Another giveaway today - check out Lisa Leonard's blog for a gift you will "L-O-V-E"!!http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/blog/hello-monday/hello-monday-giveaway#comments

Hey, got a great link for anyone who loves to support crafters and artisans AND WIN STUFF!- check out the Wiegand's Giveaway!http://www.thewiegands.com/2012/01/group-giveaway-day.html

V and Co: on the radio: with mark lipinski of creative mojo

V and Co: on the radio: with mark lipinski of creative mojo

I had the pleasure of listening to Vanessa today on my first experience with Creative Mojo's Mark Lipinski - great stuff! Check out his online radio show Wednesdays at 3 pm - go to Toginet.com.

Reflections on this winter we are having!

I must say this has not been a terrible winter thus far here in Fowler, Indiana, but it certainly has been very changeable! One day it goes from 30 to 55, then overnight it storms like in middle of summer, following by plummeting temps the next day and then snow. Well, then it warms up enough to spark more thunderstorms and melts the snow, then it gets cold again! It is a wonder we don't all have pneumonia! And this is all happening in January!!! Kind of makes one wonder when and if the other shoe will drop, and we will finally get winter. I kind of hope not. I have been spending an inordinate amount of time surfing the internet and discovering all kinds of great blogs and crafty websites lately. Getting lots of ideas and inspiration, but it occurred to me today that I should get off the computer and get busy crafting myself! I need to get organized and start making purses, and get my shop up and running on ETSY. Plus, in my web exploration, I found a few contests I would like to enter, all of which require me to actually MAKE SOMETHING!!!!!!!!! Two of the three contests involve making purses, and the other is kind of an art quilt. A lot to bite off, which is not surprising for me, so we will see what happens. The next few months are going to fly by, I am sure, because I want to fit in a trip to Tennessee to see my granddaughters Sarah and Madi, as well as my daughter Jennifer. Plus, we want to go to Michigan if we can for birthdays for our other grandchildren Seraphine, Warrick and Rowan, in February, March and April. And, our 18th anniversary is February 12. And, I will need to be working on the flowers for my friend Megan's wedding coming up in May. Phew, I am getting exhausted already. Then, Steve and I are planning to take our first ever real vacation together in July while he is off during SIA's shutdown. We are having a bit of trouble planning it because it has to be somewhere we can also take Emma - too bad most places don't allow pets - Emma is nicer than some people I know so that makes it very unfair in my estimation!!!!  Speaking of Emma, the precious puppy girl spends most of her time sleeping on my lap, or draped across my shoulder while she perches on the back of the couch. Today, she threw up on me - it ran down my back - ick!!! Not sure what was going on with her, but she seems ok now.  Steve also has some races he wants to run, including his first marathon probably in October up in Detroit.  So, methinks I need to get up off the couch and do something!!!! I still haven't finished unpacking from our move in August, but as I already chronicled in earlier posts, life had been full of some pretty significant stressors, the biggest one of which was the illness and death of my momma a little more than two months ago now.  I seem to have slumped into a bit of depression over that and I know I need to get myself up and over that hump, with the help of the Lord and my wonderful hubby.  I have also gotten much comfort from my frequent conversations with my sister these past several months.  I feel closer to her than I ever have, which is wonderful!   I just heard the familiar sound of my turn coming up on Words with Friends that I am playing with several people on Facebook.  Here's hoping for productivity to TAKE OFF pretty quickly in my house.

Some blogs and websites to check out!!

I have been exploring the internet, and have come up with a list of  crafting sites that are worth checking out. I will add more as I find them. Have fun!

www.papernstitchblog.com
www.psimadethis.com
www.crafterhours.blogspot.com
www.thecraftingchicks.com
www.vanessachristenson.com
www.sewmamasew.com
www.blogalacart.com

