Much Needed Girls Night Out!

Great end to a crazy week….girls night out for Trace Adkins! It truly was a crazy week that went something like this…. Last Friday we headed down to the lake for the weekend while I did the Blue Crab Festival. The BCF had great crowds, but not a whole lot of shoppers, so sales were pretty poor, but at least we had awesome weather and a fun little parade to entertain us, which actually was the highlight of the show. The parade went right down the street the booths were on, barely wide enough for the fire engines, so Patty and I literally had front row seats. About halfway through, here comes this goose. Funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time. He was just walking along in the parade, checking everyone out like he did this every day, leading his two friends: two easily-1,500-pound bulls. I am not making this up. Oh how I wished I had my camera! It was a classic.

We got home from the lake Monday evening, and this is where the week started going haywire. We came home to learn that our house had been struck by lightning Friday night, which took out most of our electronics: TVs, DVD players, stereo system, computer modem (luckily my computer itself was spared). Then Thursday when we were getting ready to go to the girls VPK graduation (more on that later!), I went down stairs to my workshop to fix a bracelet for Sarah and immediately smelled something….smelled electrical. Great. We had to get to the church so we just had to wait to deal with it when we got home.

Must preface this with a funny story. DH learned to trust my smeller even before we got married. We were driving up to the Brunswick/St. Simons area for the day, and I kept telling him I thought I smelled something electrical burning. He kept saying I was imagining things. I kept telling him I smelled something. So, about 45 minutes later, we pulled up in front of the old Brunswick courthouse. I again told him I smelled something. And then it began…we were driving my old Nissan 300ZX. She talked with this lovely soothing voice, reminding you things like “your lights are on”, etc, when necessary. So shortly after we pulled up, I really, really smelled the electrical smell and then she just starting talking... “Your lights are on….your lights are on….your lights are on….left door is open…..your lights are on….left door is open….tailgate is open….your lights are on….” And on and on she went. Meanwhile, I said, “I told you I smelled something!” while DH walked around the car, yelling at her, “The *%#0 lights are not on! Shut up you %*&%#!” I, of course, found the whole thing hysterically funny; he obviously did not. Soft soothing, “Your lights are on…” paired with DH’s rants telling her to shut up. So, long story short, DH now never questions my smeller.

So back to the story. Home from VPK graduation, DH went downstairs to let Izzy out, and even he smelled the electrical burning smell. So he proceeded to remove every receptacle box around my workshop and asked me to get my nose up there and smell it so we could pinpoint exactly where the smell was coming from. Mind you, this did not involve me just stepping up on a step stool. Oh no….DH said that did not get my smeller close enough to the boxes. This involved me using the step stool to step up on top of my stool I sit on at my work bench so that I had to crane my neck and back sideways just to stick my nose an inch from the receptacle. You getting this? Did I tell you I'm 5'10" tall? After about the eighth box, I finally hit the jackpot and DH unhooked the wires leading to that box. After another hour of me going back downstairs and smelling again (getting close to hyperventilating by this point :-), we finally felt comfortable enough to go to bed. It was nearly midnight. Not sure if the electrical short was due to the lightning strike or not, but my workshop is still in disarray with open electrical boxes everywhere.

But we aren’t done yet….yesterday as I was cleaning house, I kept hearing Izzy barking. Not really like her to bark for no reason, so I called her upstairs and asked her what she was barking at. You know, like she was actually going to answer me. I just got the “I’m busy, what do you want, Mother?” look, before she ran back down stairs and continued barking. I went back to cleaning, but she just kept barking so I went downstairs to investigate and asked her to show me what she was barking at. Which of course she did! We walked around the corner, and there cornered and coiled under a lovely hot pink Adirondack chair (you didn’t know they came in hot pink, did you!) sat a very unhappy snake. Let me just say that I am not a snake person; I really don't like snakes. And not being a snake person I cannot identify a poisonous snake from a harmless snake. All I knew was that was a really ticked off snake. And it was not a little snake. I put Izzy in her crate, got a broom, carefully moved the chair, and tried to sweep the snake away. This only ticked it off more as it kept attacking my broom. I kept swiping at it with the broom until it took cover under my giant pot of impatiens. No fair….I couldn’t swipe at it there, but it could still stare at me with an evil little look on its slimy little face. So I did what any sane woman would do. I called my DH. I was quite certain he could help me from all the way across town, ya know. He got his resident snake expert on the line who had me describe the snake. In the meantime, the little booger had slithered out from under the pot and was trying to climb up into my hammock, so I flipped the hammock, really pissing it off. The snake expert decided from my descriptions that it was not a poisonous snake, but I still wanted it outta there so I kept sweeping at it and finally got it to head off on its merry little way off into the woods beside the house. Victory was mine!

