Party like it's 1999, er....2010!

Happy New Years!

I wish Everyone a Safe, Warm and Happy New Years Eve!

No, this little passed out doggie isn't one of mine! (but I do have a little one that looks just like her! LOL!)

A friend sent this photo to me in an email about the evil effects of alcohol!

I plan on staying in tonight and eating bad for me goodies and drinking cheap wine!

Hopefully that won't be me passed out on the couch!

I might go over my "resolutions" list and make some revisions. But basically it's to TRY to be more healthy in regards to my eating habits (starting tomorrow), and getting more exercise ... me and Blue need to plan a walking regimen and we will start right away (as soon as the snow is off the sidewalks) and I plan on being more organized and "tidier". But my BIG one is to put my art on the top of my "to-do" list and to get my Etsy shop up and running. So there!

I have some more stuff on the list, like paying down bills and there's one on there about finishing one project before starting another (but I can tell you right now that I'm crossing that one OFF! - never gonna happen! LOL!) and a few other things that I don't remember what they were (not a good sign!) Anyway, Good Luck with YOUR resolutions (if you do that sort of thing)

I might watch Ryan Seacrest and the Ball Drop, but I kinda doubt it, I want to get a early fresh start in the morning on the New Year.

I'll be careful not to have TOO much wine so that I don't have a headache in the AM (and also I don't want to drink and blog! LOL!) I remember in younger years when I had more of a "social" life and wasn't such a hermit, I was careful not to drink and dial! Thank goodness there were no cell phones that took pics back then...It would not have been pretty! So, take care friends and have a Wonderful New Year!

She's Here! She's Here!

Rachelle arrived today! She was delivered to my work address and I've been bugging the girls up in the office everyday about the mail! So this afternoon they called back to me over the intercom that the "mail" was here! I hurried up to the front office and everyone gathered around. (I work at a veterinarian clinic where I run the boarding kennels in the back) and they laughed at my excitement! I carefully unwrapped her and was almost squealing with happiness! Everyone oh'd and ah'd over her! A few thought she was a little bit scary but mostly everyone just said how cool she was. The Doc said he thought she looked like someone out of a Tim Burton movie. I replied "I KNOW! ISN'T SHE BEAUTIFUL! I practically "skipped" back to my boarding area! I'm SO HAPPY!
Thank you so much Colleen! You ARE the sweetest!

...I have now carried her all over my home trying to find the perfect spot for her. Right now she is sitting on the shelf in the kitchen above the sink where she can greet me in the morning when I come down for my coffee!

Julie & Julia

My niece Lily gave me the DVD of the movie "Julie & Julia" for Christmas. ( We were supposed to see it at the theater together but we both got too busy to make it happen.)
So I watched it this weekend and I LOVE it! Definitely a Thumbs-UP!
It even made me think about cooking something! (I never really cook but I am THINKING about it, LOL!). I am a big fan of Meryl Streep of course, but what really got to me was everything in the background! It was so French!
I had to play it again just to pause it to look at the colors, the walls, the floors,the decorating!
It was just so visually beautiful! I wanted to live in all the rooms! I loved the exteriors. the shop fronts....and the movie itself was very good.
Do other people do that too? Sit and drool over the decor of houses?
I bought both "Somethings Gotta Give" and "A Good Year" because well, yes I actually liked these movies but also because of the backgrounds, the decorating, the homes.
Anyway, now I want to go to France all the more!

It was a Wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Eve was spent at my step-mothers. It's become a tradition. She always has me and my sister and my sister's family over for the Holiday. Her husband has his kids and grand-kids over and then of course my step-grandfather comes too. My father passed away 15 years ago and my step-grandmother right after that. This year we lost my step-aunt to ovarian cancer. All this loss has created a "different" kind of family unit. We all joke about how it's like living in a TV movie. But it works, our family maybe small but at least we have each other!

Then for Christmas, I spent the morning and afternoon with my sister at her home in front of the fireplace eating cookies and opening gifts. Then we had a nice Christmas meal before Lily, my youngest niece and I headed out to take care of the boarding animals at the clinic I work at. It had been raining in the morning but tempertures had really dropped and it was blowing and snowing! Thank Goodness for Lily's help! We were able to take care of the dogs in record time.

I had left Blue, Jimmy and Ralphie there for the day so I'm sure it was a real sight to see the 5 of us packed in my little VW Bug crunching and wobbling through the blowing snow. When I got to my house, we found the iron front screen-door frozen shut! We had to go around the house to the back and the gate was frozen too! Luckily Lily was able to get over the gate (with a boost from me) and get in the back door and go through the house and let me and the "boys" inside. We were freezing! Once we got everyone settled, Lily and I headed out again and back to her house where we watched the movie "The Holiday" and ate cherry pie!