Thankful for Dr. King

Today is Martin Luther King Day. I remember that fateful day so many years ago when Dr. King was gunned down. I was only thirteen years old at the time, but I was old enough to realize the significance of that event and I was old enough to understand that there was a real problem in our country with regard to relationships between the races. I always felt that there should not be such division, even as a youngster. Over the years, as I matured as a Christian, I found myself continually wondering why people can't get along - if only we could all treat one another with respect and love and compassion, as Jesus charges us to do, things would be so much better! Thank you, Dr. King, for your vision, your dream, your faith and your commitment to breaking down that division. So, I need to give an update concerning the goals I set for yesterday. I DID get my Christmas decorations packed away, and I managed to unpack ONE box (to make room for some of the Christmas decorations), and got SOME laundry done. I am working on laundry again today (though I do find myself wondering how two people generate so much). For the remainder of the week, I will commit to emptying two boxes per day as another goal, and in doing that, I will make progress toward setting up my creating space so I can work toward getting my purse making business under way!! I am excited to report also, that I started working on our tax return today - much earlier than before, because we got our W-2 forms already!!! I still have a couple of things to add as soon as I receive some forms I need, but hopefully will have taxes complete by the end of the month. Woo Hoo! I have been exploring lots of websites and blogs lately, and want to list a few of my favorites so far. They are primarily crafter's blogs. Check them out!

Getting back to the business of living!

Well, it is Saturday morning and I find myself sitting on the couch like I do most mornings, with my puppy Emma either stretched out on my lap or lying across one shoulder looking like she is watching what I am doing. Steve is sleeping, in fact, I should still be asleep too since I waited up for him and we didn't get to bed until about 5 am. I have been checking my email, Facebook, playing Words with Friends, and basically just killing time til Steve wakes up. Something hit me a while ago, and I am sitting here feeling terrible about it. We have been "celebrating" our "monthly anniversary" every month since we got married, almost 18 years ago. It has become somewhat of a competition to see who remembers first, and we have each gone to great lengths to "win" - one time I got up in the middle of the night and wrote Happy (whatever month like 120 months) Anniversary on the bathroom mirror in lipstick, so when he got up I would have already positioned myself to be the "winner"!! Anyway, for whatever the reason, we both forgot on Thursday, the 12th. That is the first time I think we have actually forgotten since we got married!!!!! Anyway, he is still the love of my life, my hero, best friend, encourager, you name it!!! Now Emma is snoring on my shoulder. What a dog! I love her so much - her presence brings me such calm and peace. She is going to be 8 years old in April. Hard to believe she has been with us for that long. Sure hope she is with us for a long time still! I still find myself lacking enough motivation to finish unpacking boxes and organizing the house. We have been here since August 5. Now I have to say it is not because I am lazy, though sometimes I do need to be more active than I am. I hadn't been here a month before I went to Michigan for 6 weeks to be with my momma who was starting to decline. After I went back home, the next month found me almost paralyzed as I spent hours on the phone checking in with mom, my sister, mom's caregivers who were required after I left, and worrying so much about my momma, I couldn't get anything done. Then, on November 18 I rushed back to Michigan in time to tell her I loved her before she passed away on November 20. And, ever since then, I have struggled to keep going. I dissolve into tears without warning a lot of the time. I miss her so much. Now both of my parents are gone - Momma died just ten days before the one year anniversary of my dad's passing. Steve has been incredibly supportive during this tough time, but I know that I need to pull something out of somewhere to get up and get going with my life. I need to get my sewing room organized, or even somewhat organized, so I can start sewing and making the purses I want to sell on Etsy. I think putting this out here in print is going to help me. Anyway, today I will set down a couple of goals for the weekend and then hold myself accountable and get back on my blog Monday and report my progress. My goals are: 1. Finish putting away the Christmas decorations. 2. Catch up on the laundry. 3. Empty at least two boxes. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Giveaway by Marie Madeline Studio

Well, just realized I forgot to say that Marie Madeline Studio is having a giveaway RIGHT NOW!! You can win some great fabric by Tanya Whelan as well as her book, "Sew What You Love". So, again let me encourage you to check out their website!! Annette

Marie-Madeline Studio

Want to let you know about a great website you need to check out. A friend of mine, Kristie Long and her four daughters have a website offering amazing fabric, patterns they design, tutorials, as well as selling their creations which include purses and very cute clothes, and occasional giveaways. Marie-Madeline Studio is one of my favorite sites to go to when I am looking for fabric I don't see in the fabric store! The selection is wonderful and their prices are good too (and they often have sales!!) They also have a great blog and a shop on Etsy. I am trying to figure out how to add a button to my blog for them, but in the meantime, go to their website, http://www.mariemadelinestudio.com/. Happy New Year, everyone!!