Oh, but wait! I forgot about the possums! Tuesday when DH and the girls got home from school, one little baby possum had taken up residence in our recycle bin under the front porch (which is on the second floor). Okay, cute little thing in its own ugly little way. We left him alone. Next morning when the girls and I headed out to school, he had apparently recruited a friend as there were two little baby possums in our recycle bin. Hmm…..Mama Possum must be moving them there. Next morning, still two little baby possums. Livvie said, “Oh Mama! They’re sooooo cute! But they're soooo stinky!” And stink they did. When I got to work, I conferred with my resident animal expert, my assistant Angie, who said to leave them alone and the mama would come back for them. Well by Friday morning, Mama Possum had not come back and the little rodents were looking a little hungry and really stinking up the place. DH decided the best course of action was to dump them out into the flower bed and see if they could fend for themselves. One rambled off; the other looked a little shell-shocked. Late in the day, the other still looked shell-shocked. I think you get the picture here.

So after a parade with a goose leading two bulls, a lightning strike, an electrical short, snake warfare and possum wrangling, a girls’ night out with Trace Adkins was just what the good doctor ordered. Awesome venue, (St. Augustine Amphitheatre), awesome seats, super awesome show. That’s Deb, me, KT and Lynn in the first picture (we got there early!); two great promo shots of Trace; and our view of the stage in the last. I’m ready for a really boring week this week. Hope you have a great one!

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Aimee Wheaton's Little Whimsies

Here's another great Etsy find for you. In my ever growing desire to create with paper and paint, I stumbled across another mixed media artist I really like. Aimee Wheaton has done the cutest little series of “Little Whimsies”, little 5 x 5” pieces of fun little art. Yes, I realize I used the word “little” four times in that sentence. Whoops! There it is again. Little! Anywho, these are too cute. Aimee’s background is in graphic design and fine art. She has a two year degree in commercial art from Florida Metropolitan University and a BA in Fine Art with a minor in Graphic Design from SUNY Plattsburgh. She’s worked in commercial design, newsletter publishing and created her own business doing graphic design. Now she says, “I worked in the graphic design field for 14 years, but I've discovered I'm more creative artist than business artist. So, I'm a graphic designer in a past life that is getting to be a little girl and paint again. I've rediscovered my love for painting and I'm not looking back!” She still has a few of the Little Whimsies originals left and has now also started selling prints of the originals. Very fun, very affordable! Visit her website here. Through her website you can visit her Etsy store, her CafĂ© Press shop, her blog and more.

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Happy Anniversary to DH and Me!

Today is my 13th wedding anniversary! We definitely had a bit of an adjustment this year as we aren’t spending Memorial Day week in Boca Grande. Since I was 12 years old, my family has spent every Memorial Day Weekend in Boca Grande, but now that we have little ones in school, DH and I have to change our schedule a bit! DH and I got married in Boca Grande in 1995. Small wedding in a tiny little 150-year-old church, just immediate family and about 30 close friends. My Nana made my dress; about three weeks before the wedding, it was still a pile of fabric sitting in her sewing room, but I knew she’d get it done, and she did, in about 10 days. So about 10 days before the wedding, she had all her friends over and had me model it for them. Everyone ooohh-ed and aahhh-ed, particularly at all the lace sewn into the bodice and at the 88 buttons that ran up the back (DH was not thrilled about those :-). When I went back to Nana’s room and took it off, Nana’s dog Penny decided to christen it for us. Literally! It seems that Nana had spent so much time with that dress the previous 10 days that Penny felt she didn’t spend enough time with her, so she let Nana know exactly how she felt about that dress. Nana hit the roof! I was amazingly calm. “Nana, it’s okay, we’ll take it to the cleaners; it will come out,” I said as Nana uttered a slew of four-letter words at Penny as she chased her under the bed. To this day, two cleanings later, there’s still a slight stain in the underlining of the train. At least it was in the lining!

