In Case You missed it...

Just in case you are a big LOST fan like me, here's an amusing little recap of last night's Episode...Still working on getting unpacked and settled...will have some new photos to share this weekend...Until then, enjoy!

Sometimes LIFE just gets in the way...

Soooooo.......

Where to begin?? With an apology seems appropriate....So sorry to all of my blogging friends....what was supposed to be a brief vacay turned into an extended absence with no explanation...go ahead, call me a bad blogger- I can take it....

I'll just pick up where we left off , shall I? In an abbreviated version, of course....I will "Cliff note" the past two months (has it really been two whole months??)...

As of my last entry, dated February 13th, Mr. Sunshine had gotten home and we were enjoying some much needed, highly anticipated family time. The next day (yes, Valentine's Day), my one true love, not being acclimated to an Upstate New York winter, forgot where he was and entered a foot race with Junior (you see where this is going, don't you?)....boychild won and Mr. Sunshine got the booby prize- a spiral fracture of his right ankle, courtesy of a nice little patch of black ice.... I have pictures of his swollen and bruised appendage, but I won't go quite that far (you are welcome)...

Needless to say, I got to play nursemaid to a cranky soldier who had come home from a war zone after nine months without so much as a scratch, only to slip on a patch of ice five days after his return and fracture his ankle. The good news is that he had to stay home an extra three weeks, so instead of eighteen days, we got him for almost a month.

But all good things come to an end and Mr. Sunshine did return to Iraq. At this point the countdown is in the double digits, less than a month to go and he should be home for good....

Yes!Which brings me to part deaux of my excuse note....another big thing that happened while Mr. Sunshine was home was that we found out we were moving.....yes again. This was a good move though, from our cozy but extremely dated ranch duplex to an almost new free standing, bonafide, no neighbors to share a wall with house. Best part: I get my own work space back (who needs a dining room?)!! No more sharing with a wii and a playstation and two kids and their friends.


Yay!
Wahhoooo!!
H-a-p-p-y D-a-n-c-e!!

The bad part (or at least I thought it would be)?
I had to do this move on my own, as Mr. Sunshine had already returned to Iraq (not that he would have been much help with his bum foot anyway).

At this point, after almost nineteen years in the Army and eleven moves, the Butler family is a well-oiled moving machine. Everyone has a job and when they do it, everything goes smoothly.

When part of the machine is missing....well, things tend to, at the very least, go more slowly (forget my comment a few lines ago- bum ankle or not, I seriously missed his help)....

So moving in has been a little s-l-o-w....

Stuff everywhere and it all needs a home....my workspace is not looking so cottage chic right now...

But, somewhere amidst the boxes and packing paper, I managed to do a little Target Clearance perusing...Aren't theses plates adorable? I think they will be the center of attention on my studio walls...bright and cheerful...how can you not feel a tiny bit happier just looking at them?

And shhhh...don't tell anyone, but they are melamine! I got all of these dishes for less than $10...TOTAL!

Since I'm still not at the point where I can be creating new things (the studio is in *slightly* better condition than these photos, but not much), I think I will share the progress with you...hopefully it will morph in to a bright and cheerful work space...

Until Next Time,

One World, One Heart, One Day Late....

Have to stay true to form don't you know (I'm late, I'm late for a very important date! The story of my blogging life.)....

My most sincere apologies for being a day late with my winner announcement, but just one more time I hope you will forgive...

Been a little distracted this week, for this handsome guy has been keeping us busy...


Yep, Mr. Sunshine made it home late Sunday evening, and the kids and I have just been enjoying hanging out with him...leave is only eighteen days, which seems like allot until you sit down and realize we are already on day5...sigh...my blogging will probably be sparse until late February, early March when he has to return "over there"....

But we do have a winner!

I used Random.org to generate a magic number...305...

That would be Kristal of Bella Grace....

Congratulations Kristal!

And a big "thank you!" to everyone who took the time to visit and enter a comment- I truly appreciate it! And to Lisa Oceandreamer...wow, thanks so much for hosting such a fun and exciting ride...we will definitely be back in 2010....

Until Next time,

250!

Well I'm a little slow on the draw the past few days...but I am sure you will forgive me...

Mr. Sunshine has left Baghdad and is waiting for his flights out of Kuwait, back to the states. I am thrilled to say the very least (did I mention the whole 9 months since we last saw each other?)...but I am the artsy fartsy type and I know some of you will sympathize with this...I tend to be the messy artsy fartsy type...I never did learn that "pick it up when you're done with it" thing....I'm getting better as I get older, but Mr. Sunshine likes a tidy homefront...and I kinda like him, so I do what I can to make him happy....

So I have been organizing closets, going through magazine baskets, scrubbing floors and so on and so forth...

All that happy, happy homemaker stuff....

I have been keeping track of my OWOH entries and we have hit 250! So it's time for me to add to the prize pool (one lucky winner is going to get a very nice package from their post man!)...


This little magnet will appear in this month's issue of Create & Decorate Magazine as an Artist Trading Card (with instructions, in case you are interested in making your own). I liked the results so much that I scanned the original, printed, and made magnets for my Etsy shop....

I have a couple on my own refrigerator- very cute and definitely keeping with the Spring theme we have going....


And I just got my copies of Create and Decorate yesterday...for some reason I have TWO subscriptions (not sure how I did that), so in addition to the magnet, I will include a copy of the magazine....

Not sure if we will hit 300, so this very well may be the last add on...

