New Blog News! Get in on the Conversation!

O.k. folks, listen up! The Hygienist has a new blog up:
I love smiling! Smilings my favorite!

It's filled with all kinds of great information on daily oral health. I know I know, but hey can't we all brush up on new things? I found out something new...I am sorely lacking in the rinse department, ack! Noted and changed! (feeling rather embarrassed right now)

She'll be discussing all things dental! Well as they pertain to her specialty: hygiene. Got a question, ask away! She's a smart cookie and can probably give you an answer. Do you wonder about this or that, why does the dentist have to do this? or why does my hygienist want to do that? She can explain it. So go on and click away! It's painless and free! When have you ever heard of that at the dentist?

Now we can all have that great smile we've always wanted!

Celebrity Sighting!

Hey! Lookie over there! I see a celebrity! Me! I'm a guest poster (or is the poser???) at Mormon Mommy Wars today! Check me out!

The really odd meme:

What kind of soap do you have in your bathtub/shower right now?
One bar of French milled soap, Thor's. One each of the following: SoftSoap Pink Grapefruit, Oil of Olay Body Ribbons, Oil of Olay Complete Body Wash, Neutrogena Sesame Body Oil, Homemade Body Sugar Slough, Dove Shampoo, Pantene Shampoo, Pantene Conditioner, Head and Shoulders Shampoo, Biolage Shampoo, Biolage Conditioner. yeah, there's a lot of stuff in there right now. (and I didn't even get into the pumice stones, loofas, or shaving stuff.)

What color or design is on your shower curtain?
Master bath has glass doors and a (needs to be thrown out, faded) creme coloured Brussels Lace valance. Guest/kids bath has a bright white chenille curtain and valance with a clear liner.

What would you change about your living room?
If I had carte blanche I would tear the walls out and reconfigure the whole of it to make it more 'large-family-visiting' friendly. However, that isn't an option, so what I would and probably by the end of the year will do is exchange the living room for the family room. Repaint, declutter, and actually polish the floors!

How many plants are in your home?
Sweet Marie. Too many to count. Seriously. I wanted a 'tropical' look so I have plants literally everywhere! That, and I love fresh flowers, so I usually have an arrangement in the family room and also on the table. This week I have 2 very large arrangements due to a special occasion. My house is crazy with plants right now.

Are the dishes in the dishwasher clean or dirty?
Clean. I tend to turn it on late evening if I have a full load.

Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home?
Glass. I can not stand plastic! Wanna terrify me? Force me to drink out of tupperware!

Do you have iced tea, made in a pitcher, right now?
No, I never would. I am not a huge fan of grass (or flower or spice or whatever) flavoured water. e-gads! blech!

Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator?
No, but it kind of sounds good even though I am freezing!

So, what is in your fridge?
Milk, cream, water, and a bottle of Naked Juice and Vitamin Water. A bowl of home made chicken stock (waiting for dinner!), Diet Dr. Pepper and diet Pepsi -both caffeine free-for Thor. Organic Omega3 eggs. Fresh Euro greens. CELERY!!! (lately I am really eating this stuff). Carrots, mixed peppers. Oranges. Goat cheese, sharp cheddar, and snack cheese wedges. Tortillas. Many condiments both sweet and savory. and, unfortunately leftovers.

What's on top of your refrigerator?
Ugh! I just this last week made a promise to myself to rid the top of the fridge of everything...you caught me! A 'lazy Susan', a large jar of cookie cutters, a floral bowl, and those little glass 'stones' to use in floral arrangements.

White or wheat bread?
Currently a really good multigrain with nuts and whole seeds....really good!

Comet or Soft Scrub?
Neither. Bon Ami for light clean up. Ajax with bleach for the sinks that can handle it, CLR for fiberglass on the fiberglass when it needs it. (which btw, I despise! Bring on the tile or rock or stone or cement...anything but fiberglass!)

Is your bed made now?
yikes, no. Can I use laundry day as an excuse??? I'm not doing laundry, but can I use it as an excuse?