We had more excitement at the wedding itself. The highlight was DH calling “Time Out” in the middle of the ceremony, literally holding up the football Time Out signal because the pastor went a little over board on the number of lines she gave him at once. During the rehearsal the night before, she was doing very short phrases, so DH told her he thought he could handle a little more. Apparently not! He brought the house down with his, “Um, Time Out! We gotta run through that one again!” After the ceremony, we rang the church bell as tradition called for, hopped in our lovely decorated golf cart and cruised down Banyan Street, waving to all the guests lining the street on the way to the community center for the reception. After the reception, half the guests ended up skinny dipping in the gulf…it was quite a party. This picture was a candid taken at the reception. Have no clue who DH is yelling at, but it’s one of my favorite pictures.

Free Bling Friday Number 44!

It's time for Free Bling Friday! Congratulations to Free Bling Friday Number 43 winner, Joanna M. from Locust, NC. "Abalone Gems" has been one of my biggest sellers, so I thought I'd put a pair up for grabs here. These are a beautiful combination of abalone, creamy taupe freshwater button pearls and lt. Colorado topaz Swarovski crystals, all wrapped up with 14K gold-filled accents. They are truly stunning. They hang nearly 2" in length. To be eligible to win this pair, simply email me by midnight Thursday, June 5, with the subject line FREE BLING and include where you're from. The next winner will be drawn Friday, June 6. Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Click here to sign up for free weekly email reminders. Click here for the Happy Shack Designs website!

Gaining the Confidence of Children

Sarah and I made this collage together Sunday afternoon. DH and I have been trying to find time to sit down with the girls individually for some quality one-on-one time, since we both bring something a little different to the interactions. While Sarah and I were making this, DH and Olivia were playing with race cars. I helped Sarah cut out the hearts here, but she did everything else herself. When I got home from work Monday afternoon, what do you think was the first thing she asked me? “Mama, can we go downstairs and create another art project together?”

Now I just need to get my butt motivated and unafraid like they are! That’s what I think I’m learning most from my girls. Rarely do they doubt themselves. They’ll come downstairs dressed in the most, um, we’ll keep it simple at “non-matching”, outfit they can come up with and say, “Mama! Don't I look fabulous!?” Fabulous is their favorite new word since I use it on them regularly. They draw pictures with abandon, of course proclaiming every single one art wall or 'fridge worthy. I need a little dose of that confidence. Roni started a Yahoo group for our Fat Book swap and I’ve been reading some of the conversations and feeling like I may have gotten in over my head! After reading some of the exchanges about glazes and using up stashes today, I had to confess to the group that I was the most beginner of beginners. I just wanted to prepare them for the elementary pieces that would be traveling their way from the Happy Shack! Hmmm….maybe I just should have my girls help me design them? I’m off to the Blue Crab Festival tomorrow and then I’ll get back to my book entries next week. Pray for good weather this weekend!

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Remember Your Blessings

Whenever I've had a tough day at the office and the grumpies come around, thankfully when I get home, God finds a way to remind me of my blessings and my grumpiness quickly fades. Most days, it’s my girls that make all my troubles melt away, but today was a little different since I got home before everyone else. A rarity! DH and the girls went to Papa’s for dinner, so about 6pm I was standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes and looking out the kitchen window at the river when God gave me my blessing for the day. I was treated to a spectacular dolphin show nothing short of Sea World. We get dolphins regularly so I know I’m spoiled there, but this pod was particularly rambunctious. Several were literally jumping completely out of the water showing off. Another pair was jumping and diving in nice little arcs. Of course, I can’t take credit for this first picture, but it gives you the idea! In order to get my camera, I first had to tear myself away from the show, run up one flight of stairs to get the camera of my desk, then run down two flights of stairs and out 50 yards to the dock to catch a few shots…without my telephoto lens and with Isabelle nipping at my heels in excitement. Even though they had finished their show by the time I got out to the dock, they were still hanging around, so I snapped a few shots for you anyway. You can see a couple dorsal fins in this second shot right about the middle of the picture. Click on the photo to enlarge it and you can see them better.

