach, is joy.
Take Joy.

And so, at this holy time, I greet you,
with the prayer that for you, now and forever,
the day breaks and the shadows flee away.
--Fra Giovanni,1513

Christmas Ornaments - Part 2

Just a few Santa ornaments...which seem to be a favorite of ours. The one that my Aunt and Uncle gave us is a favorite of Michael's and mine. The 2008 Santa is called the Magic Man. We also have another yearly ornament coming but it won't be here until Wednesday. It is one that we were really searching for and having some problems. But did find one we liked on Cafe Press.

Just some daily stuff...Thursday night I made several batches of candy and then got dough ready to bake today. I made chocolate caramels, maple fudge, chocolate fudge and festive bark. I mixed dough up for molasses cookies, sour cream cookies, cardamom butter cut out cookies and cream cheese slice cookies. I haven't baked the cardamom cookies yet but will tomorrow. The sour cream cookies totally flopped. It seems to be an altitude issue as I never had this problem before living in Colorado. They just are flat and melt. I think I need to cut the sugar down but not sure. I still want to bake peanut butter blossoms and the cardamom tomorrow. Oh and the Ritz cracker mint thins - I need to make them too.

Christmas Ornaments - Part 1

Michael and I buy one (or sometimes more) ornament a year. We haven't got ours for this year yet as it is kind of specialized and we are having problems finding anything like it. I think we are going to have go to cafepress or etsy to find it.

Yes!

I don't know if I have words for what I witnessed tonight but it truly was history in the making. I think I have went through almost a box of kleenex.

His speech...again showed me one of the many reason I like him - his mind. He talked about finding ways to work on the issues which we all can agree on in order to move forward from all that we have facing us. This is big to me....so very big that he wants us to be united instead of divided. His has steadiness even tonight in making history so calm and ready to lead. He has a knowledge to not just go with his thoughts but surround himself with many other smart people to help decide what is best for the American people. He reminds us that we have to do work too as Americans. He is so very smart. And I am thankful he is not the guy next door or a regular Joe. He is extrodinary.

(artwork from Wallpaper for Obama)

Hillary hit it out of the park and it is still going....

Oh my....Hillary Clinton did an AMAZING job tonight! She really pumped up the energy of the DNC. We watch MSNBC and the crowd outside with Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews were even more energized. I feel she did a great job at UNITY.

A few favorite lines...

"No Way, No How, No McCain!" -- Great line and sound bite!

"John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. He doesn’t think there’s a health care crisis, and wants to privatize Social Security, and thinks it’s OK for women to receive unequal pay for equal work. It's fitting that George Bush and John McCain will be appearing together in the Twin Cities because it's awfully hard to tell them apart." -- GREAT GREAT line! I was laughing. And with family in the Twin Cities, you know I feel for them having the twins there for the Republican Convention.

"To my supporters, the Sisters of the Traveling Pantsuits, thank you." -- Very cute line. The audience laughed and cheered.

"I want you to ask yourselves, were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like it? Or were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer? Were you in it for that young boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the invisible people?" --- Personally I think this is the much needed line as it really asks if her followers if they were just voting for her or the issues. If it is the issues then vote Obama -- and if it was just for her then she believes in Obama so vote for Obama.

"By following the example of a brave New Yorker, a woman who risked her life to shepherd slaves along the Underground Railroad. On that path to freedom, Harriet Tubman had one piece of advice:

If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If they're shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going. And even in the darkest of moments, that is what Americans have done — we have found the faith to keep going.

I've seen it in you. I've seen it in our teachers and firefighters, nurses and police officers, small business owners and union workers, the men and women of our military you always keep going.

We are Americans. We're not big on quitting. But remember, before we can keep going, we've got to get going by electing Barack Obama the next president of the United States." -- This for me was another one of those Yes we can moments...where I felt like yes...lets not give up our freedom and lets not give up hope and keep fighting the good fight....and elect Obama.

"Nothing less than the fate of our nation and the future of our children hang in the balance. I want you to think about your children and grandchildren come Election Day. And think about the choices your parents and grandparents made that had such a big impact on your life and on the life of our nation. We've got to ensure that the choice we make in this election honors the sacrifices of all who came before us, and will fill the lives of our children with possibility and hope." -- And then this line I think rung true for me too...I do feel our fate as a nation hangs in the balance because we have had such a horrible 8 years and I just can't imagine another 4 of it with McCain. It make me feel so sad for us as nation.

I think she did a great job at doing what she needed to for this speech tonight. The energy was amazing and I look forward to roll call tomorrow as well as President Clinton's speech and Joe Biden's too. I suspect it will be an evening in front of the TV tomorrow night.


(Full transcript of speech)

Free Vote for Obama Button

Want a free vote for Obama button? MoveOn's giving them away totally free—no strings attached. I just got mine, and wanted to share the opportunity with you.

Click this link to get a free Obama button:

http://pol.moveon.org/obamabuttons/?id=13339-9609874-GYcWoVx&t=4

(ps: I did an entry about where to find Obama Button Artwork.)

Oh Look at the Pretties!

A friend is having a sale on her beautiful jewlery until the end of April.

Buy 1 get 1 half price!