Is your closet organized?
For the most part. We have extremely small closets and very little storage, so the closets get really filled. That said, everything has its' place. I organize by colour, sleeve length, season, and use. I use shoe racks. I have tap lights inside the sliding doors so I can see what's in there in the dark! There are baskets for towels. Specific shelf space for storage items, luggage, shelves for purses, you get the idea.

Can you describe your flashlight?
Our (block's) power goes out pretty much any time we have a storm or strong wind. So we have shake lights in the night stands, a rechargeable in the kitchen, another shaker at the entry. A huge 6volt and camp lantern type flash lights in the hall closet. Every car has a shaker. We have a lot of flash lights. (if they go bad we also have candles and kerosene lanterns!)

If you have a garage, is it cluttered?
Holy Holy. Right now it is full of things for a garage sale. (FEB. 22/23 BE THERE! BE THERE! BE THERE!) Hopefully after that, the garage will be amazing!

I would like to tag: the Middle Hip Sis, the Older Hip Sis, Mustang Sally and Susan! hey, I just wanna see what's in your fridge.

Yo! Yur Up!

I was tagged by my friend, Yolanda

10 years ago: I was working as an Interpretor in a k-12 program, a counselor in the Stake Primary, and doing side line art work.

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Finish Stake RS business in preparations for this Sunday's Ward Conference. Write "thank you" notes. Organize my RS briefcase for the weekend.
2. Download photos of the new baby so that I can put a few good ones in a handy-dandy new purse photo holder.
3. Make CrockPot brownies for a Ward Relief Society dinner tonight.
4. Begin to reorganize the art studio in anticipation of getting some (read ANY!) project DONE! : >
5. Make a good dinner for Thor to come home to, slow roasted Bar-B-Que pulled pork.

I enjoy:
My husband, the kids and grandkids, the beach, chocolate, art, museums, music, live theatre, singing, laughing, the smell of a fire in the fire place, hot showers, high thread count sheets, kittens, friends, and I guess I could keep this list going....

What would I do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:
Sad, but a billion ain't what it used to be. So, I would buy each of the kids 25 acres of good land and build them a reasonable "green" house that is self reliant and off the grid. College and Mission funds for the kids and grandkids. Depending on what money would be left after that, Humanitarian Aide, Perpetual Education, and Heifer International could always use my help. (and on a very selfish note, yes, I would build a nice pool and hot tub/spa.)

3 of my bad habits:
1. Eating too much, moving too little.
2. Complaining.
3. Not keeping in touch with people I should.

5 places I have lived:
1. San Diego, CA
2. Hemet, CA
3. Carlsbad, CA
4. Rialto, CA (hahahahahahah! "in the ghetto!")
5. Oceanside, CA

5 jobs that I have had:
1. Bridal/Event Designer
2. Visual Display/Window Designer
3. Cake Decorator/Food Presentation for Events/Bridal
4. Interpreter/Instructional Aide/Mainstream Interpreter/County Liaison for the H/H & Deaf
5. Interior/Faux Artist for Private Clients/Model Homes/Commercial

5 Things people don't know about me:
1. I have small feet.
2. I have a very low tolerance for being patronized.
3. I count things when I am socially uncomfortable and then try to find common multipliers; which is really odd seeing how much I hate math.
4. When I was a little, a neighbor girl got mad at me because my mom had called us home, and I began to leave. To stop me from going, she picked up an old board from the field where we were all playing and hit me in the back with it. It had a nail in it and she literally nailed me in the back. They had to surgically remove the board and nail from against my spine. I still have a tiny scar and if I touch that spot it still hurts quite sharply.
5. I really enjoy making Tamari Balls (photo above of my first three), which again, is weird because I hate math, but feel a lot of "attagirl!" points when I get it just right.

I am tagging newbies to the blogging world in hopes that you will all go give them some bloggy love and support. Derek and Lauryn are family, the rest good friends.
Derek and Lauryn

Beautiful from Split Ends

Carol from Day2Day

Red from My Two Cents

Time Out For Women

Hey everyone! Any LDS (or otherwise!) bloggers who plan on attending the San Diego (Feb 2) session of TOFW? Anyone want to get together for a short howdy-do at lunch? I think it will be a great day and would be fun to meet anyone in the area! Let me know!
Time Out For Women

Also, attention to all SoCAL bloggers! I am planning a meet and greet for all of us to put a face to the blog! Anyone interested please contact S'mee via the S"mee-mail! I'll send out info soon! Thanks!

blessings journal

In his talk, O Remember, Remember President Eyring encouraged us to write down the blessings in our lives on a daily basis. An excerpt from that talk:

"When our children were very small, I started to write down a few things about what happened every day. Let me tell you how that got started. I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the front door of my house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work clothes. I knew that he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property.

He smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: “I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.”

I went inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family. Grandpa didn’t have to do what he was doing for us. He could have had someone else do it or not have done it at all. But he was serving us, his family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote it down, so that my children could have the memory someday when they would need it.

I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened.

The years have gone by. My boys are grown men. And now and then one of them will surprise me by saying, “Dad, I was reading in my copy of the journal about when . . . ” and then he will tell me about how reading of what happened long ago helped him notice something God had done in his day.

My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done. You remember that song we sometimes sing: “Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

By clicking on the link you can take the time to read the entire talk, which is well worth the extra few minutes. President Eyring is an amazing man with a keen mind and great insights. He's one of my favorites!

I am going to take his advice. I already have a journal picked out and I am going to try and make this a daily habit. How about you? Why not go out, find a great new journal that will inspire you to write down those good, positive things in your life? Wouldn't it be wonderful, to read back on this next year and see just how many good things came your way each day? It would be such a great way to live, seeing the good. Many of the blogs out there participate in daily gratitudes, that's awesome!

So we have a few days to go out and get ourselves ready. Or if you already have a blank journal lying around, how about tonight? Surely good things happened over the Christmas Holiday that insured many blessings on your family. Why not write them down?

8 things I am passionate about:
1. Family
2. My Church
3. Friends
4. Being Creative
5. The Beach
6. Flowers and Green things
7. Learning/Growth
8. Change

8 things I want to do before I die
1. Change/Learn/Grow
2. Live as a Scriptorian
3. Live on the Coast, any warm coast
4. Learn Spanish fluently
5. Be a Missionary
6. Be a successful artist.
7. Throw one good, well attended, knock out, unforgettable, quotable, hilarious party.
8. Burn a mortgage.

8 things I say often
1. “Holy Hannah!”
2. “O.k. Don't let me forget this...”
3. “STINK!”
4. “Can I get a witness?”
5. “Hey Babe!”
6. “Do you have time to talk?”
7. “Do I need to bring my purse?”
8. “What are we doing this weekend?”

8 books I’ve read recently
1. Secret Life of Bees
2. Glass Castle
3. My Sister's Keeper
4. Geisha, A Life
5. Peculiar, In A Good Way
6. Reading Lolita In Tehran
7. The Polar Express (This very morning)
8. How I Became A Pirate! (also this morning...both to the cutest little boys on the planet!)

8 songs I could listen to over and over
1. “Come Thou Fount”- Jordon Bluth
2. “Minimum Wage”- They Might Be Giants
3. “Hell”- Squirrel Nut Zippers
4. “San Fransisco Days” - Chris Isaak
5. “School Out” - Alice Cooper
6. “Young Turks” - Rod Stewart
7. “So In Love” - k.d. lang
8. “My Old Addiction”- k.d.lang

(actually anything by k.d. lang and/or Chris Isaak)

8 things that attract me to my best friends
1. honesty
2. intelligence
3. graciousness
4. humility
5. service
6. kindness
7. caring
8. loyalty

(not in that order)

Tag 6 friends to play:

I would like to see NaBloPoMo folks do this. Please, if you read this blog and you are participating in NaBloPoMo this year, comment, let us know who you are and where to find you, and then play along! Thanks!

Maren was really sweet and gave me the following award!

If she didn't already have one I would give her one right on back. So instead I will just say she is really sweet, nice, pretty and yeah, she makes me smile.

Nows it's my turn! And let me tell you there are some blogs that I turn to just for that every day upturning of the lips. I nominate Kim from "Something to Say", whose fantastic links are always inspirational and motivating. I also just like her as a person. She the type of person you want to go to lunch with.

Rynell is like the best friend you'll never meet because she is stuck in another state. But I swear, if she lived anywhere near me I would totally hang out with her. She has a quiet grace in her words and yeah, she makes me smile.