Everyone had a great Christmas and Santa brought the girls pretty much what they asked for and a few little things they didn't. I received some wonderful gifts. Some DVD's I've been wanting and some gift certificates to my favorite stores (those are always good! LOL!) and my sister gave me a couple of framed old photos that she had gotten copied of us and our parents... nice but kinda sad. Maggie, my middle niece gave my this beautiful framed poster of illustrated black cats making different expressions in French! Ha! Ha! How could I not LOVE that! Two of my loves! Black cats and anything French! Then my last gift of the Christmas day was from Grace, my oldest niece. It was a framed pencil drawing of BLUE! She had drawn it herself! She's so talented (she's going to Art School in Chicago) well, that made me just burst into tears! I've posted a photo of it for all to see! I love how she captured the expression in his eyes!

What a Wonderful Christmas I had! I hope everyone else enjoyed a great Christmas surrounded by family too.

The Night Before The Night Before Xmas!

So, tomorrow night is Christmas Eve! So what am I doing tonight? Why making Christmas gifts of course! LOL! (I laugh so that I don't cry!) OMG! Some people are SO hard to buy for!
I finally have gotten everyone all their gifts except for the hardest, my sister! When she sees something she wants/needs, she buys it. Not that she buys much for herself, she usually just buys for her girls or the house or flowers. I have already given her gift certificates for flowers in the past. So I really didn't want to do that again. She doesn't like people to buy her clothes. She only wants what she wants for her house (I'm like that too.) So, I have gotten her a few things but I feel like it's not enough. So I decided she needed "fairy houses" for her fairy garden and that's what I've been finishing up tonight...I'm really tired and kinda woozy from the "sealer" fumes but here's a pic of them.... who knows if she will like them or not!?

Hopefully her "Garden Fairies" will!

My MOST Wonderful Christmas Gift!

I know that a lot of people love Christmas, and while it definitely has some wonderful happy moments, moments spent with family and friends, There are times when I find myself feeling a bit blue. At those times I get mad at myself because I am fortunate to have my sister and her husband and my 3 wonderful nieces. I have a warm home and a job that I like and I am surrounded by my furry "kids". I am healthy and I am able to "create" in my spare time. There are so many people in the world that are having such a difficult time. I'm so lucky that I have some WONDERFUL friends, some of who I have never actually met! These are people that I "visit" through our blogs. I love to escape into their worlds and marvel at their creations. I am so happy to be able to chat with such talented artists! I love that I am able to talk with others who understand the need to paint, make dolls, plant flowers and love their pets.

But try as I might, there are still those days when a sadness settles over me. Today was one of those days. The sky is heavy with the coming snow, I'm feeling overwhelmed with everything I need to get accomplished for the coming holidays and to be honest, I was remembering people in my life that have passed on and who I miss terribly.

SO! it's been a real bummer kind of day and then Colleen leaves me a comment on my last post to go to her blog.

OMG! My eyes filled with eyes and my head was swimming with happiness! On her blog http://loopyboopy.blogspot.com/ was an unbelievable post about ME! Me and my blog and my dog Blue and how we are friends via blogs and in the Spirit of Giving she is giving me this fantastic doll named Rachelle! I can NOT believe her kindness! She knows that I think that she is the God-dess of all doll makers! I have told her that I bow to her greatness! I am constantly amazed at every doll she has created. I love how her mind works (and that it has a bit of a twist! LOL!) There are angels on earth! She was there to pull my spirit up when I really needed it. And she is giving me a gift that I will cherish and look upon everyday and think of the moment that MADE this holiday for me. I'M SO HAPPY!

A Christmas Doll from 2006!

I haven't created anything lately (except a mess) around here! I'm so busy at the "day" job this time of year. I have promised myself that I will start right after the Holiday Season and finally get my Etsy shop up and running. I made this Raggedy Anne doll for my niece Maggie three years ago. She is made of muslin that I painted and sanded and painted again. I sewed each piece of yarn to her little head and created her dress and petticoat. I have to admit that it took me several weekends to get her done. I think that she measured just under 2 feet long. She was definitely a learning experience!

I learned that she took too long to make for her to be profitable!

I also think that she is just too big!

I personally would rather have something smaller.

Something that could maybe sit on a shelf?

Anyway Maggie loved her and that is all that really mattered. So, very soon I am going to begin making smaller dolls and cat dolls for my shop. I also plan to do some more collage paintings and also sell some of my "vintage" finds (if I can part with them LOL!)

SO THERE - I've put it out there! Now I have to get going and DO IT!