And one more quick note about remembering your blessings. If you are not familiar with Randy Pausch and his “last lecture”, I really encourage you to check it out. Randy is a professor at Carnegie Mellon who is dying of pancreatic cancer, yet the way he’s chosen to deal with his impending death is so incredibly inspiring that his last lecture has been viewed millions of times on YouTube and has even been turned into a book. When I viewed it, I managed to keep the tears at bay until the very end. Click here to see a shortened version of the lecture Oprah Winfrey asked him to present on her show; it's about 12 minutes here (once you get to the video, click the play button on the bottom, middle left of the screen right above "channels"). And then click here for his website and blog where you can see the full 76-minute lecture and follow his progress. I promise you will be moved and inspired.

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Gettin' Ready to Get Crabby...

I never got around to working any further on my first Fat Book Swap entry this weekend. In my excitement to get started, I apparently had a momentary lapse of reason. My DH reminded me that I have not one but TWO shows in the next seven days. I’m doing a private trunk show Wednesday night and then participating in the Blue Crab Festival Memorial Day weekend in Palatka. This will be my first time showing at the Blue Crab Festival--which reportedly draws more than 200,000 people over the three-day weekend--and my first time doing a three-day show, so I thought I might better beef up my inventory! I have a large collection of beads I’ve been hoarding, so I’ve decided to turn some of them into simple, casual pendants. With gas nearing $4.00 a gallon, I know I’d have a hard time splurging on one of my Showstopper pieces right now, so I thought I’d add some more affordable pieces to my line. Here’s a sample! Just one gorgeous bead jazzed up with sterling silver wire and Swarovski crystals, all wrapped up with a leather cord. Whatcha think?

And BTW, I'm sure I'm a little behind the curve on this, but the guy who invented the new peel back resealable Oreo bag? Genius! My morning fix has become much easier! Like this post? Click here to sign up for free weekly email reminders. Click here for the Happy Shack Designs website.

Answered Prayers

A few months ago, I told you about my friend Melody and her family’s quest for another child. I can now report that all the prayers were answered! Here’s a note from Mel:

“I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support while we were struggling to have another baby. Our prayers were answered, and we have added a new member to our family! Her name is Marina Kathleen and she was born May 6 at 8 lbs 0 oz and 20 inches long. She has a head full of jet black hair with dark brown eyes. She is half Puerto Rican and half Caucasian, so she has the most beautiful skin! Wyatt and Nathan adore her! Wyatt keeps saying she is his new best friend and that God sent her to us. He is certainly right on the latter. She is settling in nicely. Please say a little prayer for her birth mother; she is a hero for placing this baby in our arms." ~ Mike, Melody, Wyatt, Nathan and Marina

I hope whatever you are dreaming for comes true soon.

Fat Books and Skinny Time

Getting started on my first Fat Book Swap entry! Our overall theme for the 10 entries is women, but we have sub-themes for each of the entries. The first two are “bombshells” and “classic writers” (my contribution, go figure!), both due June 17. I’m creating each of the 10 4” x 4” pieces centered around a faux postage stamp, and this is the stamp I created for the first one. The bombshell I chose, in case you don’t recognize her in this dramatic “Kiss me, you fool!” pose, is Lana Turner. Cool picture, huh!?! I’m guessing it’s a piece of a movie poster, but not sure which movie. Notice my post amount? $8.00? Well, guess how many times Lana was married! Eight! Twice to the same man! The longest marriage was four years, the shortest, less than one year. Busy woman! We have to include a quote in each piece as well, so the quote I selected also goes along with her eight husbands. I’ll save that for you until I show you the completed piece. Hope to get it done on my day off Friday!