Not like she needs anymore praise, the girl has readers coming out the wazoo, but Hollywood
does make me smile. She doesn't take herself too seriously and I check her blog a lot for updates and giggles.

Lastly, my kid, 'cause he does make me smile. I am really really pleased with the way all my kids have turned out. I got very lucky and extremely blessed. He's the only one (so far) that blogs, so he gets the award. Whoot!

Please take some time to check out these lucky winners, I guarantee they will, indeed, make you smile!

The Miracle Worker!

Hey! How cool am I? (this is where you all say "reeeaal cool!")

Did you notice? I changed the blog up a bit; and this time I did it without Chronicler sitting beside me, in her best Annie Sullivan, holding my hand as she pressed my fingers to the keyboard repeating her words of instruction as if she were working with Helen Keller. Well, a really stupid Helen Keller. Yup, she just took me over to the well and gave me a link and after banging on the table and screaming for my mommie a few times, I actually got it back up and running! Whoot Hooo!

W A T E R !

I totally got it! Thanks Annie!

Blog Roll Update!

Hey everyone, I have added two new blogs to the ol' blog-roll and would be so happy it you all gave them some bloggety love. Both are newbies to this world and need lots of encouragement.

Go ahead and click on:

Unadventurous Adventures- fruit of my looms, my #1 kid, my hero...you get the idea. His blog! If he never ventures further than his childhood his blog would be a good read. If he takes you into his adult life it should be a fantastic daily read. This guy has live a LOT in his almost 30 years and he has the stories (and scars, although not as many as #4, who frankly beats pretty much everyone in the "accident" department) to prove it!
and
The Middle Hip Sister exactly what it sounds like, the middle sis, my big sis, the talented one, the one with the good hair, the pretty one, yeah, her. She's hip, she's trendy, and now she's bloggin'!

NaBloPoMo 2007

O.k. jumping! Whew! That wasn't so bad! Yup folks I am joining the NaBloPoMo, other wise known as a large group of people dedicated to writing a post every single day of November. Wow.

It sounded like a good idea at the time, I have already met new bloggy people and I am interested to see how this goes. I kind of set a goal fro myself to blog at least one post in addition to the daily stuff, but never felt pressure to post on weekends, so that will be different!

Hey why not join me? There are a bunch of different groups and you can show off your photos, videos, and whatever else you can put on the net!

C'mon, you know you want to! You can click the link below or click on the side bar badge and go directly to my NaBloPoMo page.


Visit NaBloPoMo

Wednesday Afternoon Theatre-

The following is a small narration. To make it even more exciting please use the following voices in your head while you read the green and orange parts.
Green = A nice dull Ben Stine impression - think "Bueller...Bueller..."
Orange = Let's do your best Marie Barone - you know, Raymond's mom

Have you ever been in a situation where a random -yet specific- question was thrown out to you and those in the room you are in? Something like, "Introduce yourself and tell us ONE colour you really hate."

The circle of folks begin their responses. (cue party music)

"My name is Ophelia and I can't stand beige."
"My name is Prudence and I detest lavender."
"Hi, I'm Eliza and I am not a huge fan of turquoise."

Then comes this:

"I'm Ethel and.." "Ethel is my daughter, I'm Ursula and I know Prudence. We played polo together as children. And this is Armando, he's my husband."

(Armondo has sat in the same position for the last 15 minutes as if he were the lead in "Awakenings" [catatonic])

"um, I'm Ethel. I went to Westminster Central Park three years ago. It was right when they were building the new Greek pavilion and I lived right there you know. And..." "And she was there when the Prime Minister of Guava Imports was there to bless the Guava crops near by." "well yeah, I was there, and then, but I lived right there you know? And then the Prime Minister of Guava Imports came to bless the crops and he had his Ambassador of Roots and Shoots with him and well if you all remember that was when the Ambassador got sick."
- -tiny side bar- - this is when pretty much everyone in the room began to look around at each other in an uncomfortable "where are the exits?"- way, a slight pause and then...
"Well he got sick, came home and DIED! You remember how he DIED? Yeah, it was right then and I was there then, and then he DIED!"
--well o.k. then, moving right along--
"She was, she was right there when it was happening. You know -when the Ambassador got sick and DIED! Strange huh? Yes, well, like I said I'm Ursula, and she's my daughter and, what was I supposed to hate?"

