Apache Blessing for you

I received this from a friend and wanted to share it -

May the sun bring you new energy by day,

May the moon softly restore you by night,

May the rain wash away your worries,

May the breeze blow new strength into your being,

May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.

(Apache blessing for the New Year)

Calendars for 2010

I'm still in Texas!  Ashley had a little housewarming party tonight and a few of her friends came over.  We grilled chicken outside on her new BBQ grill that we gave her for Christmas.  Tomorrow we'll be finding a place to watch the Steelers ... hopefully WIN!  We will be leaving here on Monday headed home and will hopefully take a slower route back to NC!  We are thinking about going up to Dallas and seeing some of our friends before hauling a*s*s back to NC.  Just have to get home by the weekend to celebrate Christmas with my family there.

I've made several calendars this year for family and friends.  Sonny made a calendar stand for them.  Here are a couple of the January calendars that I gave to Melinda and Katrina.

Occasions Mini Catalog and Sale-a-Bration Catalog

There has been a delay mailing out the Sale-A-Bration brochures and Occasions Mini Catalogs from Stampin' Up. All of the Sale-A-Bration brochures have now mailed, and the rest of the Occasions Mini Catalogs should mail by the end of this week.   Because of this delay, you are able to view the catalogs NOW at the Stampin' Up Customer site HERE.

Start making your list and give me a call!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hope you are enjoying your New Year's Eve celebration! We drove to Austin today, stopping in New Braunfels first at the Outlet Malls! Sonny was a good sport - he took his book and sat in the car and read while Ashley and I popped in and out of a few stores. Surprisingly, we only bought a couple of things. But, Ashley did find a great TV armoire piece that she will probably go back and buy. I just love spending other people's money!! I think I would be a great personal shopper.

Tonight we went to a Draft House movie theatre and saw Sherlock Holmes. Sonny and Ashley loved it. It was ok to me .... just not my type of movie. The theatre was neat though. Each row of seats has a table in front of it. Menus, order cards and pencils are placed on the table. A waiter will come by to take your order (beer, hamburger, appetizers, wine, etc.) Throughout the film you can order food and drinks. About 30 minutes prior to the film ending the server will come by and do “last call”, at which point they will find out if you would like any final items before closing your tab out.

So now we are waiting for the ball to drop on Times Square! Ashley called it "Old Fogey New Years!"

However you celebrate, enjoy and be safe!!

Celebrate with SALE-A-BRATION!

SALE-A-BRATION 2010!!

Available January 5-March 31, 2010!

Customers:   Receive a free Sale-A-Bration product for every $50 purchase (before tax and shipping).

Hostesses:   Receive a free Sale-A-Bration product for every $300 in workshop sales, in addition to our regular hostess benefits.

Recruits:   Choose any retail stamp set (valued up to $47.95) from the current catalogs when signing up during the promotion.   Plus, get 15 percent off your Starter Kit (Standard or Digital+)!

All Sale-A-Bration products (except the Scallop Trim Border punch) are exclusive to this promotion and will never be offered again. The Scallop Trim Border punch will be available for sale in the 2010-2011 Idea Book & Catalog, but now is your chance to get it free!
 S

Inking a folder and going to the movies!

Here's a video  from Gina K. on inking a Cuttlebug folder.  I sometimes have to review these techniques so I thought you might like to also!

It's been raining all day and cold!!  I don't think it got about 45 degrees today.  And, I heard it snowed again in Dallas - none here in San Antonio though!  But tomorrow is supposed to get up to 60 and Thursday to 70!!  Gotta love it!

We took advantage of the dreary day and went to the movies when Ashley got off work.  We saw It's Complicated.  It was just good entertainment.  Sonny went with us and had a few laughs although, truthfully, it was more of a chick flick!  With Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin in a romantic triangle, you really don't know who Streep will end up with in the end.  Alec Baldwin has a "full moon" scene that is hilarious!!