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks around here. I’ve been working on ways to find more time, so we’ll see if any of them pan out in the coming weeks. It’s all about finding balance, which I’ve yet to find with all the things on my plate. I know some of it is self-imposed, but a girl’s gotta find time to do the things she loves to do along with the things she must do, doesn’t she? The “love to do’s” are the self-imposed pieces; the “must do’s” put Cheerios in the pantry. Now if I could just find a way for the “love to do’s” to put Cheerios in the pantry, I could probably also solve all the world’s problems. You think? The girls and I sat on the back porch swing for a while after dinner tonight, just soaking up the evening sunshine and enjoying the breeze while taking calls from our adoring fans on Livvie’s Little Mermaid phone. That doesn’t put Cheerios in the pantry, but it sure is good for the soul.

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Orators and Artists Emerging

One of the most enjoyable things about raising twins is seeing their different personalities and skills develop. Sarah is very strong verbally. She’s already reading small words and her spoken conversations are very advanced, and often a good reminder that parents must always be mindful of what they say around the children. A recent example (here with an adorable picture of the girls and Logan, my friend Wyanne’s daughter), the girls and I are getting in the van to go to Logan’s birthday party when Sarah and I have this conversation:

Sarah: Mommy, Daddy isn’t going with us? (as we are sitting at the end of the driveway waiting to pull out)

Mommy: No, honey. Daddy’s going to stay home and do some things around the house.

Sarah, in a very serious tone: Oh, okay, and then he’s going to drive nails in his feet? (you’ll understand that in a minute, just try not to flinch from the pain right now)

Mommy: Oh, my, I don’t know! Let’s ask him! (trying not to laugh out loud as I put the Chevy in reverse and call to DH). Daddy, Sarah has something she’d like to ask you before we leave!

Sarah: Daddy, are you staying home because you have to drive nails in your feet?

Daddy: (like me, trying not to laugh). Um, well yes, Sarah, I guess I am.

Sarah: Well, be careful Daddy. That’s probably going to hurt and it might bleed so you better go get some bandaids first.

From the mouths of babes….see, whenever DH doesn’t want to go somewhere--i.e. the mall, the movies to see a chick flick, or (totally beyond me) the Trace Adkins concert--his stock reply is “I’d rather stay home and drive a nail in my foot.” Where he got this phrase, I have no clue, but he’s used it at least monthly in the sixteen years we’ve been together. I suspect it comes from the same place as “wrapped up tighter than Dick’s hatband” and “curl my tail and call me a pig!”, both phrases Sarah now uses regularly, along with “dip me in axle grease and call me slick!”, the immortal words of Tow Mater.

Olivia, on the other hand, is definitely my little budding artist. She is particularly partial to watercolors. Though she’ll take a bucket of markers to a coloring book and have several fully colored masterpieces in no time flat. Of all her recent paintings, I like this one the most. I love how she did the little squiggles coming out from the heart. Inspiring, isn’t it? Wyanne's been using some of Logan’s art and writings in her pieces and they are coming out very cool. I have a milk crate in my workshop where I deposit my girls’ art every day (a very full milk crate, now that I think about it); I may need to start going back through that stack looking for more inspiration!

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Free Bling Friday Number 43!

It's time for Free Bling Friday! Congratulations to Free Bling Friday Number 42 winner, Regina R. from Central Iowa. I decided to let "Cleo" go this week! She has cute little two-toned lampwork beads combined with green/gold Czech and Swarovski crystals and 22K gold vermeil accents hanging on 14K gold-filled French wires. They hang approximately 1 1/4" in length. To be eligible to win this pair, simply email me by midnight Thursday, May 22, with the subject line FREE BLING and include where you're from. The next winner will be drawn Friday, May 23. Don't want to miss a single Free Bling Friday? Click here to sign up for free weekly email reminders. Click here for the Happy Shack Designs website!