That was my party last night. Dang if I don't know how to throw 'em! Call me if you ever need a good getting-to-know-you game. Then again, perhaps there are folks we just don't want to know too much about. ugh!

originally posted in 2005. reposted today because I am having a few tech-difficulties. enjoy the rerun!

Basic Groveling

TWO MORE HOURS FOLKS! This weeks contest ends at 10:00 p.m. pacific.
THE BIG CONTEST WITH FABULOUS GIFTS AND PRIZES!!!
Don't forget to send me a "S'mee Mail" -------------------------------->
NOW IS THE TIME TO COMMENT! NOW IS THE TIME TO WRITE!
Click that link if you have forgotten...time's a wasting folks, get those cards and letters in the mail now!

Contest with Fabulous Gifts and Prizes!

Are you ready contestants? Monte here, looking for new blogging readers and moooooore comments. In my effort to do this I am throwing around a few ideas to have on a daily basis along with the regular fabulousity I normally have.

Beginning soon I will be posting:

Mickey Mouse Mondays: Everything you need and want to know about a trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth." Got questions or ideas? I want them!

Tutorial Tuesdays: A tutorial every Tuesday! Want to know how to pack your parachute? Join the Air Force! But if you have wanted to learn a craft or whatever, send a shout out and I will either make the tutorial myself or try to send out a link that has the info you need. (now let's be reasonable here... anything involving math and or physics will just get a good belly laugh)

Whined Up Wednesdays: This is your opportunity to whine to S'mee and get all my Gramma wisdom, or lack thereof! Ask away! Whatever you wanna know, we'll get to the bottom of it.

Think About it! Thursdays: Terrific links to the world! Wow! Find that on another blog! O.k., swing a cat and hit a blog with links, but hey, now I'm another one! Do you have a particular subject you want "link researched"? Drop a line and I'll drop a link!

Field Trip Fridays: Remember the yearly field trip you went on in grade school? Yeah baby! Every Friday I will find some place really awesome to visit... and the goal here is FREE ADMISSION! (or minimal entrance fees... let's face it, fun costs sometimes.) Do you have a destination city? A theme? An age group? Facts I need to know if I'm going to help you out!

Here's the small print: (which is much better read with a cheesy announcer voice in your head)
THREE WAYS TO WIN!

1.Use the link to "S'mee Mail" on the side bar and drop me a letter with your suggestions, your questions, your wants and needs, your bank account numbers and pin i.d. The more letters, the higher your chances of winning! Put the day of the week in the subject header or it may get deleted!

2. Tell your friends, send them here and tell them to comment! Make sure to tell them to comment that YOU sent them. Both you and they will be added to the contest!

3. Lather. Rinse. Repeat! Once you win weekly you are automatically added to the end-o-the month drawing! woo hoo!

Once a week, for the next month (or so) I will randomly draw a letter from each category and the winner will receive a S'mee Music Mix!!!

(pausing to allow those who know my taste in music to stop laughing)

ahem, o.k. Once a month those same winners names will be tossed about and one winner will receive a collection of home made photo cards! (some of S'mee's famous photos to share with your snail mail friends!) Yes, it's true. And it doesn't get much better than that!

So tell your friends! Share the news, and spread the wealth!

Help S'mee, help you!

A "must read" blog recommendation

O.k. I am using a snorkle to breathe, but I am out in the open world again! While I was living in a state of suspended animation I did A LOT of blog crusin'. All of the usual suspects, and then going down blogrolls to find new and exciting things!

One of my favorite blogs, one on my blogroll for a very long time is Flagrant Disregard. John is smart, witty, and one of the great photgraphers (he has a fabulous Flickr! page). He is responsible for Flickr! Toys and a bunch of computer techno stuff I can't begin to understand. The point is I click on his blog constantly because it is always a good read.

Lately John has been parenting his two children alone while his "Lovely and Talented Wife" has been on tour. He has been writing about his experiences which have been absolutely hilarious.

