13 DAYS

That's all that's left before Christmas arrives. Can you believe it? It'll be a quiet Christmas at home (hopefully) as all the out of town relatives have come and gone and come again (but will leave soon). I'm just about done with all of my shopping. I've got little things and stocking stuffers to get but the big stuff is done. I didn't think I'd make it!


I have to start thinking about my New Years resolutions. I've been meaning to go back and see what my goals were for 2008 and see how much of them I actually accomplished. I'll have to do that soon - the year is almost over!


Today's my & dh anniversary. Five years. I can hardly believe it. I have to say - I couldn't have asked for a better husband. Yeah, he makes me crazy sometimes (ok, most of the time) but he is perfect for me. He's so supportive (emotionally & financially :) ) of WhimsyPics and anything else I want to do, he ALWAYS has my back - even if I'm wrong, he's an awesome father and just an all around awesome guy. I'm blessed.


Here's some stuff I've been working on lately; not too much of anything - just miscellaneous stuff: the little baskets are for Ethan's class for Christmas

I'M THANKFUL

Thanksgiving day has come and gone. I had my parents and brothers here from NY and it was great. Maybe next year the in-laws (all of them) will be here too. A girl can dream :)

I'm thankful for

God's mercy and unfailing love

my beautiful, healthy, perfect children

my supportive, loving, husband - my rock

my beautiful home

my family

my freedom

seasons

sunshine

rain

living in the United States of America

my perfect life (perfect for me, that is) :)

I hope your Thanksgiving was blessed and beautiful.

TIME IS NOT ON MY SIDE

How is it that I can start making Halloween themed items for my shop in July and still not have candy in the house on October 31st? Or that I can make Thanksgiving items starting in August and 2 weeks before still not have my menu down? Before I know it Christmas will be here and I'll be shopping on the 24th. Again. Every year I say I'll start Christmas shopping early. I'll be done by September, for sure. You'll see. And then it's the week before and I'm freaking out. Well, not this time. I will be done by December 15th or there will be no gifts. Period. (yeah, right.)



My biggest problem is that I need to send gifts in the mail now that I live down here in the south. I know that, in myhead, but I never realize how little time I really have when I factor in transit time. My poor sister in law got her birthday gift about 2 weeks late because it got lost on my desk for a week. *sigh* I need help. I will mail my niece's birthday gift today. I will. You'll see.



It's been a while since I posted (surprise!) so here are some pictures of what's been going on:

NC STATE FAIR 2008

HALLOWEEN 2008

HILL RIDGE FARM 2008

CHRISTMAS MINI ALBUM

CHRISTMAS GIFT TAGS
SCHOOL MEMORIES MINI ALBUM

I'm off to figure out what I need for Thanksgiving. Wish me luck.

TAGGED, DINOSAURS & STUFF

TAGGED

I was tagged by PinkPatrice of PinkPatrice.etsy.com. Check out her adorable cards!

So here are the rules of being tagged:
Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


Here are 7 facts about me:
1. I hate talking on the phone - hence, I never answer it.
2. I once flew to Jamaica for a day to attend a party (I was a travel agent then).
3. I bite my cuticles. Alot. It's really gross. I need a manicure.
4. It hurts my heart to pay full price for anything - unless it's a gift. If it's for someone else, I go all out.
5. My eyebrows are tatooed. Well, they're faded now, but they were tatooed. If I had money for it, I'd do it again - my real eyebrows are TINY.
6. I thought about piercing my nose once. For a minute. But still, I thought about it.
7. I love airplanes but I hate to fly.


So now I'm tagging:
Andrea
Joyce
Christina
The Paper Elephant
Sandra
Mark My Words
Krazy Kate Designs

DINOSAURS
My parents were here this week and on Friday, my mom took the grandkids (and me) to see Walking With Dinosaurs! It totally ROCKED!! If the show is coming to a city near you, go see it - I think it's worthwhile! It's like a documentary in that it's narrated and they discuss each era. But the dinosaurs are so huge and so life-like that it's fun (and a little scary!). Of course, my favorite was the T-Rex :)


Here are some pictures:

STUFF

I'm hoping we'll get to the State Fair today. If we do, I'll post some pictures. Have I ever told you how much I love the Fall? :)

Happy Sunday everyone!

Autumn

This is my favorite time of year. Summer's over, winter's still months away. The air is cool & crisp - just cool enough for a sweater and my beat up Uggs - I love it!



I thought I'd have lots of Christmas things done by now - albums, cards, tags. I've got nothing. I'm still working on Thanksgiving things. Have I mentioned I love fall? :)



Here's some of the things I've been working on:



Altered Pail w/Tags - maybe use them as place cards? Or have your guests write on the back all the things that they're thankful for....or perhaps, write them a note of thanks for coming....or keep them for yourself, fill out what you're thankful for and bring them out next year to see what's changed!









Mini Notecards/Place Cards - they're blank inside so you can leave a note for your guests on each one.

Happy Monday everyone!

MY WEEKEND

I finally got some time to scrap this weekend - thanks to the LifePreserversClub.com crop! I had SOO much fun. THANK YOU Sandra & Rebecca for putting it all together and coming up with some awesome challenges. And Deb - toilet paper rolls? Really? Who woulda thunk it? :) That little book rocked. So ladies (& gents?) if you want to be challenged to make some great stuff - check it out. The crop is over but the challenges are all still up.

I got 3 personal pages done, 1 album and some mini cards for etsy. I hope I can stay focused and create lots this week.

LifePreserversClub.com Kit Challenge:

Numbers Challenge:

Word Cloud Challenge:

Halloween Mini Album:

All Occasion Mini Cards:

Halloween Mini Cards:

FRESH START

I decided to reorganize my work space; figured it would take a day or two. Yeah, not so much. Eight days later I just want to cry! OMGosh where did I get all this stuff? When did I think I would have time to do all this?? So, I have a 'giveaway' pile and a 'sell' pile. I'll be inviting some of the local gals over to rummage through my stuff and take what they can haul. Of course, the really good or expensive or brand spanking new stuff will be sold :). I so don't want to go back in there right now. I'm using my laptop in Ava's room :)

It's a GORGEOUS day in Raleigh today. I have all the windows open and though it's chilly (FINALLY!!), it feels so good! Can't be more than 70 degrees right now - I love it!

Guess I'd better buckle down and get to it. Into the abyss I go............