If you haven't thrown your name in the basket yet, go check it out here...
Enter your name and then go visit some of the other links in the gypsy caravan....and plan to spend a decent amount of time exploring...sooooo many great blogs out there participating....

And on a side note, Teenage Girl Child's Grandma has lifted my grounding...

She has given me permission to post pictures of her beautiful grandkids because she likes to see them....

So there....

TGIF, fellow bloghoppers!

Until Next Time,

Something New, Something Blue...

I knew it was coming...I took my chances...

I am officially grounded.

I am not allowed to so much as whisper the words (or even type ever so softly) "beautiful Teenage Girl Child" again until further notice (oops, did I just mention "she who shall not be named"?)...I told her everyone was looking at Molly anyway, but she wasn't buying it....If you have no idea what I am talking about, click here....

So how about some shop talk?

Something that would make every teenager on the planet stick their fingers in their ears and wail "lalalalalalalalalalala- can't hear you!"

I have been working today....working on something new, something blue...something slightly comfortable, but different none the less...


Over the past several months I have had several request for more hand stamped stationery.
Honestly, the idea scares me just a bit. My tags are wee little bits of stamping, a contained field that is very easy to keep simple (which has been part of my stamping mantra from the get-go: soft or faded colors, vintage inspired images and overall simplicity).

They are those little single bites of goodness that the contestants are always making on one of my favorite shows, Top Chef ...they are the amuse-bouche of the stamping world....(thank you Google and Wikipedia for teaching me how to spell amuse-bouche)...


Moving on to cards (to me anyway) is like taking the training wheels off. It's such a big surface to work with...that much empty paper intimidates me...

So how about some baby steps first?

How about post cards?


Perfect for short little notes of encouragement- not so small as a gift tag but not the big, full entree commitment of a note card or invitation (at least in my mind, and in that moment, that was all that counted)...


So what do you think?

Not that hard really...actually kind of fun...

Next (baby) Step: Save the Date cards....
(0;

And what would a post from me be these days if I didn't tell you this:
If you haven't entered my OWOH giveaway, what the heck are you waiting for??

Click here!
Go there and post a reply! When I get to 250 entries, I will be adding another prize...
...and I want to give away more stuff, so help me out!

Only three more days 'til Mr. Sunshine comes home on R&R Leave (almost 9 months to the day since I last saw him)...woohooo! I tried to get through the post without mentioning that but I am so giddy, I just couldn't help myself...

And that makes this a HAPPY, walking on Sunshine kind of Tuesday!
Hope it's been a good one for you too...

Until Next Time,

Chuck would Be Proud...

Earlier this week, teenage girl child had a gaggle of (giggling) friends over to hang out...
snacks, movies, a little Wii, some boy talk (I would assume because of course I did not eavesdrop), the usual....

During the festivities, I noticed something by the front door...
It's snowy here (see! I had to work a reference to my nemesis-ie snow-in somewhere) so everyone peels off the shoes at the front door. The nasty gook that sticks to the bottom of your shoes in this weather can really wreak havoc on the carpeting. Since I do not own my carpet, Uncle Sam does (this Army family lives in issued quarters on post), I am trying to be respectful.

But anyway....back to the subject at hand...

I am walking down the hallway and what do I see but this awesome collection of Converse All Stars (that belong to my daughter and her friends)...
I don't know why, call me eccentric (it's OK- you wouldn't be the first), but I knew I had to take some pictures...

This would be the one teen trend I have to say is my favorite...have always loved the look of the Chuck Taylors, even when they were not in style (that would be my teenage years- sigh).

And I absolutely adore the rainbow of colors they come in these days...girly and tomboy, sassy and sweet...a perfect combo!

I have to admit that my faves were these petite little pink ones...I want a pair!

Good thing Teenage girl child's friend has wee li'l feet, or I might just have run away with them....

Not really, I am a grown up after all....I just need to buy my own (cause I'm not that grown up!)

Happy Super Bowl Sunday, everyone!

Oh yeah and if you haven't enetered my OWOH giveaway, click here to join in on the festivities. It's a party on your computer screen (entereing my own name in some awesome giveaways is how I will be spending my Super Bowl Sunday)!

Until Next Time,

...and they call it Puppy Love...

If you have taken advantage of the golden opportunity to read my thoughts (ie whining) on SNOW over the past few months, you'll know how much I love (to complain about) the stuff...

So to keep you on your feet, I thought I'd share a few fun snowy pics
(the white stuff's not all bad)...

My sweet Sheltie Molly is not the biggest fan of snow either...very cold on the tummy when you have to go outside to do your "business", if you know what I mean...poor thing...

Here she stands, by the back door, contemplating going out in the drifts yet again...


But she loves her kids more than she dislikes the snow, so when teenage girl child yelps:

"Help Me!"

Molly goes...

If there is one thing Molly is good at, it's snowy rescues (it's true)...

Because she knows the one thing that makes almost any situation better...


Sweet Poochy Smoochies!

There is no escaping that long Sheltie tongue....

And in other news, we have a OWOH Update...

Yes we have reached the next plateau- 200 entries!
Thank you all for taking the time to post!

In appreciation, I am adding yet another prize to the pot...
I thought about doing a "winner's choice", but I decided to add a sampler of my notecards....the lucky winner will receive one of each style...

This one is brand new, perfect for Spring, one of my favorite subject (wabbits!)...

Home Sweet Cupcake Home...

And some classic advice: Seize the cupcake!!

If you haven't entered yet, click here to post your reply (and get a look at all of the prizes included)...the drawing will be February 12....

Until Next Time,