This post is what I consider a must read by pretty much everyone. He sums up a long month of single parenting and what he has learned from it. It's a very good read. So go over and check him out. Let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Thanks to Kim Carney from "Something to Say"! She has flattered me much and nominated me for the "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award. I am gushing. If you have yet to be over at Kim's place you need to go. She always has something terrific to peruse. She has the best links and the most delicious photos to look at every day. Lots of flowers, but many other subjects. If you get a chance to wander through her past, check out her Flickr! Sets and her Self-Portraits -you will never see better art work and honesty. She is fabulous and inspirational!

And while I am at it...I need to thank (once again) my sis -Cooper's Chronicles , who makes me look good. If there is any techno stuff that needs to be taken care of, she graciously does it in the middle of the night for me like the Shoe Maker's Elf. I love her. LOVE her. If you need to know anything she can tell you. Seriously. We were yakking the other day about a post we read and she asked a question that neither of us could answer. After a minute she said, "Well, I just google that and learn about it." And she did. A week later she could tell me all about the subject and that she now could practice that particular skill and improve her resume, once again. She never sleeps. She knows literally everything about food. She is just geographically challenged to make it pay for her. (I keep telling her she needs to move to the big city...she would cleeeean up!) A Jack of all trades she's up to any challenge. She can craft almost anything. She's a photographer, a glass fusee( fuser came up as a mispell, lol!), and seamstress in the professional sense of the word, a quilter, a cook, a historian, a maker of jewelry, knows more about history and astronomy than the average person, and don't dare challenge her with music...she has her bases covered there as well. I haven't even scratched the surface. She's a smart one, she is.

And now to make a nomination of my own: I would like to send y'all over to Mustang Sally's. She's definately a "Rockin' Girl Blogger! " I knew her as a little girl, and laughed along with her mom all through Sal's teens. Now she is all grown up with a hubby and three little ones and a sense of humour that just cracks me up. She has a terrific vocabulary and I can hear her voice when I read her words. The thing is, she really talks the way she writes; always has. You gotta love a gal who consistently uses the $10.00 words. (and a few salty ones...shhhh!) If you want to peek back into the times when you were a young mom and remember the joys that come with discovering your kids personalities, read Miss Sally.

O.k. now go on...click some linkage!

I'm quirky.

Mustang Sally asked me to answer the Seven Quirks/Habits etc. meme.
Here are seven quirks or habits about me. I think these are new info??? If you have heard it before, tell me and I will come up with something new.

1. I am not a huge fan of strawberries. I feel guilty eating them because most people are like, "Oh my heck! Look at the strawberries!" and then get all excited at the thought of gorging themselves on the cute little fruit. If I don't care one way or the other about strawberries and someone else does like them that much, they should have them.

2. I carry a full hygiene kit in my car. If you have a personal need I more than likely have a solution for you sitting, nicely organized, in my jockey box. Need a razor? There's one in there. Want tweezers? In there. Floss, pick, or mouthwash? In there. I have potty seat covers and t.p., sanitizing gel and wipes. Girly stuff if you need it. Clippers, both toe and finger. And a file. I have Tylenol, Excedrin, Tums, Zantac and Q-Tips. I have heat wraps and Blistex. Are you bleeding? I have band aides! Lotion, comb, and a sewing kit. There's more, but I digress.

Oh, and I get really crazy if you leave trash in my car. Seriously. It bugs me a lot to have trash all over the car. We're talking even the paper from the straw. If you unwrap your straw in my car take the paper with you when you leave. Thank you. Don't get me started with drinks or bottles that are left in there.

3. I almost always have a toothbrush handy. I find comfort in brushing my teeth. I brush my teeth while driving. I was a creative tooth faery back in the day. Thank you notes, with full descriptions of just how the tooth would be turned into this or that shaped diamond, would be hand written in the tiniest hand, on glittery paper, an left near the tooth pillow. Tiny high heeled foot prints would be (hand painted and glittered) entering and exiting the window nearest the child's bed, and glitter would be everywhere the faery would have flown. The footprints and glitter would fade over a few days...