Christmas on the Riverwalk

We got a lot of work done today on getting Ashley's house organized!  She and I started in her office / craft room.  Sonny put up shelves in her closet yesterday so we were able to put all the stuff that was sitting around the room on the shelves.  I lined her stamps up in a loose alpha order as she rolled her eyes at me!  Then I took each set (about 50) and stamped them out on copy paper to put in a notebook so she will know what she has.  Again, another eye roll!  I guess I forget that she is young and probably doesn't forget what she has like I do!!  After getting that room organized, we headed to her den.  We took down the Christmas tree and stored away all the Christmas stuff.  Now, to find a place for that tub.  Then we unpacked a large box of treasures she hadn't unpacked yet.  What treasures we found!  She is a big Beatles fan as well as Curious George.  Every year she get something related to either the Beatles or Curious ... usually from her Aunt Marianne who is able to find the most unique gifts!  In her den, she has one whole wall that has shelving with a window seat in the middle.  I filled 3 of the shelves with Beatles stuff.  Every time I thought I had it all arranged, I'd find something else.  Hopefully, tomorrow we'll finish with the den and the rest of the shelves and I can share a nice neat picture!

We went out to dinner and met up with a friend and colleague of Ashley's and her family.  It was yummy .... Mi Tierra Market Place and Restaurant near the Riverwalk.  The restaurant looked so festive with all the lights and Christmas trees. 

After dinner, we walked around the Riverwalk and had a couple of drinks at Durty Nelly's Sing A Long Irish Pub.  The Riverwalk looked beautiful all lit up also.  It was hard to get good pictures of it though.  Here is a shot of the Alamo with the Christmas tree in front of it.  It was pretty awesome!

Designer Box

Too late to wrap this year's Christmas presents, but you can use this Designer Box to wrap presents all year.  Here's a good solution to making gift boxes for all those odd shaped gifts.

DESIGNER GIFT BOX

Just click in the top left corner to download the instructions.  You have the option to open the file or save the file.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ME TO YOU!

I hope you had a fun filled joyful day today.  Ours was quiet and peaceful.  We just ate, opened presents, ate, watched TV, ate .... you get the picture!  We brought our Christmas tree to Ashley and it looked really nice in her new house!  Here are a few of the special ornaments that are on our tree:

from the National Cathedral in DC

This one is my "most favorite" ornament and always has a special place on my tree. It is a picture of my son when he was in pre-school. I didn't know it when I sent him to school that morning, but he was sick and the picture really shows it! My kids have always kidded me and said I made them go to school even when they were sick and this picture just proves it! Since I don't get to see him often ever, I really love this ornament.

Last night we drove to Austin and had Christmas dinner with my niece and her family, my nephew and his fiance, and my brother in law and his mother.  It was nice to share the time with family that I don't get to see very often.  We gave Melinda's boys the gifts we brought for them and it was so fun to watch them open their presents and get so excited about Santa coming!!  It has been a long time since I have been around young children at Christmas since I don't get to see my grandchildren.  I knitted both the boys scarfs and hats.  Zach wanted orange and Jake wanted red so that's what I did.  We also gave them some Legos and a set of Fisher Price Trio Blocks which were a big hit!  Here are a few pictures I took last night.

Zach with his orange knitted hat and scarf on.

Jake looked like a little elf with his hat and scarf on!

The boys with my nephew, Jack and his fiance, Katrina.

Ashley trying to construct the tower like Zach saw in the picture.

Of course, I had to get on the floor and play with the blocks!

Here are the boys in their Christmas pajamas just after they left the milk and cookies on the hearth for Santa even though Zach said Santa had his own special key to come in the door to leave the presents!

Crafters Twas the Night Before Christmas

*Twas the night before Christmas, I’m glued to the tree.


I’m wondering what Santa brought just for me.

Could it be cardstock or inkpads or lace?

Or some stamps, I said, with a smile on my face.

And that’s when I heard him……

“Hi Santa, ” I said

He replied, “You know….good girls should be in their beds”.

“I know I should Santa,and now I’ve been caught.

But I was just so excited to see what you brought.”

“Well, let’s take a look in this room where you work”.

He shook his head quickly, and left with a jerk.

I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear.

“You’ve got enough crap,

I’ll see you next year!”*