Hoping the Apple Hasn't Fallen Fall from the Tree

I’ve been living one of those “circle of life” scenarios for the past few months. My dad is the current president of the chamber of commerce in Wellington, Florida, a community just west of West Palm Beach proper. That’s Dad with my redheads and my sister Kim. Dad’s wife Kathy was Wellington’s first mayor (we called him the First Man while Kathy was in office). For the last several months Dad and Kathy have been leading the charge to bring a campus of Palm Beach Community College to Wellington. In that effort, they’ve been working very closely with PBCC’s college president, Dr. Dennis Gallon. This is where the “circle of life” thing comes in. Dr. Gallon is my former campus president and a very dear friend. We met when I first started working for the college in the early nineties. I was walking down the stairwell; he was walking up. I was carrying a Florida State Seminoles mug; he was carrying a Florida Gators mug. Though football arch-rivals and more than 20 years apart in age, we became instant friends. He left my college about ten years ago to take the presidency at Palm Beach, but we’ve stayed in close contact ever since. So with this effort, my former campus president and very dear friend is now working very closely with my father! Small world, huh? A recent editorial about the effort apparently struck a nerve with my dad and he wrote a reply. I wanted to share it with you here because I was so very proud of him when I read it. I am that “baby girl” he had at 20 he refers to, and he usually tells everyone we were kids together—he was just taller. :-)

“Editor and Village Council ~ Please allow this letter to serve as a response to the recent letter by Steve Haughn. If memory serves me, Steve worked for Palm Beach Atlantic (PBA) at one time, and his son, who turned out to be a great guy and works for the Village, was lucky enough to attend and graduate from PBA and did not have to attend a “school of last resort” as Steve categorized Palm Beach Community College (PBCC). Steve stated that many who attend PBCC do so because of academics or finances. Is that bad? People with less than stellar grades and low incomes should not have a shot at an education? Let me tell you just how important what Steve calls a “school of last resort” can really be to people.

When I grew up in Miami, college was never an option to me. I had no family to support that concept. I always had trouble in school. I failed and had to repeat 7th grade and, as a result, was called one of the “left behind kids”. Anyone who has lived through that as a kid will remember the stigma. I almost did not finish high school for both academic and financial reasons. At 20 I was married with a baby girl, and I sold auto parts at Sears and parked cars at night to make a living. At 25, still selling auto parts and parking cars, I finally realized how limited my life was going to be without an education. I started nights and weekends at one of those “schools of last resort” named Miami Dade Junior College, now Miami Dade College. They made it both affordable and flexible, and in two years of working full time and taking a full time load of classes, I graduated with my AA degree in business with a 4.0 GPA. This from the stupid kid who had to repeat the 7th grade. Talk about having help in turning your life around. I went on to FAU for my BA in Business, still working full time, and in another 18 months, I had a four year college education and a BA in business. That gave me the confidence I never had growing up, confidence that I could really do something with my life. And here I am, living in a place as wonderful as Wellington, with two very successful grown daughters that I could afford to send to major universities--Kelly, who went to FSU and ended up being one of Bobby Bowden's public relations people before moving on to become a community college administrator and adjunct English instructor, and Kim, who went to UF and is a highly respected occupational therapist working with burn victims in Washington, DC. And I owe it all to what Steve refers to as a “school of last resort”. That is why this PBCC in Wellington effort is so important to me. I do not want to see any left behind kids stay left behind ~ Mike Nelson, Wellington” You go, Dad!

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Scoutie Girl Indie Goodness Giveaway

Time to get in on the Scoutie Girl Indie Goodness Giveaway! My friend Jan over at Scoutie Girl has amassed donations from 24 independent artists and designers (including me!) to give away to one lucky winner. The contest runs through May 14, so get over there and get your name in the hat soon. You can actually enter 24 times by visiting the websites of each of the 24 independent artists and designers who donated items to the giveaway! Don't miss out!