4. I get kind of creeped out when I see someone with the kind of fake nails you get from a manicurist. The acrylic or porcelain, whatever they are called. I think it because they are so much thicker than a regular nail. When I was in junior high school one of the gals in the group of friends had a habit of fixing her nails with toilet paper and nail polish. If she got a snag or a break she would just break off the tiniest piece of tissue, paint her nail with polish and while still wet add the tissue (over and under the break) and paint over it to repair the break. After a while her nails were seriously thick and fuuuuunky. And they looked just like the "good nails" women get now. Nice on the top, but thick underneath. (seriously, I just got the chills thinking about it.)

5. I fall asleep (usually) very quickly and deep just to wake up twenty minutes (to the minute)later and struggle to fall back asleep and as deep. I dream vividly almost every night and can remember amazing details in my dreams the next day. I have about a dozen or so dreams that have repeated over the years since childhood. I can (at times) manipulate my dreams and make them go the way I want them to.

6. I have a strong dislike for cars without hubcaps. I would rather see a car with primer paint than a car without hubcaps.

7. My purse is about an inch and a half wide and somewhere between the size of an index card and a postcard. It carries everything I need on a daily basis, and then some.

So there you go Sal! I would tag ya'all, but everyone I know who reads this blog probably has already done this. Oh well, I had fun! If you want to have fun to, let me know and we'll spread the word to have everyone over to your place.

the "Beginning" of something good...

O.k. folks, hold onto your desk, this is an actual post! Who knew?

Ya'all know one of my favorite places to view everyday is Miss Karen over at chookooloonks. A few days ago Karen had a fantastic idea: a "Post Card Swap!" Earlier this year she had a brilliant plan to create "The Kind Journal" project, which I excitedly joined in on; so when the postcard swap came along I hopped on board again.

So I signed up at the very last minute, whew!, and received my list of 11 other bloggers to send my cards to. I set to work thinking about what I would do. Remember last Christmas when I did the ornament swap? I thought, "hey, why not try something similar?"

With that ornament swap I began painting canvas again (after years of not painting at all), however because of circumstances I have not painted again. So what a great opportunity! Here's what I came up with. I would take a favorite photo and paint it on twelve canvases.

I took 5x7 inch board canvases, turned them over and used blue painter's tape to bind them together. I needed to support the canvas boards with a piece of foam core board so that they would not sag or flop on the easel. After that it was just a matter of painting.

I used acrylics and tried to paint in a more impressionist style than realist of one of my favorite spots on the North Shore of Oahu.

I'll divide the painting among the twelve in our group and woohoo! we will each have a small individual painting that was once one large one.

I hope for a good reaction from the receivers of the postcards. I also hope for new friendships. I am excited to have 11 new people share creativity with. I also hope that this swap is a new beginning, again, for a talent that has laid dormant for too many years.

I'm a little happy inside just thinking about it!

You wanna be happy too? Why not make a post card of your own and send it out to someone. Make their day! Everyone loves mail. Everyone enjoys art. It's a win win situation! Mail and art...by you!

To view the photos from both the 2006 Ornament Swap and also the 2007 Post Card Swap. click away! Both Flickr! pages also have a good view of some of my favorite photos and other art work.

Pay it Forward...

Pay it Forward! The Crafty Way

Chroniclerhas had a post up for several days inviting us all to participate in a new crafting exchange! I signed up at her site and now you can sign up here, or follow the crafty trail if I've already got three.

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange.

I don't know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week... LOL... but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise!

The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

What you do: Leave a comment here. The first three to say they are participating in paying it forward I'll send a gift to. Then you go to your blog and have three friends sign up to participate.

Everyone ends up with cool gifts in exchange for their three they send out! Fun ensues for all! Come on you know you want to!

EDITED: Hey! Don't let that comment counter fool ya! There are TWO more spots available, c'mon, sign up, I'm feeling rejected here!

Every Picture Tells a Story...

don't it?

There are volumes in the interpretation thereof. With that in mind, we present the following link to a new blog launching today:

Every Picture Tells A Story

A photo blog. A family blog. It will be interesting to see how closely related folks define a daily topic. No words (except yours through the comments...which we live for, thank you very much!), just images.

Go take a peek, leave a comment, suggest a topic!