Eye of the Beholder

Ladybird Johnson did it right. Wasn’t she the First Lady who started the roadside wildflower program? Not sure if these were intentional or just nature’s gift of beautiful pink weeds, but there are thousands of them blooming along part of my ride home from work. I’ve been meaning to take my camera with me and stop one afternoon to capture them. Easier said than done! First, there is really no place to pull over on this stretch of Heckscher Drive (between the Zoo and the tank farms for those of you in Jacksonville). So I hopped the curb of the center median (in my, you know, four-wheel drive Chevy minivan) and then dashed across the street. Next was the spectacle that probably really slowed traffic. Picture a tall blonde woman in khaki pants, platform sandals and hot pink sweater basically laying down with her camera in the weeds on the side of the road at 5:30pm on a Tuesday. At least I partially blended in with the flowers! I’m guessing that if a police officer had happened by, he probably would have stopped and made me move along. Oh well, makes life a little more interesting, doesn’t it? I was bummed the bright orange ones had starting dying out by the time I was able to stop. Maybe next time!

I've signed on for two projects that are going to keep me very busy in the weeks to come (not that I'm not busy enough as it is...). Next week, I'm part of the Scoutie Girl Great Giveaway, to be unvieled on Tuesday. Jan's giving away lots of great goodies from 24 independent artists and designers like me, so that will hopefully keep me busy on the jewelry front. I'll send you the link when it's up so you can enter! I've also signed on to participate in a Fat Book swap. What the heck is a Fat Book Swap, you ask!?!? I didn't know either until I read about it, and then it just sounded like a fun way to get me into working with collage and mixed media a little more. Over the next five months, nine other women and I will all be contributing two pieces a month to the "book", based around a central theme. In the end, the coordinator will send us all the full 100-page books created by our group efforts. Sounds fun, huh? The first two entries are due June 17, so I'll be getting busy on those. I have to make 10 copies of each piece! Original copies, not xerox! But they are each only 4" x 4" and I plan to incorporate my faux postage ideas so I think it'll be doable. Though I am probably the rookie of the group! I'll post each of my entries here so stay tuned!

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I Guess It Was Inevitable

Well, I’ve been wondering when this was going to happen! I’ve finally gotten “tagged”, which I guess is a good thing as it means random people are reading my blog! Seems in blogland, bloggers play this little game of tag in which you have to tell a little something about yourself (of course, not like you’ve ever shared anything about yourself on your blog before…hmm….). I am the official “tag-ee” of Allmykids123. Good thing I have a good stat tracker on my website or I would never known that! So now I’m supposed to tell you six totally random, unknown facts about me. I’ll do my best! I figured a couple of old pictures would be appropriate. I think you will see a rather big resemblance to the two little redheads you've met here. And here are the rules I’m supposed to follow…..
  • 1. Link back to the person that tagged you.
  • 2. Post these rules on your blog.
  • 3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.
  • 4. Tag six people at the end of your entry.

Okay, you ready for some stuff from the Kelly tree of useless knowledge?

1. Let’s see, my three favorite television shows are Lost, Antiques Roadshow and What Not to Wear, in no particular order. A very strange combination, I realize.

2. Oh, here’s a fun one. I recently learned I have a “hot chili pepper” rating on RateYourProfessors.com. That was entertaining to learn.

3. Boring, but I was born in Coral Gables, Florida, and have lived my entire life in the Sunshine State, one of the few people living in this state who can still say that! I've lived in Miami, St. Petersburg, Orange Park, Tallahassee and Jacksonville.

4. I was quite the tomboy growing up. My dad raced motorcycles (and boats, but that’s another story) and when I was six years old, I was riding with my dad on his bike after a race, and I grabbed the throttle. We did a wheelie all the way through the pits. At that point, my dad decided I was no longer allowed to ride on the gas tank of his bike. :-)

5. Along that note, I’ve broken just about all my toes, six out of ten fingers, one arm, one wrist, and one shin, have torn several tendons and have had too many sprains and fractures to recall. I've been involved in athletics all my life, but I also tend to be a little klutzy. Though I finally have an excuse. I'm truly a dizzy blonde. I have a medically diagnosed balance disorder!

6. I’ve met some very cool people in this little blogging adventure I started last year, and I hope they are still my friends after I tag them. :-) I can’t blame them if they don’t want to play, but I’ll give it a shot! I'm tagging...Wyanne, Carmen, Robin, e beck, Daisy Janie, and Roni. Go check out their blogs!

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